The peony is likely our most visited flower, largely because there is always room to explore a facet of its body. We've painted it in three classes and we will do so again in this class WITH a twist. Using oval wash brushes exclusively we will explore and play with the ornate nature of the peony, remaining mindful of the gestural approach to painting.

We will aim to create flowers that nod to the peony origin, while also leaving room for artistic liberties and those nuances that make your art your own. You can expect to learn more about paint consistencies, color value, and mixing, along with wet-into-dry and wet-into-wet technique. We will also look at a few reference flowers to better understand our goal before pulling our florals together in an arrangement.

Beginners with a few months experience will find this class suitable to their skillset, however I do advise all students have a basic understanding of color value. Intermediate students will see both familiar material covered in prior classes along with fresh insight and challenges. Above all, we will have FUN and allow ourselves to embrace the process along the way!

Let's get started!

- Cara

SUPPLIES

PAPER:

11 x 15 Canson 140 lb. cold press paper (or an equivalent) Suitable replacements are Arches, Fabriano, Legion, Strathmore

BRUSHES:

Princeton Neptune 3/4 Oval Wash, Princeton Aqua Elite 1/2 Oval Wash, Princeton Round 8

PAINTS:

Acceptable brands are Winsor and Newton (Cotman or Professional), Van Gough, Maimeri Blu, Sennelier, Daniel Smith, Holbein.

Colors: Rose of Ultramarine, Verzino Violet, Green Gold, Yellow Ochre, Sepia

Paper Towel

Palette

Introduction:

Welcoming new and returning students to class and talking a bit about the brushes we'll be using in this class.

Supplies:

We will briefly discuss the supplies you will need to complete this project.

Paint Consistencies:

Here we will review the common consistencies used when painting with watercolor, focusing on the three consistencies we'll use to create our peonies: Horse radish, cough syrup, and broth.

Brush Fundamentals & Learning Peony Strokes Part I:

We take a few moments to get know our brushes, take them for a test drive, discovering how the shape of the bristles and the size of the brush can serve us when painting peonies. We'll begin with beginner strokes and gradually work our way toward intentional movement to capture the peony.

Brush fundamentals & learning peony strokes Part 2:

Having executed beginner strokes, we'll now dive deeper learning how to use these to create what will become the petals of our flowers, focusing on three essential movements and reinforcing the brain to hand to paper connection.

Closed Peony Formation Outside In:

Using a photo for reference we will approach the close peony with a gestural mindset, honing in on the details that make it special while remaining intentional to avoid burdening the flower with "overworked" petals. We will begin at the outside of the flower and work our way toward the center.

Closed Peony Formation Inside Out:

Repeating the steps above, we will use the same approach, however this time we will create the peony by beginning in the center of the flower and working our way toward the outermost petals.

Full Bloom Peony Outside In:

Using a photo for reference we will approach the close peony with a gestural mindset, honing in on the details that make it special while remaining intentional to avoid burdening the flower with "overworked" petals. We will begin at the outside of the flower and work our way in.

Full Bloom Peony Inside Out:

Repeating the steps above, we will use the same approach, however this time we will create the peony by beginning in the center of the flower and working our way toward the outermost petals.

Full Bloom Peony with Texture

Next I will show you how by using horse radish consistency we add interest to our peony to create a flower that is rich with detail.

Open Face Peony Adding a Center:

The last and final floral step, we will add a new color to the palette and create a center to the peony that is intentional with detail without feeling too heavy with details.

Studying Peony Angles:

Per request, we take a few moments to study a few different angles and positioning of peonies and how they might lay against one another in a floral arrangement.

Peony Buds & Adding Leaves

Here I will show you my three-stroke technique to creating beautiful, gestural peony buds. We will then mix up our green blend to create gestural leaves to accompany the flower buds.

Practicing Leaves & Adding Leaves to the Peonies

To best understand the value in adding leaves to a painting, we will explore a range of different leaf shapes using both brushes, and how they might serve the floral painting. We will begin with simple strokes and gradually move toward gestural technique, adding leaves to our practice peonies.

Deborah A. Smith

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