This year the ‘French Lavender’ plants in my garden have grown so well and they have been completely covered with bumblebees and honey bees! I wanted to capture this image, and decided to put my own ‘slant’ on it. I did this by combining the ‘real’ plant painting, with a blurred water wash soil/ground effect. I focussed on one part of the plant, rather than the whole.
I used ‘Newton & Windsor’ watercolours and painted straight onto the paper, without sketching first. I added layers of paint onto the bud/petals of the flower, and as they dried I was keen to create the spiky effect around the top of the stems.
I then used my black fine liner to add a boundary around the ‘drips’ and ‘natural run’ of the paint. I felt it looked slightly futuristic as though it was a floating planet plant. Finally I added, small white markings to the leaves and petals which gave some texture to the picture. I like the overall simple, painting as it feels like two contrasting styles of painting, merged together as one image.
If you would like to receive a roundup of all of our blog posts once a week to keep you inspired in your inbox, why not sign up to our newsletter. You can access our sign up at the top of our page. If you are a London Art College student and you would like your artwork featured here, drop us a line at any time.
