I want to create a set of four iris cards and every year at this time I am too busy, This year because I’m not doing Art in Action. I’m determined to get some art done (even though I’m quite tired…)
I started with a very large loose painterly sketch, standing in the garden at my easel. Too mucky by far. Then I picked an iris – because it keeps raining and it’s too cold at the moment to work outside. And the painting was soo tight and didn’t work. So I thought I’d try to do something inbetween the loose painting and the ever-so-tight one.
Here is the final painting:
Perry’s Hardy Plant Farm, Enfield, Middlesex. New June Flowering Irises, 1924.
General Collection
Alcazar. One of the most magnificent of the older varieties, stout branching stems, bearing a profusion of well-built flowers; S, light bluish-violet overlaid bronze; F, deep purple with a bronze veined throat. 1/6 each.
I thought you may like to see the too tight, overworked one:
and the painterly sketch:
The sketch has its merits and if the background was better resolved I’d have been happier with it. It is a good reminder to do more sketching and then to work from the sketches. I now have three of the four cards with one more to do. The first iris I ever painted in watercolour was done about 12 years ago.
I agree your final resolution was the best .I can see you understand well how watercolour works. Very delicate touch in those petals. Can I ask what a painterly sketch is….do you begin with paint or first sketch with pencil.
IT would be interesting to see the development of this painting…..
well done in spite of your tiredness…….!!
Actually, I loved the ‘painterly sketch’ best of all !! Loved the suggested look of it, still capturing an essence of the flower and as Irises are just about my favourite flower, I thought your initial painterly impression “got it !”
I love the painted sketch! ( and the final one)