Rose Painting

I have begun painting a large composition of a rose I have in my garden. This painting will be large  with five blooms and some buds. I have painted the first flower which was fully open and the oldest bloom of them all. I have used sennelier paints which are lovely to use. The first flower is finished and I have now stared a fresher bloom. I will draw the leaves after I have painted the roses. The paper is white, I have trouble photographing my paintings.

Iris painting.

In these challenging times it helps to do something creative to keep yourself occupied. I began the Iris painting last year and then for some reason which I can't remember set it aside. Now was the time to finish it. I really enjoyed painting this flower. It is a lot larger than anything I have tackled before but a large brush helped. The peachy pink colours were difficult to make but overall I was pleased with the results. It has spurred me on to paint another large painting. The photos have a blue caste not sure why. I struggle getting good photos of my paintings.

Parrot Tulip in Watercolour

Hi, I have been painting a parrot tulip in watercolour over the last couple of weeks. I have worked from both the tulips in my garden and photographs. I find photographs work very well because flowers fade so quickly. With digital camera and my wonderful surface pro I can get a very good rendition of the tulip. Colours can then be matched to the flower whilst it is blooming. The light on the tulip was beautiful and produced wonderful effects. I painted the flower using mainly Sennelier paints on Moulin Du Roy paper.

Original hand painted watercolour cards

Hi, I have been painting this week and have really enjoyed myself. I had the idea of painting some cards in watercolour. The SAA sell cards with mounts so the card when framed also becomes a gift. Great idea. I have painted four cards and am pleased with the results. It 's great to feel that spring is on the way and the spring flowers are blooming. I have painted three Iris cards and a card of snowdrops. More ideas on the way.

Painting of Bearded Iris in the Artists and Illustrators magazine.

I am really delighted to have my painting of the Bearded iris Chieftain and an article about my watercolour painting included in the August issue of the magazine Artists and Illustrators.  I show my paintings on Portfolio plus which is a great way to showcase work and I would recommend it.

Society of Botanical Artists exhibition

Hi, it has been a while since I posted but it has been busy here. I am absolutely delighted to have a painting accepted for the Society of Botanical Artists exhibition in London. I was very proud to take my painting up to London for the handing in day although it was a bit of a job getting on the tube with a large painting. The painting accepted was of Parrot tulips as shown below. I love these flowers and have bought several more different varieties to grow. Lots of lovely painting next spring hopefully. I completed a painting of Honeysuckle some time ago but was not very pleased with the composition so I decided to change it. I think the alterations I have made to it are a great improvement.

Forgive the photo. It is difficult photographing paintings.

                                                               The Exhibition details are as follows:
                                                                        Annual Open Exhibition.
                                                                           Changing Seasons.
                                                               The Society of Botanical Artists.
                                            Friday 13th October to Saturday 21st October from 11am to 5pm every day.
                                                                          Central Hall Westminster,
                                                                                          London

SW1H 9NH.

The paper is a natural white but it is very difficult to get a good photo.

Painting an Iris in watercolour.

Hi, I have just finished painting an Iris (Chieftain) in watercolour. I tried using Arches watercolour paper for the first time and found that the paper responded better if I painted with a drier layered approach than laying down large wet in wet washes. This also helped portray the papery petals more easily and add layers of colour to the darker petals. The paper responded well. I thoroughly enjoyed painting this flower and would like to paint the flower with an even more close up composition. I used Sennelier artist quality paints.

Parrot tulips in watercolour.

Hi, It has been a very busy time. I am teaching four days a week at the moment so finding time for my own painting and embroidery has been difficult but I have finished a painting of Parrot tulips. I love these flowers, they are so bold and bright and a pleasure to paint. I used Sennelier paints and Fabriano Artistico paper. I have read a lot of blogs recently saying how the quality of this paper is not as good as it once was. Luckily the paper is an older sheet I purchased some time ago. I have just purchased some more so I hope the paper will react the way I am accustomed too. I painted the flower heads first and to keep the buds and flowers from changing too quickly I tied thin quilting thread around them. The flowers open very quickly when you bring them indoors so I also took some photographs. I then painted the stems and finished with the leaves.

New embroidery design and painting wedding bouquets

Happy New Year. It is a while since I posted but I have been very busy with Christmas and new year celebrations. All great fun. I haven't gone back to work yet, my courses start next week. I hope to change the direction of my Etsy shop BrushesAndBodkins and concentrate on hand embroidery including ribbon embroidery. I want to create my own embroidery designs that can then be customised with a message or embroidery of a favourite place or home. The card I created for my friend for her church gave me the idea for a set of embroideries based around the seasons. A customer can then have their own message or church, view or home embroidered in place of the church. I plan to create three further designs for spring, summer

and autumn.
             I have also added to my Art by CarolAnnHopper Etsy shop the facility to have your wedding bouquet  painted or your favourite flower(s) painted in watercolour. I hope to extend this to include painting wedding cakes and venues in watercolour. I have so far painted two wedding bouquets. These are really enjoyable to do.

Peony painting update number three.

Hi, Just a quick update, I have finished the painting of a peony. Overall I am pleased with the completed painting and really enjoyed painting the stems and adding the reddish colour. The leaves took a long time to finish but I think I have achieved enough contrast between the their top and bottom surface. At the moment I am working hard on my dress. So its back to sewing.

Peony painting update number 2

Hi, Lots of things happening here. My son has had his masters results and we are very proud of him. I am still painting the Peony painting. It has taken a lot longer than I expected because I have had a lot of other demands on my time. I want to make my dress for my sons graduation. I have cut the pieces out and now need to get on with the sewing. Today, however, I have given some time to my painting. I have painted all the top surface of the leaves trying to create some shine. I have adjusted the colour with a glaze as they were a little too bright. I have now started working on the backs of the leaves which are a more greyish green than the top surface. I am using the same colour mixes. After I have painted the backs of the leaves I want to add a little red on the leaf edges.

Peony painting update.

Hi, most of my classes have nearly finished for the summer and I have had a lot of paper work to complete for them. I haven't had a lot of time for the actual painting but I have managed to tackle a couple of the peony leaves.

I am using sennelier paints for this project and I really like them. I know some artists prefer other makes but these paints are very creamy and lovely to apply on the fabriano artistico paper I am using. I wanted to create the effect of light striking the leaves. The leaves are not glossy but do have a slight shine. The under surface of the leaves is a more subdued shade and more blue. My drawing has a lot of backs of leaves for me to tackle but I will complete the top surfaces first. I also have more leaves to draw for the centre flower stem.

Peony Flowers in watercolour.

Hi, Another very busy week. My son is home for university and looking for a job. I had a lot of get together's with friends which was great but I am afraid I have eaten much too much cake. My current projects have been to finish a crocheted fairy light bunting decoration which I began a long time ago. I used the pattern from the craft seller magazine. I have lots of cotton left over to make a second set. I think the bunting is fun and very cheerful.

 I have also started a painting of Peony flowers. These flowers are absolutely beautiful and cry out to be painted. I have purchased several bunches of flowers over the last week to try and get the flowers to open enough for me to paint the last flower. Eventually I managed to get one flower to open for me to paint. It is so frustrating when the flowers won't open. The paint I used was Sennelier helios purple and it a lovely match for the flowers. I love the outer petals and sepals which add a real splash of colour.

I have purchased yet another bunch of flowers to work on the leaves.

Button hole painting and doll clothes.

Back to work this week after the Easter break. My Tuesday students are painting Biden plants with the aim of adding a Fuchsia and a Pelargonium to the composition. My Wednesday class are painting Aqualegia flowers. It is lovely to see all the plants in the garden growing well. The sunshine certainly makes a difference. I have begun a new painting of a button hole flower from a photograph of my friends sons wedding. I hope to make available custom orders for customers to have wedding button holes or corsages painted as lovely keepsakes. The rose was very pretty and had a hot colour feel to it. I am gradually building up the depth of the colour and using some lovely oranges. I have used Sennelier paints for this project. I love these paints and use them more and more.

                                                                                                                            I have to continue to build up the colour on the rose. I have not yet achieved the depth I would like. I have also completed knitting a jumper and cap for 18" Doll. The pattern I used was by A Jacknitts Design by Jacqueline Gibb which can be purchased from her Etsy shop. These patterns are lovely to follow.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               I have also sewn from my own patterns some dresses to fashion dolls. I have some great daisy print fabric and decided it would make pretty summer dresses. I made three styles of dress. I particularly like the full skirted dress.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Painting a Slipper Orchid Part 4.

Hi, I have completed the painting of the Slipper Orchid. I did'nt have a lot to do but I am glad that it is finished. I used the same colour combinations to achieve the markings
which I applied to the sepals. I added the shading to the sepals before applying the markings. I find when using Fabriano Artistico paper this technique works much better and prevents any smudging of the markings. I then applied the markings to the stems and finally I added all the tiny individual hairs. This particular plant is very hairy. Overall I am pleased with the results.

Painting a Slipper Orchid Part 3

Hi, I have nearly finished my painting of the Slipper Orchid. I added the hairs to complete the flower on the left. I then tackled the flower from the back view. This was a little more tricky because I had to make sure all the markings on the petals were more subtle and softer. I used the same colour combinations as for the first flower but made them a weaker mix. The side petal patterning was achieved by applying the pattern with the brush and then gently dabbing the applied paint whilst wet with kitchen role to soften the effect. The final stages were to add the hairs to the flower where appropriate. I applied a flat green wash to the stems and the sepals varying the green as I proceeded. All that is left to finish is the patterning to the stem and all the hairs. The stems on these plants are very hairy.

Fritillary Painting

Hi. I have just completed my friends painting of the Snake's Head Fritillary. I get a great amount of pleasure out of painting these plants. The pattern on the flower is fantastic and a challenge to paint. I am pleased with the overall effect. My Orchid flowers are looking good so I can now get back to painting those.

Painting a Slipper Orchid Part 2.

Hi, The painting of my Slipper Orchid is progressing well and I have finished the first flower. I have had to stop at this stage as I have a painting of a Fritillary to do for a friend. I added details to the side petals and the main slipper shaped section using a mix of carmine genuine, cadmium yellow light and ultramarine deep. I laid the paint on gently building up the colour in the areas that I wanted to make darker. I softened the edges with a damp brush to blend them into the first washes.

I lifted the highlights out as I applied the washes to create the effect of light hitting the plant. I then painted the centre of the plant using a mix of cadmium yellow light and cadmium orange. I then mixed a botanical grey using a mix of cadmium orange and ultramarine deep with a tiny amount of manganese violet. This makes a very soft grey that is ideal for shading the back petal enhancing the creases and folds. I applied the paint and softened the edges. I also used this colour mix to shade the centre of the flower. The final stage was to add the lovely dots and markings and then the fine hairs. I managed to complete the markings using a mix of manganese violet, carmine genuine and a tiny amount of cadmium yellow light. I did not have time to add the hairs to the flower. I will complete these when I have finished the Fritillary painting.

Hopefully I will be able to complete the painting. Orchid flowers last for a long time.

The Fritillary painting is developing nicely and should be completed in a couple of days. I can then return to my Orchids.