The deadline for the Brushstrokes from the Bush exhibition at The Redlands Gallery is looming just around the corner and I have started a fresh piece for it. I had started a black and white rendering of some native violets, but time is too short to finish a large project, so I have started again on a very small piece of the same subject in the hope that I won't sacrifice quality in the rush to try to get it done in time. I have also decided to tackle it in colour and hope I can capture the delicacy of the violets and the incredible rich purple of the blooms.
The first layer of watercolour went down very easily, as did the initial sketch, but I think that was helped by familiarity with the subject after the black and white piece that I had started, and though it took forever to dry due to some wet weather leaving the paper a bit soft for pencil work, I used the time to plan the colours and do plenty of trials. I have been a bit guilty of working it out on the piece and while the results are usually pretty good, but I suspected that it is more time consuming and as this piece progresses I am finding it is going along quickly.
The leaves did start to come together really quickly and I tried to work over multiple leaves at once rather than one at a time which is how I normally work. I am trying to ensure that I achieve more consistency and also that I don't waste time having to get back into it if I need to take a break, which lets be honest is very likely. I would lose time getting back and replicating where I was and ensuring that they are all the same. The following photos show the progression of the leaves, and while I have a few stems to complete I think I should be completing the blooms first as the bloom I have started would have been better if I could have adjusted it a bit more, but I was unable to do that because the stalk had already been completed. So the plan is to complete the blooms today and then the stalks and finally look at some deepening of shadows to pull it together. Fingers crossed I will post the finished product tomorrow and will still have a few days up my sleeve before it is to dropped off.
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