Poppy Spree

I have been doing the Poppy Spree along with many other people around the world.  It is so different to the style of painting that I usually do and I have to say, I am really enjoying it.  I am definitely not a watercolour painter (Tracey can certainly attest to that) but I am determined to make it look at least half decent.  For some reason my brain can't get past the leaving the light bits blank part and I always paint over them.  For years I have painted in oils and lately in acrylics and with that I start dark and lighten with layer upon layer (sorry Sara Lee) and the more I tell myself not to paint the light bits the more I seem to do it. 

I am a podantic painter and do heaps of little bits of strokes, all carefully orchestrated to get it just right, which takes ages and ages.  I can take months, even years, to do one painting and still think it needs tweaking.  So with that said, I have embarked on the free flowing watercolour paintings of poppies.  At first they were quite stiff, but I have to admit, yesterday I seemed to let loose a little and really enjoyed myself.  I made heaps of mistakes and it doesn't look like a perfect poppy (or even an imperfect one at that) but it is colourful. 

There is one thing that is holding me back (quite a bit) and that is the materials I have at my disposal.  I am painting on shiny paper and yesterday I used watered down acrylics, so the paint doesn't flow across the page as it should.  The first days I used Mont Marte watercolour paper and a colour wheel and what a mess I made of that.  The paint soaked into the paper as soon as I touched it and luckily I photographed it quickly as it is now a blurry mush.  I am using my acrylic brushes and they don't seem to soak up the paint and flow like a water colour brush would. 

I am posting these pictures to show what not to do with watercolour pictures.

This picture is of the poppies I painted yesterday on shiny paper with watered down acrylics.  I think it is much better and hope to keep trying this method and see where it takes me.

I have called this painting Poppies for Pop in memory of my father in law, Keith Holman, who was always called Pop.  He passed away on 11 October 2011.