I just love hollyhocks. I took many, many photos of them last summer, and I just couldn't wait to do a simple watercolor painting of these beauties.I used Winsor Newton's Rose Madder Genuine for the majority of the blooms, with some Winsor Newton Lemon Yellow and Maimerblu's Dragon's Blood for some deeper values. Winsor Newton's Alizarin Crimson added some of the darkest values. I love Maimerblu's Sap Green- that's my go to green for most of my florals. I also used Winsor Newton's Indigo and Payne's Grey for the shadows in the leaves, stems and buds.
A lot of the garden centers stock only the double blooming hollyhocks nowadays. I think these single blooming varieties are much prettier- those double bloomers would be impossible to paint! Cannot wait to see some flowers blooming around here....even a crocus would be nice! Guess I've got to be patient.
2 comments:
Hi Kathleen, I have one of your prints-the cabbage I think, and your work is so inspiring! What type of paper do you use? The color goes on so smoothly and blends beautifully!
I appreciate your sharing some of your favorite colors too.
Sylvia Kleindinst
Thanks so much, Sylvia! I use Windsor Newton paper exclusively. It is the whitest paper that I have found- even whiter than the most popular Arches paper. I also like that it is a hard paper. Papers that are too soft act almost like a blotter, and seem to dull the colors and inhibit the flow of the paint. Thanks so much for your kind words- I deeply appreciate them.
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