I’ve recently sketched a poppy flower over several days – starting with the closed bud that slowly unfolded to show the very thin and crinkly petals, then opened up to a full blooming poppy, which then fell apart pretty quickly and left only a seed pod.
It was a fascinating process to watch and to sketch. Each sketch only took a few minutes, and I was excited to return to the poppy and see how it had changed every few hours. The entire process tokk place over 4 days.
The only downside was the very allergenic green pollen the poppy released, so next time I’ll run this kind of experiment outside. ;-)
Have you ever sketched a flower over time? Or observed how it grows and changes? I found it really interesting how I can document the different stages of one small poppy flower, which is only a small part of the force of nature. It’s the same kind of awe that I always feel when I see the growing veggies and flowers in my garden each time I visit – they’re all coming from those incredibly small seeds. And of course it was fun to paint this simple, but beautiful flower: the intense red against the black center, and the muted greens of the bud, the glossy petals with subtle white highlights.
I recorded the sketching process for this poppy and it will be part of my upcoming class on sketching loose but precise florals – a continuation of my botanical sketching course. The class will look more closely at this sketching style that starts with a quick but detailed pencil sketch, and flowing expressive watercolor on top. For me this has been a great technique that centers on lively sketches that aren’t so overworked. I’m almost finished with editing – the class will come out in early August, so hopefully at the right time for sketching many more beautiful summer flowers.
Here’s a sneak preview of the painting process:
