in a yellow petticoat and a green gown.
~ Traditional nursery rhyme
I taught a lesson on painting yellow daffodils the other day for my April “Sketching at Summerhill” party, and one of my sweet friends who came to paint brought me a gorgeous bouquet of daffodils from her garden. But these weren’t the everyday kind of daffodils that I grow in my yard – hers were pink, white, yellow, orange and salmon-colored, many of them ruffled and curled like a frilly spring dress.
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| 8-1/2″ x 11″, ink & watercolor in a Stillman & Birn Beta series sketchbook |
We all oohed and aahed over them during the class, and several of my students did sketches of them. Then when everyone went home, I sat the pitcher of colorful blooms on my kitchen counter to enjoy for another day or two. But I kept thinking about how fleeting those blossoms were – they’d be wilting and shriveling up in such a short time.
So I did what any self-respecting artist would do – I sat down and began painting them!
What a great way to really savor nature’s fleeting beauty!
The time I spent drawing and painting those gorgeous flowers was time I wasn’t worrying or fretting or stressing over anything.
All I had to think about was how to mix that exact color of salmon-pink for the daffodil center, and whether to paint the shadows lavender, gold or green.
Such a simple thing – drawing a line, putting brush to paper, watching the color mingle and flow – but it changes me.
It calms my hyper, type-A personality and brings me peace. It’s a way to meditate on beauty and make it a part of me. And it just plain makes me happy!
whether or no the sun be shining outside.
~ A.A. Milne
7 Comments
What beautiful daffodils, I've never seen then in pink & salmon before, frilly ones yes.
I love the way you have chosen to set them out in your journal. It's a shame they don't last long once picked, But now you can open your journal and still see them. Good job you painted them straight away.
Love the beautiful paintings of the variously colored daffodils and the composition of your journal page. Thanks for sharing; looking forward to your San Clemente class.
Just beautiful!
Lovely to see that you are still pursuing your passion for art with your sketches. I love sunny daffodils too. Hope you are well.
Patricia
pve design
A delightful subject!
what pen are you using as an outline? These are beautiful! Somehow, with my first grand baby being born I missed out on daffodils! 🙂
I used a Platinum Carbon fountain pen with Platinum Carbon ink, available from Gouletpens.com. The Platinum Carbon pen can be ordered with an extra fine nib, which is what I have. It's the finest point I have on a fountain pen, and I love it for sketching.