this week i’m going back to my beloved subject : flowers ! But it’s still fall nonetheless and i’ve chosen Dahlias which bloom in fall !
This reference image was taken by me at the botanic garden in Stockholm. It was quite fascinating to see all the plants going slowly into winter and in the middle of that this patch of dahlias in full bloom. I love this flowers because they add lots of colors in a fall scene and they have beautiful and delicate associations of colors and gradients in their petals.
This subject allows me to go back to more delicate tones of pink and greens in comparison of my last painting with all the beautiful warm tones of fall. And i’m very pleased to paint loads of greenery again ! For this painting i wanted to limit my palette of colors to a triad so that i’ll gain more experience with mixing those colors together and especially with nickel azo yellow. But also because it’s easier to achieve a unity in color in a painting with less colors.
Painting dahlias in video
Supplies :
Brushes : Escoda Aquario nº18, Rosemary & Co serie 39 1/2″.
Paper : Canson Héritage hot pressed.
Colors : Ultramarine blue (Sennelier), Nickel azo yellow (Daniel Smith), Rose madder lake (Sennelier), Burnt sienna (Daniel Smith).
And here you have the finished painting (click to enlarge) :
