Photo © Dorey
"Poppy Portrait" by Dorey. 7.5x6" (18.5x15 cm). Acrylic on Watercolor Paper.
From the Artist: This is my first project submission. I have just taken up painting and am really enjoying the challenges of your monthly projects.
Poppies were blooming all around our neighborhood when I painted this. They are most amazing, bold and showy but delicate at the same time. I was trying to show the vibrancy of the poppy in the bright sunshine before the heat caused it to start to fade. The actual photo doesn't really do justice to the colors.
From the Painting Guide: I think your painting conveys the intensity of color in a fresh poppy flower, with a sense of the papery, delicate nature of the petals as well as the effect sunlight has on the colors (bleaching out some, shining through petals). Watercolor is a great medium for a poppy portrait, and I love the way you've used wet-on-wet effects for the colors in the petals; it's got a great looseness and painterly feel that to me captures the essence of a poppy flower.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: This is very much a matter of personal preference, but I don't like the way some of the petals are kissing the left-hand and bottom edges. I would crop the petals off more definitely, eliminating the sliver of green background at the top but keeping the two triangles of green below this as these are strong negative shapes. This may require a little artistic license, rather than sticking to "real life", but many a portrait artist does this if it enhances their subject.
Poppies were blooming all around our neighborhood when I painted this. They are most amazing, bold and showy but delicate at the same time. I was trying to show the vibrancy of the poppy in the bright sunshine before the heat caused it to start to fade. The actual photo doesn't really do justice to the colors.
From the Painting Guide: I think your painting conveys the intensity of color in a fresh poppy flower, with a sense of the papery, delicate nature of the petals as well as the effect sunlight has on the colors (bleaching out some, shining through petals). Watercolor is a great medium for a poppy portrait, and I love the way you've used wet-on-wet effects for the colors in the petals; it's got a great looseness and painterly feel that to me captures the essence of a poppy flower.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: This is very much a matter of personal preference, but I don't like the way some of the petals are kissing the left-hand and bottom edges. I would crop the petals off more definitely, eliminating the sliver of green background at the top but keeping the two triangles of green below this as these are strong negative shapes. This may require a little artistic license, rather than sticking to "real life", but many a portrait artist does this if it enhances their subject.