Artists & Illustrators — June 2017

COMPOSITION

Composition is important to convey the structure and qualities of a plant, so try to make it unusual. For example, I painted roses recently

and it became evident that the space I left was as important as the plant in conveying their glorious rambling arcs. Be brave by making

your fl owers touch the edge of the paper and give them room to breath or crop them down drastically if you only like a certain section.

Nel Whatmore teaches at the New Pastel School. http://www.thenewpastelschool.co.uk; http://www.nelwhatmore.com

TONE

To make fl oral paintings look alive, ensure you have a

good tonal range. If you are not sure you do, take a

picture and desaturate it using a fi lter option (so you

end up with a black-and-white version). A wide tonal

range, for example, a very white white and a very

dark dark, makes for more drama. A smaller or

narrower tonal range, say from a light grey to a dark

grey, makes for less drama. Rococo Petite (above) is

a good example of there being a wide tonal range,

which adds a striking quality to the picture.

ARRANGEMENT

Painting complicated fl owers is not so much about

capturing every petal, but rather looking at the tonal

variation and where light and dark is coming from.

If you can grasp the general structure of a fl ower

• for example, is it round or elongated? – and see
  basic shapes and colour, things will evolve naturally.
  No one is going to count the number of petals. I
  usually create a petal by looking at the colour and
  shape of the shadow underneath, and how that
  forms the line of the one above.

CLOCKWISE FROM

BOTTOM LEFT Reach

for the Sky, pastel

on sandpaper,

100x110cm; Tender

is the Light, pastel

on sandpaper,

100x120cm; Fun,

Fun, Fun, pastel

on hardboard,

90x90cm; Rococo

Petite, pastel on

sandcard, 40x40cm

COLOUR

If you struggle with colour, introduce it slowly. For

example, try a still life with fl owers using only one

colour of fl ower or a single fl ower. You are then forced

to study each fl ower and the subtle differences in

colours. Look at how warmer reds with an orange

bias are in the centre of the fl ower in Fun, Fun, Fun

(above) where I wanted the focus, and the cooler

more purple reds in the shade around the outer

petals, and in the shade.

Artists & Illustrators 85

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