MASTERCLASS
2 Trace the drawing
I traced the drawing by laying the tracing
paper over it and tracing the outlines with an
H-grade pencil. Once complete, I turned the
tracing paper over and re-drew the lines with
the white pencil. I prefer to be as accurate as
possible at this stage because traced lines
can become distorted and eventually lose
the gesture and flow from the original study.
5 Begin with gouache
The flowers had a lot of pinks within the
petals, with an underlying yellowish colour
glowing through. To achieve this, I mixed
Linden Green with Naples Yellow. This first
layer should be a creamy consistency with
just enough water to mix and move the paint.
It may be worth having a few spare pieces
of mountboard on which to practice your
works. Applying these first colours too thickly
will result in a dense and solid finish that will
cause problems when more layers are added.
3 Make a transfer
I turned over the tracing paper, placed it on
the mountboard and lightly taped it in place.
I drew back over the lines with an HB pencil,
aiming to transfer the white pencil to the
mountboard. Once this is done, I always keep
the original drawing close to hand, as the
white traced outline can lose clarity and will
need refining during painting stages.4 Add an acrylic base
To apply an acrylic undercoat, I only work with
small amounts of paint applied directly to the
flowers. I alternated between petals – this is
a personal choice because I find it easy to
work this way. If I were to block in every petal
and detail with white acrylic, it becomes
harder to see the line drawing and distinguish
between the different areas.6 Layer the gouache
I simultaneously layered
gouache on the previously
painted acrylic areas and
repeated step four by applying
acrylic base coats to the
unpainted petals and sepals.
I used a mix of Linden Green
and Naples Yellow, adding a
touch of Permanent White for
lighter colours or a touch of Gold
Ochre for mid-range colours to
help differentiate between the
petal and sepal edges.
At this stage, it isn’t wise to
attempt the complex modified
petal centres. While detail can
be exciting and engrossing,
initial colour, shape and form
must be developed first.Top tip
Avoid a watery
application of
gouache at this stage
as it will slide around
on the acrylic