Crab apple series

Starting last picture again!

| Gaynor's Flora

Well. I guess that any artist feels in a quandary when they feel a picture isn’t going as well as they want it to. But, starting a botanical art picture again, and at that, one in coloured pencil, needs some determination.

After starting the most recent Crab apple picture, nothing seemed straight forward with it. Each leaf was an effort and heavy going and I felt that its expression of lightness was compromised. Each one seemed to take forever and didn’t seem quite right. After I took breaks, going back with fresh eyes helped, but I still had the overall feeling that it wasn’t the best picture I had done to date.

Unfortunately I am a perfectionist and if what I am doing isn’t the best I can do, I’m not happy!

Anyway, I made the decision to start it again. This time the leaves seem to be developing much better and I am happy with the result so far. I just have to make sure I don’t mess it up over the rest of the picture. I have a long way to go, so anything can happen.

By the way, I have decided to say which crab apple I am doing at the moment. It is Malus Evereste. A beautiful stripy little apple. Some of them have double ‘bums’ underneath!

I decided on this one a couple of years ago as someone brought some branches to one of my workshops. I ended up doing sketches from the ones left behind after the workshop. Since then I have also found a source for a tree to paint in the village. But, as with the other five pictures in the series, I can only include the information I have already received.

Attached is the part of the painting completed before I ditched it!

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Pictures for RHS 2014

| Gaynor's Flora

Since I last updated about the RHS prep, I have gone as far as I can on the picture I was painting at the time. I won’t be saying which species of Crab apple I am painting as hopefully I will awaken your interest enough to come to the exhibition next year.

The last picture I started was painted using sketches, photographs and detailed paintings I had done during the season. It depicted the apples and leaves fairly late in the season. Some of the leaves fairly past their best – but interesting.

I managed to do some fairly detailed sketches of the flowers last year, but need to wait until we are in the new season to dissect the flowers. Once that is done I will be able to put the picture together fully.

The new picture I have started is also based on sketches, paintings and photos taken previously. However, this one took three days to work out the design, fine tune and get transferred onto the paper to paint. So far I have struggled with a few leaves and a couple of apples, but I don’t feel it is going at all smoothly. Should I have started again?

It’s funny to think that I took three days to compose and put together the outline for a composition, but with my workshops, I have to encourage people to use at least 1/2 day to do the same!

Prep for RHS Botanical art exhibition 2014

| Gaynor's Flora

Following on from my last exhibit in 2010 with the RHS, I am working up to another exhibit. The question is, will I get the required number of pictures done in time and will I be offered a place in the London exhibition?

Last time I painted a series of Magnolia x soulangeana pictures in watercolour. This time I am painting a series of Crab apple pictures in coloured pencil. Each of them will be a different crab apple.

I have done a certain amount of preparatory work. I have sketches of each of the apples and during the short flowering time last year I did sketches of each of this chosen plants in flower. I had my work cut out doing the sketches in time.

So far during the winter I have decided roughly what needs to be included in each picture and have started a couple of the series using the sketches I already have of the apples. I intend to keep people up to date with what I am doing.

I foresee the first significant problem arriving in April during the short blossom time as I have decided to do detailed drawings from dissections of each of the plant. Flowering lasts about two weeks!

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Follow my blog to see how the process develops.