Expressive Flower Painting

Simple Mixed Media Techniques for Bold Beautiful Blooms

Lynn Whipple

• Publisher: Quarry Books
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781631593048
• eBook ISBN: 9781631594076
• Topic: Kunst
• Subtopic: Kunst Allgemein

Get nose to bloom with one of the most beloved subjects of painters for generations of artists with Expressive Flower Painting and master pedals, stems, colors, and more.

It's almost always one of the first things someone tries to paint--center, petals, stem, voila! Expressive Flower Painting's exercises have a loose, free, contemporary style the likes of which you'd see in galleries, in shops, and even on clothing and home design goods. It's not intimidating, and yet the paintings are colorful, immediate, and joyful and speak to the artist's desire to play, be loose, and to create freely.

Lynn Whipple paints wildly and in small to large formats with a combination of acrylic paint, charcoal, and colorful soft pastel. Expressive Flower Painting presents a range of creative painting exercises that help readers develop vibrant nature paintings. This exciting book is an in-depth expansion of Lynn's class called Big Bold Bloom Wild Painting, with additional content.

Expressive Flower Painting covers mark making, layering techniques, how to do "spin drawings," color methods, painted backgrounds, working from life, and how to successfully combine a wide variety of media for the maximum effect.

1

permission to play

move your hands

“To draw, you must close your eyes and sing.” —Pablo Picasso

Does putting the first mark on a blank white canvas ever feel a little scary? You are not alone. We all come across a bit of resistance along the way. I want to offer you one fun idea that will click your creativity into gear. All you need to do is “move your hands.” That’s it—the key to everything! If you are not sure what to do or how to start, you will find that moving your hands is the answer and the cure. Grab a piece of paper, any writing tool, shut your eyes, and loosely run a line along the page. This childlike motion gets things moving. It is astounding, like priming the pump for your brain. It works. You don’t need anything in particular in mind as you scribble. Write your name, doodle, make scratchy marks, circles, or patterns, play with overlapping lines, be free, and let it spill out. Now open your eyes and surprise yourself!

When you begin moving your hands, new things will occur to you. Automatically fill in some of the shapes with color or begin to make patterns as your instincts take over. One of my favorite “move your hands” things to do when I arrive at the studio is to make a thank-you card for someone. When you begin your day in this thoughtful way, you quickly become happily engaged in the moment. There is always someone or something to appreciate, no matter how small. Your handmade note will send ripples of goodness out into the world.

Another approach is to create a very basic list. Write your list by hand, number it, and illustrate the items with sketches. I love to make each one of my numbers differently: One number is a roman numeral; the number 5 could be written out as the word five; maybe my three is drawn backward just for fun. Embellish your list by adding different colors, a title, and some flourishes.

One more favorite “move your hands” action is to write down your intention for the day. Set your creative course by choosing a few meaningful words. Select a premise or idea that you want to explore. A few examples might include a focus on composition or paying attention to value. Perhaps you use just one encouraging word, such as “PLAY.” Place your hand-drawn word or words on your worktable somewhere your eyes will fall upon them during the day. This is a love note to you, and the perfect way to ease into your creativity by moving your hands.

Once you are up and going, things will begin to flow. Before you know it you will be putting down the first layer of color on a giant canvas. You will find yourself sketching “seed drawings” from a fresh pot of blooms that is sitting on your table. Creative things are happening! Yahoo!

it’s only a layer

“And now go, and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make good art.” —Neil Gaiman

Working in layers is 100 percent forgiving, which encourages freedom. Knowing that it is “only a layer” allows you to draw and sling paint with wild abandon. Try anything. Express and explore. You are wide open and willing because you know that you can always cover it up. Why? It’s only a layer! Brilliant.

Every drop of energy that you pour onto your page or canvas is the perfect response. Each “in the moment” choice will lead to the next brush stroke and the next free-flowing line. Layers build organically, get partially covered up, and create interest, depth and mystery.

Working this way allows you to be fully alive in your painting process. You will find unexpected shapes and new colors. Delight in exciting, fresh combinations of line, shape, and mark. Discover new solutions, knowing that each layer will inform your next move. Move quickly, as curiosity pulls you forward. Add layers of expressive drawing for energy. Lay down lyrical lines that overlap the shapes below. Make marks and add more layers of paint. Play with drips, spatters, and scrapes. You will notice a sophisticated abstraction emerge in your paintings as you listen to loud music, dance, and sing. Layering lets you put your emphasis on freedom and artistic flow. Plus, it’s big fun!

how much fun can i have?

“I like nonsense; it wakes up the brain cells.” —Dr. Seuss

What if you constantly asked yourself this question: “How much fun can I have?” This is a powerful, joyful way to engage in your life and your art practice. Great satisfaction comes from finding fresh combinations and learning something new. Creating, at its best, is a beautiful game of play, discovery, and response. The very mark or brush stroke that you put down last will affect what you put down next, and since everything is “only a layer,” there are no worries. You stay in the moment and have fun in the process. YES!

Years ago, I wrote “how much fun can I have” on a piece of paper and taped it to my mirror. Every morning I would look at it and giggle. Soon I began to make my daily decisions with that question in mind. I took the same approach to my art studio and things became less serious and much more playful. Give it a try and see if you don’t feel extra vibrancy and energy. Soon you will find yourself happily making marks, creating color, drawing with both hands, and joyfully painting with abandon. Turn up the music and move your entire body. Celebrate color and design. Freely create forms and shapes. Make expressive chaos and then organize all of that delicious “juice” into something new, pleasing, and exciting. Why not?

How much fun could you have if you challenged yourself to use materials in a completely different way than they are intended? Perhaps you decide not to read the instructions? Heck, what if you did an entire painting with just your hands? What if you gathered your friends, family, and art supplies and everyone laughed and made things around a big table? How much fun would it be if you all created tiny, artful offerings and hid them in nature as a free gift to the world? Would it be fun to draw fifty individual flowers, cut them out, and offer them to a friend in a beautiful bouquet? Ask yourself “how much fun could I have if _____?” Fill in the blank—remember, anything goes!

expanding artistic flow

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” —Thomas Merton

To be lost in the artistic moment is a truly glorious experience, one of the great joys of life. Have you ever completely lost track of time and forgotten to eat? When you find yourself...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1 permission to play
• 2 warm-up and creativity exercises
• 3 layer by layer: a playful approach to painting bold blooms
• 4 building a style: expanding your process
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• About the Photographer
• Dedication
• Copyright