Painting a wish ( Dandelions)

Painting a wish ( Dandelions)

After listening to me moaning on for weeks about the constant rain, today , at last we have some beautiful sunshine, I have just had coffee with my dear friend

at a local garden centre and marvelled at the glorious Mid Devon view....

As I sat waiting , I looked around me, relaxed, happy and hopeful, well my coffee was on it's way. 

This is life , I thought, not striving to go to exotic places or waiting for the next big thing , life is in the here and now, and taking joy when it arrives. I can get anxious worrying about life, my kids, my health, the world, but actually life is a series of moments, and when a good one comes along , I need to wallow in it. Enjoy it for what it is, and not yearn anxiously for the next one, it will come along when it's ready, and perhaps when I least expect it 

 Some of you may be new to my blogs, and may be new to me. I am a watercolour painter and I live and work from my little cottage in rural Mid Devon.

I am very lucky to have a studio in my garden at the back of the house, it even has a wood burning stove for chillier days.

This is the view from the studio, our garden is certainly not manicured, but loose and full of wild corners.

 So there are plenty of dandelions

 

Dandelion clocks have always fascinated me, amazingly intricate seed heads, very beautiful, and yet hated by so many. Blowing them as youngsters to see what time it is. Now my husband is waging a long standing war with them in our lawn, trying to remove them before they set seed. We both know the dandelions will win, and why not, they provide food for the bees, and they are so pretty.

Anyway on to the painting , firstly I draw the dandelion clock.

Then I carefully paint in the detail of the seed head. I also paint the seeds, giving as much detail as I can , using yellow ochre and burnt umber.

I move around the dandelion.

Then the small leaves and the stem.

The contrast between lights and darks makes the painting 'pop' .

Now to get out the masking fluid and a paper clip. I use an un wound paperclip to apply very thin lines of masking fluid to represent the dandelion seeds.

Then let that dry

While it is drying I can paint some dandelion leaves.

And a couple of bees.

Now to go in with the indigo, be fast and loose and spontaneous, let the paint move around but get darkest around the white seeds, so that they stand out.

Then add some cling film or food wrap as I think it's called in the states. leave the whole thing to dry.

 

So when it is completely dry, overnight is best. Remove the cling film

 

Make sure everything is as you like, maybe touch up some areas if you like and then rub off the masking fluid 

 

And voila another dandelion clock to populate the lawn !

I do hope you are all doing ok, sending healing thoughts and lots of love to anyone who might need them today x

 

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6 comments

“I do hope you are all doing ok, sending healing thoughts and lots of love to anyone who might need them today x”
This is what I meant to send♥️🙏🏼

Lynda Cobbs

Thank you for your time in sharing. I could feel your genuine gentleness. This is stunning
“I’m having SO much pleasure trying to paint it! Thank you!!”
Received

Lynda Cobbs

Have been following along with your lovely work for several years. May I ask what brand of making fluid you use that will go on in those fine lines with paper clip? I cannot seem to get such nice light lines. But then, I live in Arizona, where it’s very dry, so the lack of humidity doesn’t help. Thank you for all that you share that is so inspiring!

Kate

This is stunning I’m having SO much pleasure trying to paint it! Thank you!!

Margaret Burns

That is beautiful. Back during the pandemic I discovered your Facebook page and your blogs and decided to have a go at painting to fill in the time. It became a proper hobby, and I eventually joined an evening class. Next weekend along with my classmates I will be taking part in an exhibition of our work for the first time. I’ve often followed your blogs for help with techniques and ideas, but I try hard not to just copy. I’m so grateful you take the time and generously share how you achieve the results you do. Thank you so much. Xx

Carole Jamieson

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