RBGE Botanical Illustration Certificate: Unit 6 Reflection

This portion of the class was about starting to plan our final botanical submissions of our cyclamens. I learned how to format a study page, colour match to live specimen, render 3D plants in paint and attempted my first painting of my cyclamen.

I finished the measured drawings, tonal studies and some initial colour matches of the cyclamen. However, by the time I began painting the buds both the flowers I drew out had passed away. I had to improvise and made colour swatches of the other buds on the plant to ensure I was painting the right colours. I gave it my best try to depict the buds and was initially happy with the results. I painted two flowers and used two different painting methods. 

On the upright flower, I layered bright colours on top of each other to try and get the colour saturation right like the video tutorial in the course. The second flower (with the beautiful curve inward) I painted in my normal method (light shadows for underwashes, wet on wet layers, then dry brushing details at the end). I’m happy I tried both ways even if one stayed within my comfort zone. 

The area I found the most difficult was keeping my highlights and shadows correct. My highlights always seem to just disappear! I’ve found this the most frustrating aspect of painting and I can tell sometimes my final pieces don’t have the same ‘pop off the page’ effect I would like to see. After painting, I also noticed my edges were a bit messy (especially the smaller, seedhead and bud). To paint these, I had to use a magnifying glass so I think it made my hand was a bit clumsy with the water and paint control. In future, I’ll keep working on these areas!