Posted on by MarionBE

Project Photo Gallery: Bluebells

Here are paintings inspired by June’s project, in an array of styles all the way from botanical to abstract. Enjoy!

By Bee: “My attempt at bluebell woods in acrylic, using leaf prints. I was worried I had gone a bit dark and got a bit too enthusiastic with the leaf prints.”
From Marion: Really like this! The sense of cool shade, how it leads the eye up to the bluebells and sunlight.
By Bayberry: I gave this one a shot but it is more about birches than bluebells! From Marion: For me it’s got a real sense of walking in the cool shade of Uig woodland, seeing the sunny field of buttercups through the trees.
By Eddie: Having done a couple of small studies I decided to go large. I found it difficult to know how big to do the flowers and started off far too small since I wanted them to be front and centre. I have used watercolour, gouache, inktense, acrylic and soft pastels. From Marion: Your bluebells are definitely front and centre, immediately dominating the composition and demanding we look at them. That they decrease in size as they go into the background adds a sense of depth and location. The layers on the bluebells give them form, colour, and visual intrigue. They feel as if I could touch them with my finger and they’re dance about.
By Katherine: But by following the links on the Higham newsletter I’ve found your monthly projects, and this is my first effort. I’ve combined it with a challenge that my local art teacher to produce something using 3 ‘wet’ colours and 3 ‘dry’ colours so this has been created using 3 loosely applied watercolours and 3 chalk pastel colours. It also had to be done within 30 minutes (not including drying time).
From Marion: Delighted you found the project, and hope you’ll be joining in more.
By Helen R: My go at a bluebell wood.
From Marion: It reminds me of the bluebells growing in the grounds at Armadale Castle on the south of Skye, where they outgrow the other greenery.
By Sarah: . I started with Ink, then I went back to practice more in watercolours. I thoroughly enjoyed this.
From Marion: I’ve enjoyed watching your progress on Facebook with your botanical art studies, and it’s a special thrill that this month’s project prompted you to do a bluebells. A beautiful painting of a deliate flower, and a reminder to me of how it’s time well spent to slow down and look closely.
By Cathi: ” After much doodling and playing around I came up with two totally different pics. Watercolour and ink.”
From Marion: I love the freedom in this, the loose expression of the colour constrained with just a touch of line. So deceptively simple!
By Cathi: “After much doodling and playing around I came up with two totally different pics. This, the second, at last, is going away from the “must look like what it is”! Watercolour and ink.”
From Marion: If it weren’t for the theme “bluebells” I wouldn’t be making the connection, so in your aim to get away from it “looking real”, you’d certainly succeeded. Conversely, having “bluebells” in mind gives me a path into the painting, a way to interpret and make it intriguing rather than merely mysterious. I find myself wondering what a version with curved cut lines rather than straight would feel like, vs the strong straight lines.
By Marion. Mixed media. (See this blog post)

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