Daffy Down Dillies for Self Care

This time of year, you find potted flowering bulbs like daffodils and tulips in the stores, offering a taste of spring at the end of winter.

I use these flowers in my artistic self-care routine by sketching and painting them.  When I draw or paint something, I connect with it deeply, and connecting with the vitality of fragrant daffodils lifts my spirits.

I started this painting by mixing the colors I saw in the blooms, and choosing a composition.  I sketched with my watercolors rather than using a pencil.

After letting the first washes dry, I added shadows in the yellow blooms by mixing Permanent Blue Violet with Cadmium Yellow Hue.  I used Permanent Rose mixed with Viridian Hue to make leaf shadows.

Orange yellow and blue violet are opposite each other on the color wheel, and so are rose and green.  

Whenever you mix a color with its opposite, you create neutral browns & grays.  

When you place two color opposites next to each other, they create bold contrasts that catch the eye.

At this stage, I thought about leaving the negative space around the flowers white, but I decided to add a bit of drama to the scene using color opposites.

I painted the area around the flowers with clear water, then touched in a brush rich with color, working quickly and using Permanent Blue Violet, Permanent Rose and French Ultramarine Blue allowing the colors to blend on the page. 

Before the washes had dried, I sprinkled in table salt to add a feathery texture.

After the painting had completely dried, I brushed off the table salt.

Playing with color opposites is a great way to liven up your artworks. 

Why not play with paints, markers, colored pencils or whatever you have on hand for creative self care?

You're worth it!