Mixed Autumn Flora, SBA Assignment 12

Tricyrtis ‘Purple Beauty’, Anemone ‘Autumn Splendor’, Chasmanthium latifolium ‘River Mist’, and Ceratostigma plumbaginoides

At the nursery I gathered several possible combinations of plants as I pulled my wagon down the isle. I wanted harmonious but not boring colors, and a variety of textures and blossom sizes.  I wanted to render my plants life-size so needed them to fit on an 11.75″ x 16.5″ (29.7cm x 42cm) piece of paper and still leave a  margin.  After picking up and putting back a fair number of plants, I came across a beautiful Toad Lily and fell in love.  Fortunately they had several specimens that were full of buds so I knew I would likely have blossoms to refer to over the long period it would take me to develop the drawings then start painting.

Next I came across a magenta/pink-colored anemone, which had a lot of buds as well.  The anemone blossoms were quite a bit bigger than the delicate toad lily blossoms, but were not too big to fit on the page, neither would they overwhelm the smaller flowers.  So far so good but what else to include? Ah, on another isle I noticed the River Mist Northern Sea Oats, which has a purple blush on the seeds and variegated leaves.  Perfect for adding interesting texture and for fill-in. I bought a couple of other plants as back-up in case I needed more to fill in here and there.  I was pleased with the magenta/purple color echo in all of the plants, and the orangy yellow on both the tricyrtis and anemone blossoms.  Orange is opposite on the color wheel to purple, so they visually intensify one another.  Later on I noticed that the Plumbago in my garden was still blooming and the leaves had taken on a magenta cast as they got their fall color so I picked some twigs to audition for the composition.  It was just what I needed to tuck into the lower corner to balance the color on the top.

As I have moved through the course, I become increasingly aware of the collaborative aspect of each painting or sketch I do.  It is a matter of finding the right plants at the right time, finding quality specimens, and having the needed materials to convey their beauty.  And without the beauty of nature, there would be nothing to paint.

Addendum: Tutor’s Comments & My Reflections:

It is sometimes hard to know when a painting is finished. Stop too soon, and the painting can lack punch, or go too far and colors become too heavy for a delicate flower or the composition becomes unbalanced.  As I worked on this assignment the clock was ticking towards the due date and I had to decide when to say “Done”.  Although the painting seemed balanced, I felt the colors weren’t quite deep enough.  I wasn’t sure if I had time to go over everything to deepen the colors and retain the balance so I decided to play it safe and send it in as is.

Fortunately, I got better marks for this assignment than the last two so that was a relief.  My tutor liked my choice of subject, the perspective on the leaves, except it was hard to read where the “subulate leaf of the Toad Lily placed behind the larger leaf on the left joins the stem”, but overall she thought it was a good 3D image.  She thought my tonal balance was good, but said the leaves would have looked even more realistic if they had a deeper tone.  She thought the top left Toad Lily leaf was about right.  She liked the symbiotic color relationship between the specimens, although the blue Plumbago flower on the lower left needed a counterbalance within the composition.   I remember searching for blue berries or blue anything that would fit in the composition to balance it but to no avail.  I should have included the reddish sepals of the Plumbago and left off the flower!    My tutors can always spot the areas where I struggled!

This was my last assignment before beginning work on my portfolio pieces.  Looking back, I am amazed at the detailed and insightful feedback my tutors gave me during the course.  While describing the kind of critique I got to friends and acquaintances who asked about it, some have commented that it seemed picky…but I couldn’t disagree more!  I learned from every comment I got and valued the honest critique during the course very much.  I also got a good amount of encouragement, which was highly appreciated and needed as well!