Sketchbook–Flowers of the Field

On my walks through the parched fields near my house, the bright flowers of chicory and red clover stand out as fresh as the summer sky. I wanted to capture those fresh colors in my sketchbook, particularly the cheerful green of the clover leaves. And I’ve always been fascinated by plantain flower heads, with those anthers orbiting the stalk like tiny planets. I did a pencil drawing of them once as a young woman when I lived in a densely urban area where little else grew and wanted to do them in pencil again.

Chicory (Cichorium intybus), English Plantain (Plantago lanceolata), and Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)

Pigments Used for Flowers and Leaves

The clover blossom color most closely matched a mixture of Winsor & Newton Permanent Rose and Quinacridone Violet. The petals were rose colored where the sun shone through but violet in shadow. As you know, I like to tie together my paintings by using the same pigments in different mixes to create all the colors of the painting if possible, so I had already decided I would use one of the blossom colors to ‘calm down’ my green mix.

Those of you who have tried mixing greens know how tricky it can be to get just the right shade. So with some trepidation, I mixed up Winsor & Newton Prussian Blue with W&N Transparent Yellow adding just a dab of Quinacridone Violet to make it more natural looking and viola–a fresh green just right for clover leaves! I simply added more violet for a deeper green for the shadows and more yellow for the new foliage. I am definitely going to keep this green mix in mind for future use.

The chicory blossom was painted with watery washes of W&N French Ultramarine and Quinacridone Magenta. For this flower, I didn’t mind using pigments not used elsewhere because I wanted the blossom to stand out in its unique freshness. I used Quin. Magenta for the highlights on the chicory buds and stem but otherwise used the same green mix as for the clover.

The Simple Pleasure of Sketching Ordinary Things

I think this was one of the most enjoyable sketchbook entries that I have done yet. I started with a loose sketch in pencil just to get the proportions right, then did all of the detail with watercolor. As I worked, I was amazed at the elegance of these simple weeds. I have always liked them but now I see them with new appreciation.  Do you see these plants where you live?  I suspect that they have spread around the world by now from their original home in Eurasia.  In a way, it’s nice to think of us all sharing something so lovely…

This is for the Oregon Botanical Artists sketchbook exchange, so now its time to pass the sketchbook on to someone else in the exchange.