HYDRANGEAS

Material Used:

• Colors: Lemon Yellow, Deep Yellow, Leaf Green, Sap Green, Prussian Blue, Sky Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Alizarim Crimson, Burnt Sienna, Sepia, Payne’s Grey.
• Brushes: 3 flat-ended brushes (½, ¾ e 1 inches), 2 round brushes (# 8 and # 12) and a # 2 "fillet" brush.
• Paper: Talens, 240 G/M², 50% cotton, 32X41 cm.

Painting time: 30 to 40 minutes.

Procedure:

As the paper does not have a heavy weight, it is convenient to start the work moistening it moderately, using for this a flat ended brush associated to fast working.

After this step, I start the composition’s background, adding a little of Deep Yellow, and right after shades of Prussian Blue and Burnt Sienna (1).

Next, I add shades of Ultramarine Blue in the central hydrangea, maintaining the luminosity of the upper part of the flower (1).

I continue with the first strokes on the hydrangeas, now mixing Alizarim Crimson, Sky Blue and Ultramarine blue on the right side bottom corner hydrangea, and a dab of Alizarim Crimson on the upper right corner hydrangea (2).

I also add some strokes of Leaf Green and Sap Green, to establish the greenery background (2).

It is important to give some balance on the color of the three main flowers, i.e., one will tend more to blue (but with shadows of violet), the other to violet/rose (but with shadows of blue) and another to violet.

It is this type of harmony that I always try to show in my work.

I emphasize the contrasts, outline some leaves (3) and start to use a dab of Sepia with Ultramarine blue to enhance some details of the background (4), putting the pigment in an intense way.

The Prussian blue in contrast to some yellow shades of the background gives liveliness to the composition.

I start to add the branches (5) using Burnt Sienna, Prussian blue and Sepia, trying to reach a diagonal sense in the composition.

I emphasize the blue of the background (6) mainly to make the upper right corner hydrangea more defined in relation to the rest of the composition.

I then go back to the branches (7 and 8), using the "fillet" brush to show more lightness in the painting. The "blank" branches are a result of taking out the background paint with the flat end brush.

I remove the paint and clean the brush with a soft cloth. I repeat this process until the taking out of the paint is quite evident.

I work a little more on the flowers, emphasizing the light, i.e., placing contrast in the hydrangea’s format. Please note the result (9).