Blue Gentian: the Finished Painting

Blue Gentian (Gentiana scabra) watercolor, 13.5" x 14.5"

Here at last is the finished painting of the Blue Gentian. This is my entry for Brookside Garden's Botanica 2014 exhibition, which will be on view from June 28-Aug. 8, 2014.

Blue Gentian: from Sketch to Painting

Blue Gentian - pencil sketch.

In the last couple of weeks I've been working on turning my completed sketch of the Blue Gentian (Gentiana scabra) into a full-color watercolor painting. The first part of the process was to trace the outlines of the pencil sketch with ink onto tracing paper, then transfer the line work onto watercolor paper. This is usually done on a light table, but since I don't have one, putting my paper against the window of my studio allows me to get the same effect. I learned this nifty trick from one of my teachers at Brookside Gardens' School of Botanical Art and Illustration.

Tracing the drawing on to the paper.

When I'm doing the tracing, I don't actually tape the paper to the window. The tracing is taped to the back of the paper and I move the paper all around to get the best angle for drawing the lines. And, if you look at the watermark, my Fabriano paper here is reversed (I set up the photo for demo purposes only). In practice, I am careful about which side of the paper I'm going to paint on--the reverse side is usually a bit rougher and won't take the water and pigment as well as the surface that is intended for painting.

In the Process.

This is my painting in progress. Because I had worked out the lights and shadows in my study and have a pretty good idea of what I plan to do, I've been working on small portions of the painting at a time, while the area is still damp. Generally, one is better advised to lay washes on the painting throughout before going on to the details, but in this type of  really precise botanical painting, I am experimenting with working in tightly controlled areas. Eventually I may find one method is more useful than the other, who knows?