Coming up daisies

Arrive for watercolour class to see this example propped up. 

Oh, yes, I remember this one from the last time.

First step: pencil in daisies.

Then “paint” the daisies with masking fluid.

After that it’s all go. 

Thoroughly wet the paper, then strokes of yellow and blue for the sky, strokes of green for the first batch of grass, add the out of focus foxglove. Sprinkle with salt.

This is what the instructor’s looked like after demonstration.

This is what mine looked like.

Then remove the masking fluid, paint the stems, the centre of the daisies and shade the petals.

Because we’re finished before the end of the class, the instructor asks us to all tape our paintings up together.

There are at least two versions I think are way better than mine. (Maybe four.)

I have a sneaking suspicion I might have done a better job on this the first time, years ago, but I no longer have that version for comparison, because I gave the original to Joe a couple of years ago after we’d been for a walk somewhere with a lot of daisies and foxgloves. Send him a copy of today’s effort and tell him I’ll have to check the original next time I’m over at his place.

He very obligingly takes a photo and sends it to me.

“Yes,” he says in accompanying message, “a similar but slightly different composition. The foxgloves in the new one are more dramatic, and the background less busy. Daisies equally sweet in both.”

Hmm. Think I managed to follow the brief better first time round. Not sure about anything else.