©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Seaside Dahlias. Watercolor, 7 x 8 inches.
Here is the final image of my work in progress painting. It was a challenge to paint, but a lot of fun and excellent practice in watercolor. The most challenging was not having a drawing to rely on and improvising as I went along. If I had done a detailed drawing first, I know that I would have made it much too detailed and labored, trying to paint all the veins in the leaves for instance. Next time I am going to make a basic contour drawing first, to work out the composition in advance, but I’m going to leave out all the details.
I called it Seaside Dahlias because the reference photo was from my Maine trip last summer. There is a lovely garden directly outside Barnacle Billy’s seafood restaurant where I took this photo. My husband was in a rush to get into the restaurant and order his steamers, and was trying to rush me along when I was snapping away. This was one of the last ones I took so I’m glad I persisted.
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