From the Archives: Painting Daisies! Wildflower demo

'Daisies Make me Smile'             9x12              pastel            ©Karen Margulis
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Daisies make me smile!  I love to paint them but I wasn't always successful. In fact anytime I tried to add wildflowers to a painting they would look childish. I didn't want that! I wanted my wildflowers to look authentic ...to look like they belonged in the landscape and not just an afterthought. I wanted them to look as wild and free as I saw them.  But they always looked stiff and boring and a bit like a 5 year old painted them.

I didn't give up.  I just practiced and observed and tried different techniques.  I am still learning but at least now my daisies don't look like they were painted by a preschool child!  I have discovered ways to help me paint them better.  Last year I put together a step by step demo on how I paint daisies using a watercolor underpainting.

The demo is available as a pdf booklet in my Esty shop for $6. Click here for details 

The cover of the pdf booklet

I am sharing the demo again in anticipation of my upcoming Wildflower Demo at the IAPS convention next June. I am gathering reference images so you could say I have wildflowers on my mind!  This demo is 30 pages filled with 60 color photos. I have documented each step of the painting from the watercolor underpainting all the way through the layering of the pastels.  I extensively cover the watercolor underpainting stage....something I didn't always have great success with!  Through the many photos and my description you will be able to see how I work through the addition of pastel while preserving the underpainting. Here are a few sample photos:

close up photo of watercolor underpainting

sample from the pdf demo

This demo is a PDF file so you can either print it out and staple the pages into a booklet or just save it and follow on your computer or tablet. I know several artist who like to follow and paint along on their iPads.
I would love for you to take a closer look and consider giving this demo a try. I have 11 other demos available as well. They can be found in my Etsy shop.
Here is a link to the demos.