A Few Tips for Painting Poppies

'Taos Poppies'           6x6         pastel        ©Karen Margulis
available $95

I love to paint poppies and have discovered some tips to achieve a more painterly flower. I have blogged about painting poppies before but I thought you might enjoy these tips!

• I don't draw the flower first. I simply draw a circle shape where I want the flower to go. Then I use the SIDE of my pastel to paint large shapes that make up the petals. If I draw my flowers I tend to want to color them in and they look stiff.

• I use three or four values of the poppy color to develop the flower. Even if I don't see it in the photo I like to begin with a dark, brick red shape (for red poppies). I add middle values to create the form.

• I avoid using a pale or very light value red to paint the highlights. I find light pastels with too much white in their makeup lead to washed out flowers rather than vibrant flowers.

• If I want my poppies to appear sunlit I will use a warm color such as red-orange for the light areas.
• I consider the background as I develop the painting.I don't wait until the end and throw in a background. I often use a color found in the poppy OR in the case in this painting I added a pop of turquoise in the flower after I put in the background.