Next project - Poppy

I've already started work on the next watercolour project - working from one of the pictures of poppies Brendan took in Airfield last year.
I love the bright red of the petals, and the textured centre of the flower, with its dark purple core and the shiny green of the poppy head, which looks like a juicy apple.

This is a picture I've been thinking of for a long time, but that I've been afraid to tackle. It's so rich and bright, I wasn't sure if watercolours were the right tool for it. But, since reading the book by Shirley Trevena, "taking risks with watercolour", I feel there are so many options I had not considered before - watercolour doesn't have to be pale and soft! I'm going to try out a variety of techniques, and maybe different media before I actually get to try watercolour. But I feel that watercolour will work, maybe not on my first attempt, but I'm prepared to have a few goes at it.

The first step I've taken is to do a drawing of it, to figure out the darks and lights, and the proportions of the various elements