Poppies

Back to serious painting now that the summer is officially over. Somehow, I found it hard to complete a full painting during June, July and August, and as the good weather continued into September, I was starting to think I would never be able to paint again. But here we are, now, full of energy and new ideas. I decided to ease myself into the process. Yes, I still want to paint ambitious landscapes, seas and skies, and even roses, but poppies are so cheerful that I felt it was a good subject to start with!

I used a photo I took in Airfield in June as my starting point. I was inspired by a poppy painting by one of my favourite artists, Shari Blaukopf, so my watercolour is not very literal, but it's full of life and freshness. And that makes me happy!

Here is the sketch I did before touching my good paper! I liked the idea of the blue sky, but it sucked the air out of the painting, I thought, so I opted for a much lighter background.