Exercise: Plants and flowers in coloured pencil

Before attempting the A2 drawing of flowers, I experimented with some detailed drawings of flowers with coloured pencils. 

Here, with this pink rose, I focussed on simplicity using dark shadow tones and light highlights. By placing the two next to each other (the dark red against white on the petals and dark green against yellow on the stem) it really worked well in creating depth, a dynamic look and simplicity. The red may have been a bit harsh, and perhaps a deep purple or pink would have been better. But overall I'm pleased with this.

Using different tones of pink to shade in between the dark red lines and white highlights worked well in creating the form of the flower, and adding depth in between the petals. The red is too harsh, but the overall colour of pink is still revealed. 

The stem used a lot of green blends and tones, which perhaps doesn't balance with the higher amount of highlights on the rose petals. So maybe if I had used more whites and light yellows/greens, the tonal structure would be balanced. 

Pink rose on cartridge paper, using coloured pencils

With this yellow flower, I decided to focus on techniques of the coloured pencils, such as the on/off pressure lines and fading to give white highlights. I think this worked really well, especially with the yellow as it isn't as bolder colour as other tones. Simple lines of orange added in really set it off, adding form and shadows. I kept the stem as just a simple black outline, which works well in drawing more attention to the flower and it's white highlights. 

Yellow flower on paper, using coloured pencils

For the final drawing, I decided to create a quicker, less detailed sketch, focussing on the dynamics of the colours and patterns. This created more expression in the drawing. 

I think the red against green worked really well, especially in emphasising the two and making them bolder. Being complementary colours, this made them really stand out from the detailed background of bricks.

I'm not overall very happy with this drawing. Because I didn't take my time on the detail, it really does look rushed, and I think this is emphasised with the medium of pencils and the shading of larger areas. I like the dynamics of colour and blending of colour on the flowers themselves, as they really stand out. The white flowers could have done with a bit more cream tones to give them their form. The stems also look quite scruffy and disconnected to the flowers. If I had taken more time on this and had given each individual stem in the foreground its form then it may have looked better. 

I think the best thing about this drawing is the use of colour. The black fire place encloses the dynamics of the reds and greens. The lighter tones of colour used on the bricks works well in bringing out the reds of the petals. And the blue-grey vase works well against the reds and greens, in not standing out too much, but being bold enough to balance. I'm not sure about the cream wall surrounding the fire place. It doesn't close off the picture as I would normally try to do, but at the same time it does keep you focussed on the flowers!