A painting of Canna lilies.

My latest painting of Canna lilies. This was based on some photographs I took of canna lilies in a park in Seville in Spain, recently. They were lovely big flowers, slightly back lit with the bright sunshine there.

The finished painting 

I started by sketching the outline of the canna lilies and then blocking in the background with green paint.  I knew the background colour would change though!

Next I blocked in the main colours. I started with the darkest and lightest tones, then worked in a range of mid tones. It looks ok from a distance, but up close is still a bit messy at this stage! I also added some yellow and bright green swirls to the background.

My final painting has a dotty background which still has glimpses of the bright yellow/green through it. I have added a lot of surface detail to the flowers.

This shows the painting with a white mount. I have since framed it, and it will be on sale later in the year.

A painting of 3 Canna lilies, step by step

I have just completed another painting of Canna lilies.

 I find these very interesting to paint due to their varied shapes. These were painted from photos I took late in the season. The Canna's were just starting to go over. This introduced some interesting brown faded petals, as well as the usual vibrant orange ones. I have kept these in the painting for contrast. I have not tried to pretty them up...I prefer flowers to be natural.

So here is how I did this painting, step by step.

Firstly I drew some  basic outlines. This is on canvas.

I then isolated the flowers by painting in a turquoise background. I am using acrylic paint.

Next I start to put some basic background colours in for the actual flowers. These are unmixed paints, just red, yellow and orange. At this stage I have not even thought about the leaves.

 After this I paint in the stems, and a selection of leaves. Cannas have very large leaves, that look amazing when back lit, showing a range of colours.

I then  decide to reduce the amount of leaves, as it looks crowded and distracts from the flowers.  I have darkened the top of the blue background. I have also worked in to the flowers with some additional tones,

My next stage is to  break up the background with some swirls of different blues.  I also keep working in to the flowers with smaller detail.

My finished painting.  I have worked a bit more in to the leaves, the background, and put some subtle texture and shading on the flowers.

Like most of my paintings, this is a stylized version of the plants. I do not aim to be totally botanically accurate....although I do aim to be fairly close. I just play with a few elements to make the painting more visually interesting. 

This will be for sale later in the year. I will update this post with details.

Painting Canna Lilies. Step by Step

I have painted some wonderful Canna lilies that I photographed a couple of months ago. They were coming to the end of their flowering season, so some of the petals were starting to fade. This actually made them more interesting to paint due to the greater range of colours displayed.

Here are the final paintings, followed by a step by step showing how I painted them. 

I decided to paint a pair of paintings, as I had some lovely long thin canvases, which seemed an interesting shape to paint on! 

I painted the canvases all over with Paynes Grey. I used System 3 paint for this bit. I wanted a dramatic contrasting colour scheme right from the start.

I drew the outlines with pencil and then went over it with white paint. At this stage I am only thinking about the flowers, not the leaves.

I next start working in some of the shades of yellow, orange and red that make up the petals.

Following this I continue to add detail by building up the layers of paint. I am using an acrylic gouache, so it dries quickly enabling me to build on my work without having to wait for much drying time.  The paint I am using is by AV Vallejo, and there is a link to where you can buy it on the side bar of this page.
Here I am just showing a close up of the top of the painting. I haven't really thought about the leaves at this stage!

Next I put in some leaf outlines. Canna lilies have lovely striped leaves, that are as interesting as the flowers.

I then add some green paint to the leaves. Its fairly basic at this stage, just to define the shapes.

After this I start to play about with the leaf colour. I add some crimson and purple shades.

I then start to think about lighting. I want to give the impression that these are backlit. I start increasing the contrast of colours and shading on the leaves. I deepen areas where stems and leaves overlap.  I have also added more detail and contrast to the flowers.

My next stage is to neaten up the stripes on the leaves. This takes quite a while to do. I am using a size 1 and 0 brush for some of the smaller detail.

My painting is now finished !  I have  reduced the size of a couple of leaves, where they overcrowded the flowers. I have used a very dark purple and blue to add textured dots over the background. This enhances the negative shapes, and draws your eye around the work. I am a great believer it not having a plain background, when it can become a more integral part of the work.

 I have added loads of small detail all over, emphasizing veins and colours on the flower petals, and stripes on the leaves. The colours are a lot more vivid.

Here are a few close ups so you can see the techniques used.

As you can see I have used a wide range of colours in these paintings. You see more every time you look at it.  It has been an enjoyable experience painting these, and I have already started a new painting of three Canna lilies, on just one canvas this time!  I shall aim to get a very different finished result this time. I will put the results on this blog when completed.

Comments always appreciated.