A painting of orchids. Step by step

A painting of orchids, step by step.

I have just completed a new painting of orchids.It is painted in acrylic paints on a wooden board support. It looks like a deep sided canvas, but is actually just wood. It was a nice surface to work on. 

Here is a small image of  the finished painting, followed by the stages I went through to create it. 

Firstly I painted my wooded board a deep pink. It had an old painting underneath, that I no longer wanted. I then did a rough outline of the orchids in white pastel.  You can still see a bit of the old painting, through this, but it won't matter!

Next I started to add a few basic colours. I have just used diluted acrylic paint. I wanted to separate the flowers from the background.

Following this I worked a bit more paint on to each flower. I wanted this to be about light and contrast as well as the flowers.

I then decided to change the background a bit, The light pink was put on to show the direction of the light coming in to the composition. However, I dont think this really worked, so it didn't last long!!   I continue to play around with the shades on each flower, and darken the stems and buds.

After this I really build up the contrast on both the background and the flowers. I try to put dark background against pale flowers and vice versa. I still wasn't too happy about the whole thing. In fact, I actually abandoned this for about 3 months before getting back to it. Sometimes that is the best thing to do with a painting, as you re approach it with fresh eyes and fresh ideas.

So after my break I came back and added blue to the background, I left enough of the previous background showing through to not lose all the light and shade though.  I use one of my favourite styles, which is a dotty pointillist style. I just love the way it breaks up the colours and adds such vibrancy to the paint surface.

I then work much more in to each individual flower.

This is the final painting. I have continued to develop each individual flower. I have exaggerated the contrast a bit more, and altered a few individual flower shapes. I have added more of the dotted surface on to the flowers as well as the background.

Paintings of orchids.

Here are two of my paintings of orchids. These have been done in my usual vibrant colourful style. The paintings are based on some photos I took last summer at a display in a garden I visited. I also now have a good collection of orchids in my conservatory. They are such amazing plants, that bloom for ages, but need very little attention or watering. I will be doing several more paintings based on these.

I have painted the pale pink orchid in a way that shows off the subtle changes of colour, and reflects the deeper pink background. The swirling pinks in the background also draws your eye around the painting. I have used chromacolour, which is a type of liquid acrylic.

My second orchid painting has been painted in a similar style. I have used a purple background as strong contrast to the soft yellow flowers.


Here are two close up sections so you can see the technique used. I have worked in small dabs of overlaid paint, to build up texture and detail.

Both designs have been made in to greetings cards. I sell a range of my floral cards at craft fairs and through florists, garden centres and shops. 

You can buy these cards, at a good discount,  in my Etsy shop by clicking here