Poppy Step by Step

Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting one of the coolest nurseries in Oregon - Dancing Oaks Nursery with my friend Laurie. This nursery was the plein air Vista and Vineyard site for this week. We wandered the grounds, admiring and photographing the lovely flowers, then I settled down in a comfortable spot to paint one of the poppies. Once again, I was captivated by the intense reds, and a whole new variety I hadn't yet explored with pastel. This photo below shows the my preliminary drawing in red pastel pencil on a 12x12" primed and watercolored canvas I prepared ahead of time.


This next photo shows the first layer of pastel just before I sprayed the canvas with diluted pva size which helps adhere the pastel to the canvas. Behind the painting you can see my poppy model. This bed of poppies was just humming with bees!


This last photo shows my painting about 95% finished. After studying it for a bit I'll correct a few minor issues that are bugging me. As much as I adore this red, I'm sure this won't be the last poppy I paint this year... especially if I can get back out there before they're through blooming!