paint a daffodil

This article first appeared in the Artists and Illustrators magazine, May 2018, issue 390

by Siân Dudley

Daffodils are a delight when they appear in spring, but present a problem when it comes to painting them. Being yellow, and very bright, it is difficult to achieve the darks tones necessary to describe the trumpet shape and crinkly edges without losing their freshness.
In this demonstration I have adapted the grisaille method, using it with yellow glazes to build the shape of the flowers without muddying the colour.

The mix I use for the glaucous blue-greens of the stems includes purple, the complimentary of yellow. By judiciously placing these colours within the image I have increased the liveliness of the painting, capturing the characteristic vibrancy of the daffodils.

Materials

Step 1

Having drawn up the design, wet the paper from top left towards the daffodils, being careful to leave the flowers and leaves dry. Loosely drop in cobalt blue and water to create a background inspired by the sky on a breezy spring day. When completely dry use the same brush technique to add lemon yellow across the leaves.

Step 2

Using lemon yellow and the size 4 brush lay down the first wash on the daffodils. Take care to leave vary the tones to begin to build up shape, leaving the highlights very pale and applying paint more thickly to the darker areas.

Step 3

Using Leaf Mix 1 mix a range of greys, biased towards the green end of the mix. Continue to build up the shape of the flowers using this mix in varying tones. Be courageous; do not underestimate the depth of tone needed in the dark areas. This can look scary, but is necessary to develop the shape of the flowers.

Step 4

Selecting different hues from Leaf Mix 2 paint in some of the leaves, balancing the colours across the design. Remember to vary the tones too to create interest. When these are dry, repeat using Leaf Mix 2, mixing the glaucous greens of the daffodil leaves and extending the colours towards the purple end of the range.

Step 5

Using Leaf Mix 2 add some really punchy darks to the gaps between the leaves and stems. Using the colours from the rich purples in this mix will take advantage of the complementary yellow- purple pairing, giving the image more vibrancy.

Step 6

Using the Bract Mix paint in the papery brown bract as a pale varigated wash; when dry, add the crinkly details.

Using both yellows, ‘neat’ and in a mix where appropriate, use directional marks to describe details of the shapes in the flower heads. If necessary increase the colour with thin washes of lemon yellow, taking care not to overpaint the highlights. Increase the dark tones where necessary by using thicker paint. Finally add the green markings using sap green.

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