Flower pieces


Acrylic paintings by Richard Bell

liliesWhen it comes to painting flowers I find the simpler the subject the more comfortable I am with it. Fussy vases are definitely out, and I prefer the blooms that are closer to their wild ancestors. I like the classic simplicity of the lilies and the cottage garden informality of the wallflowers.

My training in natural history illustration means that I can never entirely escape from a degree of botanical accuracy. One way to counter this, I find, is to limit my brushes to a few large and medium sizes. That way there isn't the temptation to paint in every stamen.

wallflowersI kept my palette very simple, as I normally do, all the colours were mixed from the three primaries, in this case cadmium yellow pale, ultramarine and crimson, with the addition of white. They were painted on hardboard cut to about A4 size, primed white.

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