This became more of an impression of crocus rather than a detailed study. To tell the truth, I have never seen a crocus in my life! I can imagine the joy they bring, though, as they peek through the last of the winter’s snow. Hyacinths were the bulbs that bloomed in the snow in the midwest, soon followed by tulips and daffodils. I tried to work with negative space to define the flowers, as well as blur the background and put a bit more detail in the foreground – perspective in action on a conscious level!
This is the reverse side of the paper I used yesterday, St. Cuthbert’s Millford. This paper has a really nice tooth, not smooth or CP, and smoother than rough. It catches the brush bristles rather nicely. Colors are dreamy when blending together. It also lifts well – some color ran into another area and I was able to lift it out and recover to a degree from the mischief. I don’t know if Arches would handle it as well as this paper, but that is something I should check out.
In addition to no longer making masses of mud, I find I am actually remembering things – make long brush strokes, lay down large areas of light colors and leave the whites in the process; think about the direction of the light; a few rules about perspective.
Journey by Paper 