Creating Radiant Flowers in Colored Pencil 64 step-by-step demos, 54 kinds of flowers

209 Pages·2012·6.784 MB·English

by  Gary Greene

creating radiant
flowers
in colored pencil
GARY GREENE
DEDICATION
To my son, Gregg, a constant source of pride and joy
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to my wife, Patti, who spent many hours alone by the television and who took
on additional responsibilities while I wrote this book. Special thanks to the six
contributing artists, Susan Brooks, Edna Henry, Kristy Kutch, Sherry Loomis, Judy
McDonald and Terry Sciko, who contributed their time and considerable talent to this
project. Thanks again to Rachel Wolf, Pam Seyring, Joyce Dolan, Amy Jeynes, Angela
Wilcox, Pam Koenig and everyone at North Light Books, who are (cid:633)rst-rate people to
work with.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
We’ve all gone shopping for shoes and, after trying on a number of pairs, suddenly
know when we have found the right pair. The (cid:633)t, the look, the statement they make
about us—they all come together. In a similar way, this is how colored pencil became
my medium of choice as well as the crux of my artistic expression—a melding of
personality and purpose.
While receiving my (cid:633)ne art education in mainstream mediums, I endured instructors’
relentless admonishments to “work loose,” something I was incapable of doing. Fifteen
years into my parallel careers of technical illustration, graphics and photography, I was
still searching for a medium that (cid:633)t my (cid:633)ne art aspirations. Then I found myself in an
art store where I innocuously picked up a book, The Colored Pencil by Bet Borgeson. It
was an epiphany.
Colored pencil was love at (cid:633)rst stroke! At last I had found a medium that satis(cid:633)ed my
obsessions to create paintings with a photographic look. Twenty-eight years ago,
creating serious art in colored pencil was indeed di(cid:643)erent. Most people thought it was
something children used to scribble in coloring books, not a fine art medium.
Because colored pencil paintings require a great deal of time to produce (I may spend
over 500 hours on a single painting), working from live subjects or en plein air is
impractical, if not impossible, so I work exclusively from photographs that I compose
specifically for art subjects.
If the subjects I paint are man-made, I employ my tools of the trade from my days as
a technical illustrator (great fodder for art snobs)—straightedges, templates and curves
—to create precise shapes and sharp edges.
After convincing people that my paintings are, indeed, executed entirely with colored
pencil, I frequently hear the comment, “Gee, you must have a lot of patience!” to which
I facetiously reply, “If you’re in front of me in the left lane on the freeway and going
the speed limit, you’ll soon (cid:633)nd out how much patience I have.” If my artwork required
patience, I could not possibly have done it on an almost daily basis for twenty-eight
years and still have retained my amaranthine interest.
Gary Greene
contents
Foreward
Introduction
CHAPTER 1
Getting Started
Colored Pencils
Surfaces
Tools
Master Color List
CHAPTER 2
Techniques & References
Layering
Burnishing
Underpainting
Reference Material
CHAPTER 3
A Plethora of Flora
— A —
Azalea
Anthurium
Amaryllis
Aster by Terry Sciko
— B —
Begonia
Bird of Paradise
— C —
Cactus Flower
California Poppy
Calla Lily by Susan L. Brooks
Camellia by Edna Henry
Carnation by Terry Sciko
Chrysanthemum
Another Chrysanthemum
One More Chrysanthemum
Cineraria
Crocus
Columbine
— D —
Daffodil by Kristy Kutch
Dahlia
Another Dahlia
— E —
Easter Cactus
— F —
Foxglove
Another Foxglove by Judy McDonald
Fuchsia
— G —
Geranium by Edna Henry
Gerbera Daisy
Gladiolus
— H —
Hibiscus
Hollyhock
Hydrangea
Hyacinth by Susan L. Brooks
— I —
Iris
— L —
Lily by Kristy Kutch
Lupine by Judy McDonald
— M —
Magnolia
Marigold
Morning Glory
— N —
Nasturtium
— O —
Orchid: Lady’s Slipper
Orchid: Hybrid 1
Orchid: Hybrid 2
Orchid: Cymbidium
— P —
Pansy
Passion Flower
Peony by Terry Sciko
Petunia With Dusty Miller
Petunia by Edna Henry
Poinsettia by Sherry Loomis
Poppy
Primrose by Sherry Loomis
— R —
Rhododendron
Rose
Another Rose by Sherry Loomis
— S —
Slipperwort (Calceolaria)
Salpiglossis (Painted Tongue)
Shasta Daisy
Snapdragon
Sunflower by Judy McDonald
— T —
Trillium
Tulip
Another Tulip by Kristy Kutch
— W —
Water Lily
Another Water Lily by Susan L. Brooks
— Z —
Zinnia
Contributing Artists’ Biographies