«Bouquet of Violets»
with Elena Vavilina

BIG - is a format with long-duration and detailed paintings

Material: watercolor

Number of paintings:
1

Duration: 6 hours

Access: lifetime

What will you paint at the marathon?

Painting «Bouquet of Violets»

At the marathon we will:

study the structure of the violet flower, sketch a bouquet and an elegant cup-shaped vase in pencil;
learn to combine yellow and violet shades to avoid muddy colors;
see flowers in the background as blobs, without going into details, painting them softly and abstractly;
depict the cup, trying to convey the feeling of white porcelain.

Day 1

Pencil Work and First Washes

In the lesson we will:

discuss how to make a bouquet interesting and expressive, and what to pay attention to when sketching in pencil;
examine how to easily draw violet flowers and arrange them on the sheet;
select shades of lilac and yellow;
and learn to blend them smoothly to avoid muddy colors.

Day 2

Main Washes and Details

In the lesson we will:

refine soft transitions of lilac shades from light to dark, from pale yellow to violet when painting violet petals;
pick green colors for painting leaves, making them diverse in tone and color;
learn to convey depth within the bouquet.

Day 3

Detailing

In the lesson we will:

learn to draw the background of our bouquet;
highlight our "main characters" - the pansies (violets) against the backdrop of leaves and other small flowers;
select shades of lilac and yellow and learn to blend them smoothly to avoid muddy colors.

In the lesson we will:

learn to sketch bunnies in pencil, considering their characteristic features;
learn to work on a wet paper surface (moistened on both sides);
create a light background and convey depth within the bouquet and airiness around the edges;
depict the texture of the rabbits' fur;
learn to draw roses and lavender softly and airily in the background.

Sheet size slightly larger than A4 (for example, 25×30 cm or 30×35 cm), cotton paper 300 gsm (I use Baohong, cold press);
Watercolor paints (I used “Nevskaya Palitra”, but other brands are also suitable);
Round synthetic brush with a fine tip, medium size (you can also use kolinsky or squirrel);
Thin synthetic brush with a fine tip (for detailing);
Flat wash brush for wetting the paper (or another large soft brush);
Titanium white;
Masking fluid (for some works);
Paper or cloth towel;
Water container;
Pencil;
Eraser.