Botanical Art Workshop: Irises

I have had a brilliant weekend.  It started on Friday so really its been a brilliant long weekend.  I went along to a botanical art workshop where we would be learning how to draw or paint irises.  When I arrived most people were already there; I knew quite a number of them from other workshops and it was lovely to see them again.  After getting teas and coffees we all sat down for a lesson on the botany of the iris.  This involved pulling an iris apart to see how it goes together which helps when you are drawing them.  It was fascinating and some of us even looked at the petals under microscopes.   By this time it was time for lunch, which was wonderful; a lovely salad and a very nice quiche. 
There was a slight hiccup after lunch as the irises we were to be drawing from had been kept outside so that they wouldn't open too early but they hadn't opened at all!  The chef who had provided such a nice lunch was dispatched to buy some more flowers.

Firmly shut

On his return, I chose my iris and positioned it before taking a photograph for future reference only.  All drawing is done from the actual specimen, not photographs.

Black background makes it easier to see detail

Then came the initial sketches; this was quite difficult as irises are complicated flowers.  But due to the earlier pulling apart I knew how many of everything there should be and how it all fitted together.
The sketches took a long time to get right but its very important to get this bit right as, if the initial sketch is correct everything else sits properly.  I then chose my colours; you look at this type of iris and think purple and yellow.  But when you start to look properly there are all sorts of colours on the flower from cream to greens and dark indigos to reds. 

I completed the sketch and then did a tracing from it and transferred it to hot press paper.  Then I began using my coloured pencils.
All this sounds like we were working non stop, well we working quite hard and you have to really concentrate to get this kind of thing right.  Three of the ladies present hadn't used colour pencils before so it was a different kind of concentration for them; the work was interspersed with tea, coffee, chocolate brownies and fruit cake.  Its important to step away from your work, to walk around to stop you stiffening up and to keep hydrated, at least that's our excuse.  We also talked and laughed a lot.

Day two was beautiful and sunny and we could really appreciate the garden which was full of flowers including irises.  Lunch was a wonderful chunk of salmon in a sticky sweet sauce, gosh the food was good!
We all kept plugging away at our work, some doing colour pencil and others water-colour.  With so many different styles, we learnt a lot from each other.

On the last day we carried on - I know this might sound boring to some, but it was my idea of heaven.  To be able to sit and draw uninterrupted for three days, bliss. 

Below is a collage of my progress; there is still a long way to go but I have brought my iris home so I can carry on. 

As you can see my picture needs more colour and more depth.  Its a bit wishey-washey at the moment and the petals are not easily distinguishable for one another   I need more contrast.
A quick thank you to Gaynor who taught us very well and showed lots of patience and Robin who fed us well and kept our coffee and tea cups topped up. 

As to all those irises that didn't open, well they were in a warm room for a couple of days.......

 I hope you all had a good weekend too.