Painters Online

00 Start Art FEBRUARY 2020 LINES AND COLOUR 6 www.painters-online.co.uk This is the reference photo (below) that we will use as inspiration for our coloured-pencil drawing, focusing on the main pansy and ignoring the background. It doesn’t matter if the petal colours or shapes in your drawing are not exactly the same as in the photo, as there are great individual differences in flowers. Demonstration Pansy Step 1 1 The first stage is to draw the basic shape of the pansy with its five petals using an HB graphite pencil. If you are confident in drawing, lightly sketch the outline of the petals directly onto the drawing paper. If you will need a few tries at drawing it accurately, it is best to draw the composition on scrap paper first, as there is a danger that lots of erasing may damage the drawing paper surface. 2 When you have perfected your composition on sketch paper, transfer it to your good drawing paper. An easy way to do this is to tape your sketch onto a windowpane that has good light shining through. Tape the drawing paper in the right position on top of the drawing. Sunlight will shine through the papers, making the drawing visible. Very lightly trace the outline of the pansy with an HB pencil. Step 2 1 Study the reference photo closely. Even though this is basically a purple pansy, notice the interesting transition of a pink-purple colour on the outer edges of the petals into a bluer purple next to the black patches. It’s important to notice the direction of vein patterns radiating outward from the base of each petal. This is a good indicator as to the main direction the pencil should move when colouring. 2 The first layer of colour should be applied with very light pressure, leaving the white of the paper showing at the base of the left and right petal. Use a purple pencil over all the petals with slightly heavier pressure in the shadow areas where one petal overlaps another and over the black patches. Use yellow in the central throat section.  Pansy reference photo You will need Surface • Sketch paper 7 x 5in. (18 x 13cm) • Drawing paper 7 x 5in. (18 x 13cm) Coloured pencils • Purple • Crimson • Light blue • Dark blue • Yellow • Light green • Black Miscellaneous • HB graphite pencil • Eraser • Masking tape