As we began to explore other famous artists' passion for poppy painting, today I invited over a sweet friend of mine - and an artist which I greatly admire - to reveal us a different perspective on poppy painting. Her name is Tracey Fletcher King and she creates, among other gorgeous artworks, botanical poppy paintings - so today she's our special guest on Studio Margot to tell us about her painting process and to share about her passion for botanical art. Dear poppy painters around the world, a big round of applause for Tracey Fletcher King!!
I was so happy to be asked to be part of the Studio Margot Poppy Spree and hope that you are coming to share a love of poppies along with us. For me poppies are special flowers because they are so fragile and delicate to look at, and yet they are so strong and flexible. Anyone who has seen poppies swaying in the breeze, or witnessed how well they handle whatever mother nature throws at them will be well aware of their strength and resilience. A lot of my work is based in Botanical Art because I love the structure, skill and discipline of it, while trying to capture the beauty of the plants, fruits and vegetables that I see every day. I prefer to not do work involving exotic plants, but to work to find the beauty in the plants and objects around me. I also love the skill and discipline that close observation teaches me, and I like to bring that to my other work. I alternate my botanical work with mixed media , and while they are quite different, I am finding that with time, they are starting to blend and overlap more . One of the things that I love about doing classes like this one is that it gives you ideas to broaden your creative repetoire and brings a freshness to your work. I hope the following will add to your poppy experience .
SUPPLIES:
I really love this drawing paper because it's heavy enough to take a bit of rubbing out or I can add water or paint to work if I want.
I use hot pressed watercolour paper for my final work because it is smooth and allows me to achieve the sort of detail I like. I use either 300gr or 600gr paper for final work, but use 185gr for experiments.
I really like pentel clic erasers because They can be sharpened to a point and that allows me to remove mistakes with a lot of accuracy. I love putty rubbers also for removing colour that I'm unhappy with.
A good sharpener is important because you need to keep your pencils sharp if you are to get detailed work. I always use the wide side so that it sharpens the lead and leaves more of the pencil wood so that the pencils last longer.
I love Polychromos pencils because they are quite hard, blend well and have no wax so they don’t build up on the page. They also take a bit of rough handling and don’t break as easily as the prisma colours and they have a great range of colours. I also like that they are available in single pencils so that I can replenish colours as I need them, so it doesn’t get too expensive. There are plenty of great pencils though, and I have quite a variety built up and you can get started with pencils out of your old pencil case... I raided my daughter’s to get started and it works fine.
I love these little wheel watercolours because the colours are vibrant and they are easy to use, as well as being cheap and easy to find when you are starting out. They aren’t lightfast so I don’t use them too much on final work or work that I will be exhibiting, but they are excellent for practice work or work in my sketchbook.
I use Winsor and Newton Artist’s Watercolours. I have both tubes and a travel box of pans, and I have used both at different times. I like the strength of colour, and even though I use them quite watered down they still hold a true colour, a little bit goes a long way, so in the long run they are worth the outlay if you are going to get into doing quite a bit of work.
This shows the rail and buckets that I hold my pencils in above my workspace as well as the jar of brushes I most commonly use. The pencils in the glass are the ones I was using on the poppies, and the golden acrylics are the my favourite paints. I sometimes use them watered down with with the Satin Acrylic Glazing Medium in place of the watercolours.
I love the Series 7 Winsor and Newton sable brushes because they hold the water so well but have a perfectly tapered tip for detail work.I also use a size 12 goat bristle brush for laying down larger areas, but it is whatever you feel comfortable with. I most commonly use sizes 0, 1, 3, 5.
The final thing that I need to work is a cup of tea. I rarely sit down at my desk to start work without it, and it signals to me that it is time to work. By having the same routine when I start I find it doesn’t matter at what time I get started, whether it be morning or late afternoon, if I have my cup of tea it signals to my brain it is time to be creative.
The following drawings are some sketches I have done of poppies. I sometimes work from the real flower, but I also like to keep sketches when I come across a picture that I like. I find that even if I am doing a different poppy, being able to refer to other drawings I have done can give me a better understanding of the plant I am drawing. I also like to have worked out my basic composition before I move onto the more expensive paper. Erasing lines on smooth watercolour paper can leave marks and it is a good idea to have it have a very clear idea before you begin.
I start with a very light pencil drawing on the paper. I usually use a H pencil and try to mark the page in the lightest possible way, and with the outline only. This can take some time to master and I know many people who trace their outline using a window, or a light box, and if I am under time pressure I have certainly done both of these things. When you are starting out it is a great way to get your confidence.
The first step after drawing the outline is to choose some colours and I often do a few test strips on either a page in my sketchbook so I can keep track of it, or on a piece of paper I can keep close.
I then start laying down very pale watercolour layers concentrating on getting the main shapes in place and making sure the composition works. At this stage you can add extras, but once the paint is laid down there is no removing it, so I take it pretty slowly at this stage.
Once I have the first layers down, then I get to work on building up some areas of light and dark. I try to preserve any highlights as lightly as possible and keep the page clean as I work. I look for shadows on the plants and leaves and try to get the main tonal grade in so I get a sense of what the finished work will be like. The more detailed and careful I am at this stage, the more quickly the coloured pencil layers will be done. I also pay a lot of attention to keeping a consistent light source at this stage and make sure all the shadows are making sense. When I am finished with this I leave it for a day to ensure that the paper is completely dry and hard again, and I carefully erase any pencil lines.
I use the sketchbook layers of paint to test pencils on until I get the combinations I am happy with and then I slowly start to lay down the pencil. I work very softly at first and build up the colour as slowly as possible, working on a whole flower at a time. I find that if I work on one flower at a time I will be more consistent in the finished product, and interruptions or time away from it won’t have as much effect. I also find it helps because there is a greater sense of achievement as I go.
I always work from top left down so that I have less chance of smudging the work as I go. If you are left handed you may want to do the opposite.
I am not trying to put all the details in at this stage and I try to get most of the flowers complete, but I leave the very darkest colours and shadows to do at the very end. I also work to try to preserve the whites as much as possible, as well as any highlights.
I then move from the flowers onto the stems. I find that doing these later is easier because they are usually a lot finer and it is good to attack them when you are feeling confident because their delicacy doesn’t usually leave much room for error.
The final stages are all about bringing the work together and making sure that it holds together. I clean up the edges with a very very sharp pencil and use a light touch to ensure I have a nice clean line, and add in any shadows and dark areas to create more depth and tone. I work over the whole piece and make sure that I stop and look at it at a distance, and then use my eraser to clean up the page as close to the drawing as I can. You will be amazed at how much colour has formed on the surface of the paper. I sometimes put the finished piece on the wall for a few days and come back to it adding little details here and there until I am happy with it.
I hope this has been enjoyable for you and that it has given you a little insight into a different approach to poppies. I Love sharing how I work and will happily answer questions or queries. I can be found on Facebook, and I have a blog which you can access at http://traceyfletcherking.blogspot.com/ . Etsy and Madeit stores are both on track to be open by early November and details will be posted on facebook and my blog. I would love you to join me there and have you share in my creative journey.
Tracey.
). Another thing you could use is the scrappy part of a match box: very simple, affordable, very at hand - I tried this even before the nail file. It simply makes you look at things in close proximity from another perspective! 
