#67 CAMELLIAS IN THE RAIN

I was truly able to indulge my fascination with water droplets by painting “Camellias in the Rain.”

I had already dealt with patiently masking flower petals on my earlier painting of Camellias. However, now I found myself masking hundreds of tiny water droplets upon both the petals and leaves. Sometimes the droplets were sharply defined, and at other times they were blurry. When I finished my painting, I felt very accomplished!As with all of my recent paintings, my process began by combining many digital photos into a layout. This project was especially unique because my images came from a friend’s garden across the world. Blossom (a perfect name for her) lived in Australia and from the moment I saw her beautiful images on social media, I was inspired.

My first big layout decision was whether to use one flower or two. It was a really tough choice, but I decided to go for more. I created several layouts before settling on my favorite.

This painting required intensive masking. I painted the flowers first and once they were finished, I covered them with frisket masking film to give clean edges against the dark tones. For tiny droplets, I didn’t have the patience to cut them out. Instead, I used liquid frisket, which is like rubber cement. I share my painting as it progressed.

It’s easier for me to cut the frisket film if I outline all the areas with a pencil first. I draw directly on the film.

I painted the interior of the hanging droplets first – they looked so strange without the darker background behind them. But once they were finished, they became my favorite part of the painting.

Creating my signature with a crow-quill pen and white ink holds a lot of challenges.

I often use frisket a second time. First to mask the image, and second to keep the dark areas from bleeding into the lighter area.

My painting required many hours, but it was so satisfying to create. After it was finished, I ordered a print and had it shipped to Blossom in Australia. She was clearly delighted and appreciative. I was, too. How wonderful to appreciate the beauty of these beautiful flowers and give joy to my friend across the world!