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Now that spring is well underway, there are flowers everywhere.
It’s easy to see why so many things around us have flower designs.
After winter, some of the first signs of spring are flowers. From the first snowdrops, to the blossom on the blackthorn, to the daffodils with their trumpets.
When we got back from Malta in the middle of April, I was very aware of the green. Malta was very yellow, and coming back to the green was a relief, even though I wasn’t aware I’d missed it! As well as the green, there was blossom everywhere, tulips, bluebells, and other spring flowers that I don’t know the names of.
We might be inclined to think that the creative response to the flowers we see around us is to draw them. If you like to draw, especially if you like to draw flowers, then of course draw them!
But for some of us, drawing flowers might not come easily. It might make us feel tense, and perfectionism and self doubt starts to creep in.
There are all kinds of ways to respond to the flowers, including drawing. If drawing poses a problem, there are things we can do to loosen ourselves up and worry about it less. And if we stop and think for a minute about the floral things around us, some of them are definitely more floral inspired than actual drawings of flowers.
Prompts
Firstly, Drawing!
Hold the flower in your hand and have a really good look at it. Then try drawing it.
Draw a flower with your non-dominant hand.
Draw a flower without taking the pen/ pencil off the paper.
Draw it very big, like A2 or even A1 size, or bigger!
Draw it very small.
Paint a flower or some flowers, but don’t use a brush! Use your finger instead, or a stick, or a toothbrush. If you’re not sure what paint to use, gouache is easy to use and washes out. Acrylic is good too, but if you get it on your clothes, you need to get them in the washing machine before it dries!
Try drawing a flower by simplifying the shapes you see as much as you can.
Some Other Ideas
Journal words to describe the flowers: soft, delicate…
Observe the lines and the edges, and sew them by hand or with the sewing machine.
Embroider flowers.
Make flowers from scraps of fabric. You might like to use a petal maker.
Press flowers in a flower press or between the pages of a large book.
Collect flowers and make a rainbow or a mandala.
Look into ikebana, the Japanese art of arranging flowers.
Decorate an item of clothing with embroidered or appliqued flowers.
Match the colours of the flowers you see with paint, pencil, thread, yarn or fabric.
Try the 30 stem challenge and collect 30 things from your garden to put in a vase.
Press flowers into clay.
Add a flowery border or edging to a tea towel.
Print with flowers. Experiment with different kinds of paint. If you can’t bear to use flowers, you could try leaves instead.
