A plein air watercolor painting of evening primrose is shown next to the real flowers.
There was not a cloud in the sky when I sat next to a patch of evening primrose one afternoon. With a piece of paper in hand and watercolors by my side, I began a plein air painting session. The unfiltered light made the flowers’ glossy yellow petals really bright and gave the long green leaves a glimmer. Most of the flowers were just starting to crumple into a wilt at the time of this plein air session, but some blooms were fresher. I painted two of them.
The plein air painting was kept loose. Extensive details were forgone, and an impression of the primrose’s shape and color was depicted. I did, however, add a few details, including the bluish veining on the four yellow petals of each bloom and also a portion of a leaf that was munched on by an unknown critter. At one point, a bumblebee hovered over the paper in my hand as if to inspect my progress and check out the likeness of the flowers.
After the evening primrose was painted, I recorded some notes to the left of the image, documenting observations about the plant and the plein air session itself.
Notes about the evening primrose and the plein air session itself accompany the painting.
Supplies that were used to paint the evening primrose included Canson XL Watercolor paper (cut into a smaller piece), a Derwent Graphic 4H Pencil, and Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolours.