2023 Floral Prints- Part 1
I want to take a moment and talk about this group of Floral Art Prints that I’ve released!
Over the course of a few months in 2022, I had compiled a new grouping of blooms that I felt were moved on from what I’ve previously painted. With these paintings, I wanted to push the color palette to be more dramatic and darker. I will always and forever love bright, colorful blooms…but I was curious to explore a richer and deeper coloration of flowers.
This new grouping includes a few bouquets, a horizontal bloom and a set of Eucalyptus prints that I’m really loving! Scroll down to learn how to paint flowers yourself.
Anemones Bouquet / Various Versions / Yao Cheng
Anemones Bouquet:
One of the first flowers that I began this grouping with was the timeless anemones. They are so dramatic and vibrant in personality! Their dark centers behest you to see them and only them. And I love the richness of their ebony centers, so I wanted to illustrate them with variations of color tones from blacks to magentas. I imagine that this print can hang in any room and never cease to lure the viewer in….
But getting it right is not always a guarantee- actually it’s almost never the case the first time around for me! On the left is the first version of this idea. You can see that it’s the simpler of the two, as I was still figuring out how to best portray the centers and all of the petals. I was also thinking about layout- how to create a centered bouquet that doesn’t feel static. On the right is the final version that worked for me. It feels as if the stems are dancing and in rhythm with the rest of the blooms. There are just enough accentuating stems of crimson flowers to support the overall look and give it a bit of dazzle!
The original paintings are coming soon.
Anemones Bouquet / In Progress / Yao Cheng
Anemones Bouquet, Anemones Arranged / Yao Cheng Design
Mixed Floral Paintings / Yao Cheng
Anemones Arranged:
After I finished with that first piece, I moved onto a pairing painting called Anemones Arranged. Increasingly, I like to create watercolors in pairs or more. I want to give customers some flexibility in how they want to display the artworks. No matter what though, a painting has to stand on its on first. So this one has many of the same colors as Anemones Bouquet, but it also is sensational on its own!
Here, rather than adding in crimson accent flowers, I went with Blue Globe Thistles. Similar to Craspedias, I like them for their rounded forms. In watercolor, its especially enjoyable to paint because you cannot really mess them up!
In Progress / Yao Cheng
As much as I can, I try to capture the process of my paintings. It’s easier with my florals as they are (in general) less complex than some of my other subjects. As long as I can remember to stop in the midst of painting and take a snapshot, it’s worth it to see the progress afterwards! It’s hard to do though, since the continuity of watercolor pulls me in so completely that I often don’t step back and take a pause.
What I do document, I’m glad I can share them with you here!
Learn Watercolor
Want to learn to paint watercolor flowers? Take my Creativebug Floral Daily Painting Challenge class!
Use code YAO for a special offer.
Here’s a small sketch painting I made, figuring out how to best paint Alliums! Afterwards, I was able to compose a more fully-formed garden scene. Like many of my paintings, this idea has not yet made it as an art print. I don’t love the composition of it yet, but the lush variety of blooms are really nice.
Allium Garden
Here is 2 out of 3 versions so far for this idea. The bottom one tried to deviate a bit from the diagonal flower edging but still doesn’t feel successful. The scale of the alliums themselves still needs some work.
Foliage Singing:
I can write endlessly about flowers. I’ve been painting them for over a decade now and I’ve never come across a bouquet that I did not want to paint! This print was originated actually as a sketch for alternate layout options for Tervis. That sketch, though, made me think that it might be possible to dive a little deeper and see what it could look like as a finished piece.
What do you guys think? Should I create subsequent layouts like this one? I like that I’m adding a landscape orientation to my floral prints!
Foliage in Multi / Yao Cheng
Foliage in Multi:
Painted with the same color scheme as Foliage Singing, Foliage in Multi was inspired by fall foliage and their beautiful, dramatic transitions from reds to greens. The left version was the first attempt- I loved the layerings of delicate leaves on top of each other. However, the right version was ultimately better because the foliage feels more rounded out and the layout feels a bit more alive and organic. Find it as a Tea Towel!
Also coming soon as a 2024 planner.
Field of Daisies:
This Field of Daisies turned out to be a true gem! In the rare occurrence that I can get it right the first time around, I felt I really got what I was after with this painting. The inspiration behind this art began as an early-stage research for a children’s book idea. (More on that project later!) What I was searching for was a visual that is so vivid with color and fragrance that I would want to run through a whole field of it! When I happened upon wildflowers, I knew I had found just the thing. I loved all of the different varieties of flowers, and it was a great opportunity for me to layer lots of different colors together. Find it as a Tea Towel.
And as with all of my floral inspirations, I started with an image from my Flowers Pinterest board and then brought in other visuals to create my own unique take on a wildflower scene.
Daisy Wreath / Yao Cheng Design
Eucalyptus Prints
Find this pair of Silver Dollar Eucalyptus leaves. You can even have them framed and ready to hang!
Eucalyptus Composed:
Silver Dollar Eucalyptus leaves create a sense of tranquility. Whenever I see my eucalyptus plant in my art studio, I feel a little bit calmer. For me, it has to do with their cool tones of gray and turquoise. I often approach watercolor in a meditative way, so including a set of Eucalyptus prints in my shop felt right. I also love how timeless they feel with their soft hues and broad shapes. They can spruce up any room without being overpowering.
Eucalyptus Composed / Yao Cheng Design
