Sucker for poppies!!

Well, Friends, you know me! I LOVE flowers but I am a SUCKER for poppies so... Poppies it is! You know the photo I am basing it on. It has had several iterations and here we go with the latest!

The original photo I took in 1966 

This is the tiny prizewinner. 

This is the big one, Poppies Aglow II

I have made two quilts from it, one which is a tiny 7"x10" one, mostly hand dyed silks and it was chosen to be part of the permanent collection in the US National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY. I

I have begun working on the background. I'm using a full sheet of Winsor and Newton NOT watercolour paper and mostly W&N paint but not strictly. So far, so good.

AGES ago, when I did my first poppy quilt, I did some fairly careful but simplified pencil drawings of the two individual poppy blooms.

These are ok to work from but my WC version will, HOPEFULLY, have more of the details.

There is a LOT more interesting detail in the photo but it was not needed when I was doing the quilts.

You know the expression, "like watching paint dry". Whoever coined that saying must have been a watercolourist !! It is especially true when you are working wet into wet as I am now with my background. This is a slow process, made slower by poor light conditions- and "genealogical diversions" along the way. So, here is the story to date...

You may not even be able to see the pencil drawings unless you have VERY good vision, which I do NOT!!

The grid lines are all erased now , colours chosen, and so we begin...

I shall not use them all but likely MANY

Just keep going

... and GOING!

This is about where I am at the moment. I want to try to finish the background and then tackle the poppy heads . They will be done wet on DRY to keep colours where I want them. Stay tuned and please wish me luck. I would LOVE a nice bright day , making colour choosing a happier experience.