Careful does it.

Well hello there!

As you would expect being a trainee part-time temporary artist (allegedly), hidden amongst the little pile (my wife would argue very strongly otherwise) of reference material I have, is a selection of floral pictures (amongst other subjects) - some with vases, some without, that I always thought had potential. I suppose it's just a matter of putting various components together to try and produce something that looks good as a completed work. Almost everyone who has seen my work will testify that I do not produce "real" looking flowers - there is no way I am a floral artist, but we have to get our inspiration from somewhere!

However, with a little practice and perseverance, even a little luck as you just drop on to some techniques - you can portray a reasonable looking floral "bouquet". It's just a case of "careful does it", and it's amazing as to what you can achieve.

Your levels of success are enhanced should you use better quality items. That is an issue I always thought was more of a cunning "sales" ploy than anything else. However, a few months ago I bought a set of acrylic brushes from Rosemary & Co, and can honestly say they are a pleasure to use, and have helped me achieve much better results than I was previously getting. Various types of surface had been tried, along with differing makes of paint. It was the paint that most disappointed me; big name paint gave me small time results! But, the quality brushes used in conjunction with the Reeves acrylics paints I had used for a long time, gave me really pleasant and impressive results. This workman cannot blame his tools now!

It is worth doing a little experimenting and shopping around to a certain extent. We all can achieve results, and not everything works for everyone - it's just finding that fine line - that balance in your subject, materials and ability, to get the results you want. Though whatever you do, please don't look around for too long or you will never settle on anything and be satisfied with your results!

Whatever you do, enjoy your art!

Paul