Today I’ve dabbled a bit with both the oranges and the blue flower. Neither was particularly satisfying, unfortunately, but I think this had the best outcome as it was unexpected…
Yesterday I over painted the background with more black as I thought it looked a bit wishy-washy (great description for watercolour!) and it all ended up very contrasty. Today I tried to add a bit more detail to the petals, mostly ok, but it was becoming very stark so I decided it needed a wash to unify it and soaked it all in an Indigo/Blue Ultramarine wash. Instantly I knew it was too much and before it dried I took it to run under the tap.
Surprisingly that had a much better effect than I ever hoped for, softening the colours and evening it all out. It’s still an odd picture, with it’s lack of petals, but maybe it has something…