Irises

They're so beautiful Jenny :)

Always beautiful Jenny

Lovely Jenny, love the way you have painted the stems and flowers

Thank you, Maria, Dennis and David, comments much appreciated.

This still has your design elements running through it jenny even if in a more loose fashion....I like it!

Read all the comments Jenny, and yes it is lovely as they say. But I would like to make some comments on the piece thats if you would like to know them.

A lovely, gentle piece Jenny.

Thanks very much Fiona, John and Sarah. (John, all comments welcome, although this isn't meant to be a realistic piece - It was quickly done with an emphasis on colour and design more than anything. Having said that, I think the top two flowers could do with a bit more 'anchoring' to the bottom half of the picture.)

You've really captured the form of the petals, Jenny, no mean feat wet in wet and in a class too (I need silence and concentration when painting in watercolour!). This'd make a lovely print for a silk scarf.

Thanks, Caroline. I do agree about needing silence and concentration when using watercolour, which is why I'm often dissatisfied with what I do in class. I usually fiddle with my paintings when I get them home, but by then they're often at the point of no return! (The petals were actually quite quick to do, I only used one colour - Rose of Ultramarine (Daniel Smith range). When you add water to it on the paper it settles into a lovely mix of its constituent colours of ult. blue and quin. red.)

Hi Jenny, You are skilled with your use of watercolour and what you have done does looks as they say lovely. But I want to make a constructive comment on the content. That super wet in wet at the top needed to go right down to the bottom and become really dark. Which would push out the leaves. Also give the picture more a 3D looking. Although the top two iris are detailed just enough after that things fade out and the iris on the left is very pale. The buds also pale off. So all in all the painting comes over to me as if you have started off wonderful at the top and faded out as one looks down the picture. If you put your hand over the top half then the same with the bottom you will see what I mean. I have made these comments Jenny because I can vividly see the wonderful potential of this piece. It has not been my objective to criticise or pick holes. I just would like to see you fulfil the great potential you have. My motive is a good, I am sure you understand that.

Thank you so much John for taking the time to give me this feedback. I may well try painting it again using your advice. It might, though, explain why it comes across the way it does if I tell you that our tutor's instructions were to pick three flowers to be the main interest and to fade the others out a little. She also wanted us to produce the leaves on the bottom half in several stages, painting into the negative spaces each time to cut out new leaves until we felt we had enough. However now that I have established the pattern of leaves I can reproduce them on another painting using the wet in wet technique behind them so that it flows throughout. When I get time (I'm organising my art club's spring exhibition at the moment) I will try it again and post the result!

Lovely fresh colour palette, Jenny.

Thanks, Teresa, much appreciated.

It all makes sense now Jenny. But I new it was not you at your best. I just thought it is not honest to say something is good when I cans something amiss.By the way. Should you need any reference photos for iris I can help. I photographed mine every year. They are like children to me.

Thanks, John, and for the offer of iris photos. Much as I love irises, I don't think I'll be painting too many more of them, maybe this painting once more, but I tend to avoid flower painting if I can!

This is lovely, Jenny!!

Thanks, Jennifer, comment much appreciated (especially since your own flower paintings are always so beautifully done!)