Key patterns and motifs - Part 4 - Combining motifs in a flower garland

Key Patterns and Motifs - Part 4 - Combining Motifs in a Flower Garland

Now that we've learnt and practised some different motifs, follow along with me as I combine them into a pattern - a painted flower garland.

You Will Need:

• A surface to paint, such as a Canvas MDF boards
• Something circular that fits on your surface to draw around
• Chalk or pencil
• A selection of the smaller paintbrushes
• A selection of emulsion paints
• Paint palette
• 3 x water jars filled with water
• Damp cloth

Step 1

Use something circular as a template, and draw around it using chalk or a pencil onto your surface.

Step 2

I prefer not to measure the placement of things exactly. Instead, I recommend dividing the space you're painting into halves and quarters as a guide to roughly space the different elements of the pattern evenly. In this instance, draw four circles to quarter your garland - these will become your first flowers.

Step 3

Mark on the rest of your flowers by roughly finding the middle point of each quarter segment.

Step 4

In between each flower, sketch on the leaves. You may find this to be unnecessary, and would prefer to paint the leaves freehand - the choice is yours!

Step 5

Load up your brush with paint, and begin to fill in the flower circles. Don't worry about the shape being completely round, I always find imperfections make a piece more charming.

Step 6

Once the circles are complete, you can move on to painting the stalks. It helps to balance on your little finger to paint a smooth curved line. It should be a fluid motion, starting at the top and swooping down.

Step 7

Next up is painting the leaves. You can use whichever technique you like - I have used the curved line technique.

Step 8

Once the leaves are complete, wait for the whole piece to be dry to the touch.

Step 9

Now it's time to add the details - you can follow along with me, or get creative with your own ideas. I'm using white to create highlights; I always like to go for a warm off-white for a more antiqued effect. You can outline the flowers, and add a feathered highlight line to each leaf. To create the petals around my flower, I have used the looped scallop technique and added dots within the centre to represent pollen.

Step 10

When you're finished and your piece is completely dry, use a damp cloth to wipe away any chalk lines that remain.