Create a complex artwork - Part 2: Layering your pressed flower meadow

Creating a Complex Artwork - Part 2: Layering Your Pressed Flower Meadow

Follow along as we continue to play around with composition. We'll also be adding new stems to form additional layers.

You Will Need:

• A variety of different pressings
• Large acid-free off-white mount board
• Masking tape
• Scissors

Flowers Used:

• Poppy
• Clover
• Aquilegia or 'Columbine'

Continuing to Build and Layer

• As you work on your composition, keep checking the angle and heights of all the stems to make sure they don't look awkward or clash - small adjustments can make a big difference.
• Try to give breathing space to each individual specimen, this is especially important as you begin to add more stems. You want to create pockets of space so the silhouette of a flower can be framed.
• Think about the colour scheme of your piece - it's nice to have a contrast of bright and light tones with deeper and more dramatic hues.
• Once you are happy with the composition, temporarily secure the stems with small strips of tape. You can then trim the ends of all the stems so they sit in a relatively straight line.
• Try not to have too many empty stems at the bottom, add in leaves to break up the blank space.
• Trust your eye, and be guided by what you think looks right - there isn't a wrong way to create your artwork.
• If you find that you are happy with a little section, it's worth using masking tape to lightly stick it down so that you don't disturb it as you work across the rest of the page.
• Take a picture of your work as you go, to see how the composition is working from a different perspective.