Step 1: Apply Grit to Canvas (Night before) I use a painter's trowel, but a large palette knife will work too. (Use as much or a little as you like) I like to use a combination of thinner smooth sections along with the thick spots. I usually leave little bits where the canvas shows through the layers of texture.
Video, Step 2 & 3:
Photos and Descriptions below
Step 2: Paint a Wash I use a neutral to warm color to apply a wash or ground color to the entire canvas. Let it Dry.
Step 3: Add a Chaos layer You can do this in a variety of ways, but essentially you will need to add more neutral colors to different sections of the canvas including splatters and drips too. Divide and Conquer Divide up the canvas with colored chalk pastels or vine charcoal. Such as: three horizontal lines, three vertical lines, and three circles. Then paint each section a different neutral paint color. Blended Beauty Essentially the same as the above; however, instead of giving yourself borders with the pastels paint and blend colors together as you go. This is more of an intuitive process. Add some splatters and drips on top of your chaos layer. Then let it dry
Video, Step 4 & 5:
Photos and Descriptions below
Step 4: Draw in the Flowers Using your Vine charcoal, lightly sketch in your flowers onto the canvas. This is by far the hardest step, but don't worry you can always change it if you do not like it. Vine charcoal wipes away easily and acrylic paint can be painted over easily too! As you draw think of these flowers as individuals with different twists and turns. Each petal has its own personality. They should not be stylized like children's tulips or daisies Tips: I always shift my flowers to the left or to the right. This is a personal preference. I think it adds more visual interest. I think about the Rule of Thirds and the Golden Rectangle when I am arranging my composition. I start drawing the largest bloom in the arrangement then I branch out from that bloom to the leaves and flowers around it. *Never start with the vase or the table. The painting will have too much emphasis on them instead of the beautiful flowers. "Tuck in" your vase into the flowers. You would not see the top of the vase. The flowers and leaves would be spilling over them. The table table should be nondescript. Again you want it to be about the flowers and not the table or vase. I usually have an uneven table with a "fuzzy line" so that it fades into the background.
Step 5: Add in White First, I add in white highlights to the flowers only. As I squint my eyes, I can better see the composition which allows me to make adjustments based on placement (see above Rule of Thirds)
Step 6: Add dark green to the leaves Step 7: Cut in the background I use white to first cut in my background. You could also use a neutral gray or tan. Tips: Less is more. You can always cut more, but you can not take away what you have painted. If there are interesting shapes and colors, but they are not part of your original drawing..leave them! They might produce some magic later down the road..and if not, you can always paint over them. Use the back of you paintbrush on top of the"cut in" paint to add a variety of lines and marks. You do not want to do this all over but it is a nice surprise here and there.