The detailed freak in me thrived painting this stunning bouquet last year. Shall we look back and see how these details came to life?

Voila! Or at least something like this… Just lots of layer after layer, shading and highlighting and molding and adding details.

I’m not a very good sketcher, but I find that for important pieces like bouquets and portraits I have to make sure things are in the right places. Having a grid is a common practice among artists and there are even faster ways to do this, but I prefer this fairly “old fashion” way. Once the sketch is done, I start painting one type of flower before moving on to the next color. When there are this many details in a painting it’s almost like finding puzzel pieces. Painting one color at a time helps create some sort of order in my head. 

Many hours and crackers later (seriously, I live off of these when I’m in my painting zone), and cuddle sessions from Lola it’s complete. I think this piece took me 45 hours or so, stretched over three weeks. 

Hope you’ve enjoyed this little insider’s look at how this painting was created. See the finished version of Kate’s Bridal bouquet here.

xo,
Erica