New 'Old Dutch Masters' : Tulips

Over the past two weeks we have been asked at Avon Valley Art Group to use something 'Old/Vintage/ Retro as our starting point.
From time to time we have these two week sessions to enable us to paint more complex images, or to indulge in subjects we specifically like.


I am not sure how I came up with the idea, but I think it was from some images that I saw in a Gardening magazine, advertising some new strains of Tulips.
I decided to have a go at painting a pot of tulips in the style of the old Dutch Masters from around the time when tulip bulbs were very rare  and the flowers were often found in these old paintings.
I realised that what we see today when looking at these paintings, is not what was actually painted, as I am sure that they would have been brighter in colour, but I wanted to try to replicate the darkness of the oils, but using watercolours.

I am really pleased, just for once, with the outcome. It was quite difficult to decide on background colours but I kept the furniture dark and the lower background equally dark to swallow up the detail
and the upper background just dark enough to throw the flowers forward. I used lots of Daniel Smiths 'Bordeaux' and 'Indigo' with some 'Burnt Umber' and black ink at the base of the background.
It did take ages to paint all the flowers as they could not be done too loosely in this instance, and so it took the two full sessions and some time in the studio at home to finish the painting.
It is so unlike anything I have done before, that I am not sure that I want to put it up for sale in the exhibition in August, but I ma not sure where it would fit on my walls at home. Something to think about!