Yellow Tulips WIP

[Kleu]

Hi Everyone

I am new here and decided to jump right in. I have been working with colored pencils for a couple of years and it seems each piece or work I do is never finished.

Here is a "painting" I am currently working on for my grandmother. (She loves yellow tulips)

It is Prismacolor Pencils over a wash of prismacolor markers on Bristol Vellum paper 9x12.

I am pretty satisfied with the greenery but am having a problem with the yellow flower. I can't figure out how to add definition/shading without dulling the color. I have tried Tuscan red and it turned everything too orange. I then moved to black grape which is what you see on some of them now and I feel it looks dirty. Unfortunately I can no longer find my reference photo, but I am hoping someone will have some suggestions.

I still need to add in the glass vase and table, but decided I wasn't going any further if I couldn't get the flowers right.

Any comments/advice would be appreciated!!!

Happy drawing,

Kathy

[campeche]

beautiful! GREAT job!

[brissie]

Have you tried earth/grey green it's soft & gives a nice shading I've found.

[bookscorpion]

It's has a nice, fresh feel to it, beautiful.
I think I would go with green, too, for the shading (but I'm a total newbie).

[TessDB]

Hi, Kathy!
Welcome!

Can you post a larger image? I'm having trouble seeing what you've got going on there...

Usually, when dealing with yellows, you do want to put some sort of purple in there for the shadows & shading. But it has to be the right purple, and it helps to layer it in early. It sounds like it's still pretty much on top without any yellow added back in?

Because your greens are so strong on the stems & leaves, some greens might work well in there, too. As well as maybe (maybe! test swatches first!) some browns?

In some test swatches, try to duplicate what you've got happening already and then see what happens if you add a brownish-orange on top of the purple, and then add some yellow on top of all that. You might be surprised (in a good way!) at what you get.

Figuring out the right color combinations can be a bunch of trial and error test-swatches.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the shadows/darker areas are there to help make the bright/highlight areas really sing. So having the base of the tulip less bright is what will make the overall bouquet seem bright and cheery. Not that you want it muddy-- Just remember that area isn't the star. The mass of yellow that makes up the body of the flowers *is*.

Hope that made sense! And I'd love to see a bigger image.
Rosemary

[evartpat]

Nice job ...and what Rosemary said..

[PlaysWithPencils]

hi guys
gosh its been way too long for me to post at WC
I found a picture for you from a florist site when I was ordering flowers so here it is.


Also, have you tried any of the warm greys?
possibly to lay them down first but I would try now anyway, not an expert at all here.
Another option would be any of the secondary colors if I have that right.
ex: yellow oranges or a yellow ocher?
add some browns that are slightly yellowish or light way be too much thou
or
Try lifting some color then applying it back in the order you wish and leaving some color off near the shading to make the shading stand out?

[Kleu]

You are all AMAZING!!!

Thank you so much for the help & encouragement.

I am going to take Rosemary's advise and create a bunch of test swatches with the different color combinations everyone has suggested. It will take a couple of days (very busy with work and kids), but I will post them when I am finished. (Rosemary - I will also try to post a larger picture. I am not very tech savy but I am sure my kids can figure it out)

I should be able to lift most of the color I put down except the wash of marker and unfortunatley I used canary yellow to start with. (very bright & vibrant) I usually have a heavy hand when I draw and things tend to get "muddy". I figured if I started with a vibrant base it would help, but I guess it just created it's own set of challenges.

Anyway - wish me luck & thanks again!!!

Happy drawing
Kathy

[PlaysWithPencils]

good luck!
I so understand the kid thing and life gets in the way of time for art.
btw
I really like this piece and the greens you did are so smooth and realistic.