Bearded Iris

Today I wanted to share with you a painting of a Bearded Iris that I completed in Watercolor. 

I used Arches 140 lb. watercolor paper and Lucas artist grade watercolor paints. I first created a sketch from various photos I took of a Bearded Iris. I then painted the background with a wet into wet wash and then repeated this same process to add more contrast and depth. Next I painted the stems by using various shades of blue and yellow. I wanted to let these colors  mix optically into green on the paper itself instead of premixing the greens. Then for the petals of the Iris I used the wet into wet method again and dropped in my medium tones. I then re-wet each petal section and did another wash of the darkest values. Lastly I dotted various shades of brown, orange, and yellow on the flower stamen to complete my painting. I hope you enjoyed my work today! Thank you so much for stopping by!