Sunflowers~Working Out A Palette

This was my experiment using colored pencils. I made notes, jotting down which color combos I liked and seemed to work well together. I have to write everything down these days because my memory has become a tea strainer.

Here I've done my best to match the CP colors with watercolor. I think I've finally got a plan now. I found a gold metallic colored pencil I forgot I had so I added that over the w/c in a few places as a possible accent.

Did you think I got lost? I did...for awhile. After several attempts (and as many failures) to settle on a palette I hit a brick wall. I couldn't seem to work out a palette for the sunflowers that excited me. My new favorite color is DS Quin. violet and I wanted to work this color into the painting somehow. Nick Simmons suggested I take a look at the work of Jimmy Wright . Wright paints amazing sunflowers in pastel and uses unusual color combinations. I also took out photos I'd taken in my gardens and browsed through those for inspiration. Last night I finally got out my 120 ct. set of Prismacolor colored pencils, printed out a copy of my line drawing and just played. I came up with a palette I really like so the next challenge was to match the CP colors to watercolor. I think I've succeeded.

I plan to do a smaller version of the painting first. I have a 12" x 18" block of Fabriano HP w/c paper I can use. I was disappointed to learn a nearby store no longer carries certain art supplies so I will have to order my full sheets online. I can't understand why, with all the artists in the area, that we don't have a decent art supply outlet. }:( The nearest is a day trip away, especially in summer when traffic is ridiculous. Griping over..........