Expressive watercolor poppies

It’s poppy season in Croatia, and they happen to be one of my favorite flowers. I like the silky texture of the flower petals, the bright reflective red color, and the fact that you can’t keep them in a vase. Soon after being picked, the petals just fall off. The only way to enjoy the sight of a wild poppy is in its natural environment.

In my quest to learn how to paint with watercolor quickly and loosely with colors mixing on paper instead of the palette, I made these poppy studies in my miniature sketchbooks, as well as one on a larger sheet of paper. The one with the green background was first so it’s not as good as the other ones, but I wanted to include the whole batch.

If you like flower-related art, check out my other art journal and sketchbook pages:

• Dreaming in the poppy fields
• Bicolor pencil portrait