Beautiful purple Johnny-jump-ups, also called purple pansies and even blue violas, painted in watercolor against the soft blurred green background of their foliage.  They may not be large flowers, but they are certainly pretty and I love the combination of purples with the splash of yellow on the petals. The indistinct greens in the background, with just a touch of blue to harmonize with the pale part of the petals, give just the right contrast to the complementary pair of purple and yellow of the flowers’ petals. I do love a soft floral painting!

Links to purchase this painting and art prints

Original is 9 by 12 inches, watercolor on hot press paper, sealed with Dorland’s wax.  I can ship to buyers out of the region, and you can purchase the original through Daily PaintWorks, which uses PayPal.  Prints and accessories available through my Pixels store and also RedBubble (which also has apparel).

Art supplies used for the painting

Painted with Mijello Mission Gold watercolor paints on Stonehenge Aqua paper. I enjoyed working the different shades of purple, ranging from violet lake to a mixture of quin magenta and ultramarine blue, which is also present in the greens which include green-gold and what Mijello calls bamboo green, which is the yellow shade version of phthalo green.

Some inspiration behind the painting

Prior to painting, I worked up this composition in a graphite drawing in my sketchbook to test the layout and value contrast. Ironically, drawing actually takes longer than painting, though the sketchbook and pencils are less expensive than paints and brushes, not to mention good quality watercolor paper (which makes a HUGE difference in how the paint behaves). If I am honest about it (and I tend to be) I will confess that I enjoy drawing, even when it takes hours. I find the soft scratching noise of a pencil on paper to be soothing and almost meditative, and feel as though it helps me to focus on the important parts of a composition.