Easy Daisies for Christmas...

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat.......and all that jazz...

Who doesn't like to give and get art at Christmas?  Well, here's my present to you.  Step-by-step easy daisies to paint as gifts to give this Christmas!  You fully have my permissions to paint these daisies as many times as you'd like.  

Step one:  Mask your daisies with masking fluid.  Make sure to put some bar soap on your brush before you start masking.  It preserves the brush.

So, I masked the daisies and when they were dry, I wet the entire page very well.  Using a flat brush, I started at the top with the yellow ochre and deepened my colors as I painted downwards with browns, greens and some blues.  I used Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Umber, Hooker's Green and a blue that I can't remember and I'm too lazy to get up and check what the name of it is.

Sorry.  :P

Work quickly!  While this is still wet, sprinkle just a little bit of salt towards the bottom.  Love it! (as if I can see what you're doing...ha)

Then it's all dry, take the masking fluid off with an eraser or your finger....I use both depending on how sore my finger gets.  I don't think I have fingerprints anymore.  :)  

Paint the centers with Yellow Ochre and Burn Umber.  Paint the yellow on first, leaving a small white spot in the center and then touch in the Burnt Umber while it's still wet.  I like to soften down the underside of the center again while it's still wet with water just so that it's not such a harsh circle.

I'm actually painting three at a time here for customer orders.  These daisies are really popular.  They will be framed as 8x10's.  The two below will be a set, so I made one with fewer flowers than the other.

Start on your petals now.  With that blue...oy.... I guess I'll have to get off my lazy bum and check the color...hang on...
 
Oh yes...Prussian blue....I watered it down a LOT and wherever the petals crossed or needed definition, I just lined the petal around an edge and then softened the line  with clean water.  It gives the white daisy flowers more shape.  I used a small script brush for both the center and the petals.

For the stems and leaves, I wet each stem one at a time and painted in Hooker's green, Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna....just to make it interesting.  I did the same for the leaves.  Wet the whole leaf and paint the yellow and greens on there.  

Sign it and you have a gorgeous Christmas gift for Grandma!  Buy a mat, tape a mat on and give as a gift!  It's a very cost effective gift this Christmas!

Happy Painting and Merry Christmas!!!