Soon Y. Warren was inspired to start a new watercolor painting series when she spotted some withering sunflowers in late October in Portland, Oregon. “It was an overcast day and the atmosphere was somber,” she says. “The tall stems decorated with dried, droopy leaves barely hung on until the last strong wind to knock them over. The huge distorted disk with some leftover seeds was a feast for the birds, and the thin new shoot had flowers with a final little tint of yellow to show the tenacity of life.
“I knew I wanted to paint a circle of life. It seems to end but it is a new beginning.
“To start the painting, I first studied my reference photos and chose the one that most inspired me. Instead of painting a dark, moody feeling, I wanted to add colors to give a life to the overall picture plane. I drew with a pencil, paying more attention to the patterns of the disk. I masked the highlights and washed the entire paper with light gray. Then I started to layer colors to bring out the elements of the painting.”
Additional Watercolor Still Life Paintings by Soon Y. Warren
Save years of struggle and frustration by discovering techniques revealed by the world’s top watercolor artists in just three days at Watercolor Live, the world’s largest online art training event January 26-28, 2023 with Beginner’s Day on January 25.
I love Soon Y Warren.
Great article. Thank you
Beautiful work. Thanks for the article. Wish it had been printed sooner as I would have loved to participate in the event stated January 28-30. Loved the article never the less.
They already have another Watercolor Live event planned for January 2022! You should check it out. Prices are lowest the earlier you sign up. https://watercolorlive.com/tickets I went to it and it this year, Jan 2021, and it was fantastic! I would highly recommend it to everyone. Soon T. Warren was a wonderful addition to the program.