Sketching a Blue Anemone with Ink and Watercolor

Have you noticed how many anemone species are booming in the spring?

I was surprised to see in our area no less than 5 species of anemone:

1. A. ranunculoides (yellow anemone, yellow wood anemone, or buttercup anemone)
2. A. sylvestris syn. Anemonoides sylvestris (snowdrop anemone)
3. A. blanda (the balkan anemone)
4. A. nemorosa ( wood anemone)
5-6. A. Narcissiflora syn. Anemonastrum narcissiflorum (narcissus anemone)

In gardens we can encounter anemone flowers native from other areas:

1. A. virginiana, native to North America (tall anemone)
2-3. A. hupehensis syn. Eriocapitella hupehensis or Anemone scabiosa (Japanese anemone), flowering in the fall

Native to Mediterranean area and developed into modern, gorgeous cultivars is Anemone coronaria:

First row: Fields of Anemone coronaria species in Israel
Second row: Anemone coronaria cultivars
Third row: The transformation of the center of the flower into no less spectacular fruits (achenes).

All anemones have in common many petals-like sepals, leaves usually 3 lobed and often divided, toothed and hairy, also the numerous stamens surrounding an superior ovary and the tightly packed pistils in the center.

When I draw the flowers I start with an horizontal and a vertical, then 3 concentric circles, which divide the flower into 4 quadrants, making it easier for me to see the number and placement of the petals.

There is always a risk that the drawing will come out flat when you draw flowers seen from above and with many petals. Pay attention to the shadows and light that fall on the petals and try to model their shape leaving ample white spaces and accentuating the shadows at the base of the petals and on the petals below.

In my video tutorial from Patreon I go through all the steps of sketching from life – with pencil, ink and watercolor – this blue anemone:

  • Construction lines
  • Mapping
  • Outline
  • Inking
  • Painting with Watercolor

(video tutorial, real-time, 58 min)

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