Bloom Series, Columbine

Bloom Series — Columbine.

Bloom Series, Columbine is one of six bloom paintings in the collection, each selected from the garden. The Columbine bloom is a distinct, bell-shaped perennial recognized by its unique backward-extending nectar spurs, delicate lobed leaves, and bright multi-colored blooms. The bloom color ranges widely from wild scarlet-and-yellow or sky-blue to cultivated shades of pink, purple, white, and deep red. Included in the Bloom Series, this painting brings the garden’s beauty indoors to enjoy all year-round.

MEDIUM: Digital Painting | STYLE: Painterly Realism | SIZE: 8 x 10 | ORIENTATION: Landscape | TOOLS: Procreate, 13″ iPad Pro, Apple Pencil Pro, Giclée Fine Art Archival paper and ink | AVAILABILITY: Prints available | CONTACT SHADOWMYST ART FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

ARTIST’S PROCESS:

Bloom Series – Columbine was painted in Procreate on a 13″ iPad Pro using the Apple Pencil Pro. The Columbine bloom, like each painting in this six-piece series, replicates the depth and texture of traditional paintings through layered digital brushwork. A meticulous structural drawing was made, detailing the shape, leaves, stems, and patterns for this particular piece. The background color is a neutral light grey with a watercolor texture pattern and a gentle sweep of small, irregular dots in a mix of medium grey and cream color, spread across the canvas behind the blooms to add movement to the piece. This background is uniform across all six pieces in the series, unifying the series.

The next step was color blocking for each petal and leaf group on separate layers to create depth through size, deepening colors, light and shadow, and clean edges. Above the leaf base color, multiple rounds of detail work and value refinement were applied to create the leaf details for each layer. A final set of layers perfecting shadow and light was created using a Procreate soft, round watercolor brush to finalize the Columbine flower of the Bloom Series.

CHALLENGE:

The intricate center petals of the Columbine flower, characterized by their bell shape, presented a formidable challenge for this artistic endeavor. The delicate vein system within the petal structure of the bell shape required meticulous attention. To achieve this, an exceptionally fine Procreate brush was employed on a separate layer above the color-blocked base, setting the brush to 5% opacity. This opacity allowed for a vague yet impressionistic representation of the vein pattern across the petal surface.

To enhance the depth and dimension of the flower, a layer was created to depict the darker shadows on the surface and within the bell shape. Utilizing the Procreate Studio brush at 5% size and full opacity, a medium green color was applied to create the stamen cluster within the bell petals.

For the stamen stems, a line of shadow was drawn at the back of each stem using the Procreate Studio brush set to a lower opacity of 60% and a size of 2%. This technique, combined with a darker green color, effectively created depth.

The pollen heads of the stamen were added to the flower using the Procreate Flicks brush at 100% opacity and a size of 2%. The brush was then used to paint over the yellow base of the stamen heads, creating the rough texture of these structures.

Finally, a layer of medium orange-yellow was added using the Procreate Flicks brush of the same size and 75% opacity. This layer created shadows under the stamen’s pollen heads, further enhancing the depth and realism of the artwork.

SUBJECTS AND THEMES:

Botanical — Columbine Bloom — Flowers — Garden — Nature — Bloom Series — CONTACT SHADOWMYST ART FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION