Week SEVENTEEN

A huge part of Making Art Everyday’s purpose is to break you out of your usual ways of doing things. Much of this has to do with pushing you out of your comfort zone, but even more so, it’s exposing you to something you might not have thought to do. When faced with a blank canvas/screen/paper and infinite possibilities, our minds usually tend to wander to what we know well, and thus, we end up doing the same things over and over again.

This might lead to boredom, and maybe even (eeeeek!) giving up altogether. Plus, not knowing more than one way to do something can be frustrating and make you feel incapable and uncreative. But in case no one has ever told you, you contain within you infinite creative power! It’s just a matter of exposing yourself to new ideas, new knowledge, new things to draw so you can unlock that creativity within. MAE exisits to help you push beyond those easy, comfortable, initial ideas and try something new – to put new tools in that toolbox of yours (aka your brain).

April's Theme:

plants

Week 17: Build-a-Bouquet

I don’t know about you, but whenever I want to draw some flowers, All that comes out of my head is this:

 

The most basic flower shape with 5 (sometimes 6 if I’m feeling bold) round petals. It’s probably gonna be pink too.

I would love to sit down to draw flowers and know how to draw more than my boring basic pink flower shape. If you and I are in the same boat, you will love week 17 of Making Art Everyday which is all about building your mental library for flower shapes.

Each day’s prompt is a selection of flowers, covering several different flower shapes. Spend each day doing some studies on these flowers (we’ll even be spending a day on greenery) before putting it all together into a bouquet on the last day!

This week is a bit of a “choose-your-own-adventure.” Each day’s official prompt consists of a few flowers. You can pick one or study multiple. If you want to keep going, here is a list of the different shapes with even more flowers for you to peruse.

Composite Flowers
daisy, aster, coneflower, chamomile, black-eyed susan, Gerbera daisy, thistle, mums, chicory, marigolds, dandelion

Saucer Shape
California poppy, Icelandic poppy, cosmo, anemone, primrose, hibiscus, violets, poached egg flower, rockrose

Lots of Petals
rose, peony, ranunculus, dahlia, zinnia, carnations, camelia, begonias, gardenias

Bowl/Cup Shape
tulip, buttercup, crocus, amaryllis, petunia, columbine, Mexican prickly poppy

Star Shape
lilies, jasmine, bellflower, Hyacinth Blue Star, starflower

Trumpet Shape
morning glory, daffodil, nasturtium

Other shapes
allium, fennel flowers, hyacinth, lupine, bluebell, , nasturtium, yarrow, larkspur, snapdragons, foxgloves, hydrangea, lily of the valley

Greenery & Filler
rose hips, eucalyptus, olive, canary grass, fern, poppy seed pod, dusty miller, fiddlehead fern, lavender, more leaf shapes

The idea here isn’t to gain an accurate, intimate knowledge of each flower variety but to fill your brain with some rough ideas of different flower shapes, colors, and styles that you can combine to make a floral composition. Focus on interesting shapes and variety, NOT an accurate depiction of the exact flowers. Have fun and stylize to your heart’s content!

One more thing: Your final piece doesn’t have to be a literal bouquet either! Combine the different flowers you’ve learned however you like.

The Prompts

Week 17 | April 19-25

Build-a-Bouquet

Mon: daisy, aster, coneflower
Tue: poppy, cosmo, anemone
Wed: rose, peony, ranunculus
Thu: tulip, crocus, magnolia
Fri: allium, lupine, bluebell
Sat: rose hips, eucalyptus, poppy seed pod
Sun: build your bouquet!

I drew this piece “Sketching Pencil” from my Pencil Box and “Gouache Wash” from my Gouache Paintbox brush sets for Procreate.

You can access each week’s prompts, with links to reference photos, at makingarteveryday.com

This Week's Tutorial

Live Tutorial! DATE at TIME PST

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The best place to catch the live stream is on the Bardot Brush YouTube Channel. Don’t forget: You can watch or re-watch the previous livestreams on my tutorials page on Bardot Brush!

Follow along with me as I draw some colorful spring flowers in Procreate. I’ll show you how I simplify a variety of flowers for a stylized look. Why not try drawing your favorite flowers?

 

I’ve got a few mini-tutorials in the works about how to draw different flower shapes. Be sure to follow me at @bardotbrush on Instagram and at our new @bardotbrush TikTok account!

This Month's Progress Tracker

You can always download the current month’s Progress Tracker at bardotbrush.com/progress

(its a .Procreate file, so you can keep track of your progress right in Procreate!)

You’ll find instructions about how to use the Tracker at the link above. I even made you a star stamp brush for you to use! It’s my Procreate version of a gold star sticker.

Share and Connect with other MAE Artists

We’ve got a Facebook group just for participants of Making Art Everyday and all things Bardot Brush! Come join our group of supportive artists of all skill levels, share your work, ask questions, and be a part of the community!

Making Art Everyday is brought to you by me, Lisa Bardot!

I’m the owner of Bardot Brush, one of the leading brush makers for Procreate. If you’d like to support me, please check out my premium brush sets that inspire creativity at bardotbrush.com.