Flower Painting Through the Seasons - Ann Blockley

Flower Painting Through the Seasons

Artist: Ann Blockley
Language: English 90 mins

Ann is a popular painter with a very individual style. In this film she shows us the many opportunities for flower painting all the year round and her techniques for capturing them in watercolour. Primroses and irises in the spring are followed by the rich profusion of wild and garden flowers in the summer. The flamboyant colours of autumn leaves and berries then lead to the graphic shapes of dried seed heads and the first snowdrops of winter. This film is both a practical guide and an inspiration for all flower painters.

This film is available to view ONLINE through our Video On Demand service

Buy on Demand £25.00

LEISURE PAINTER- July 2001

Review by Theodora Philcox

It is very exciting to watch Ann Blockley work. She paints with such enthusiasm and freedom, and uses such a wide variety of techniques that she inspires from the moment she picks up the brush. Her video, Flower Painting Through the Seasons, accompanies her recent book of the same title, published by HarperCollins. Like the book, it covers an entire year, providing a constant stream of ideas to ensure the viewer will always be able to find a stimulating flower-based subject, whatever the season.

Ann's medium is watercolour, which she augments with acrylic inks to achieve vibrant, rich colour. She selects her subjects carefully to reflect the character of each season. In spring, for example, she chooses primroses, clematis and irises - delicate flowers, but which nonetheless provide the opportunity for striking colour work. In most of her paintings Ann uses masking fluid to great effect. By reserving areas of white paper, she is able to paint on the less detailed areas of her compositions. Once these fluid passages have been resolved, she removes the masking fluid, and often paints in individual flowers with almost botanical detail, to form the focus of a composition.

Hogweed and cow parsley are amongst Ann's favourite subjects. When painting them, she uses a palette knife to flick masking fluid onto the paper, which ultimately adds to the lacy quality of the plants. She often draws with the end of her brush, sometimes creating really decorative effects, or she picks out details such as leaf veins with a scalpel blade. Paint is applied intuitively, sometimes splattered onto the paper, or treated with a granulation medium to make it break up to generate a textural effect. She also sprinkles salt to get a similar granular result.

The variety of plants explored throughout the video, allows Ann to demonstrate her enjoyment of her subject and her flexible creative skills. Working on location and in her studio, Ann is very comfortable with the camera and provides the viewer with a clear picture of her working methods. This is a lovely video and a very inspiring learning tool.
THE ARTIST – July 2001

Review by Oliver Lange

If the open landscape doesn't appeal then you may like to try something more selective, a feature within the landscape. For example, this time of year is especially good for its wide choice of colourful garden and wild flowers. In Flower Painting Through the Seasons, Ann Blockley offers lots of ideas, tips and instruction for painting flowers in watercolour, both in their natural habitat and in the studio. In her loose, fluid style she paints daffodils and primroses in the spring, and a wealth of summer flowers, including clematis, irises, poppies and hogweed. She shows how to capture the exciting colours of autumnal leaves and berries, and in winter she paints dried seeds heads and the first early snowdrops.

Reviews are shown below. Why not submit your own review?

 (10/10)  Submitted by: Jilly 17-Sep-2011
Have thoroughly enjoyed this DVD. As always I get great inspiration from Ann Blockley's paintings and tips.
 (10/10)  Submitted by: Fattan Parvini 24-May-2013
She is one of the best Artists in the world. I wish she would made more DVD or write more books. I love her fathers books and DVDs.