Floral Inspiration
I receive a lot of messages about the colors I’ve chosen and questions about how I came up with the flowers and their palettes. So, I thought I would share a bit about my process and my favorite places to find floral inspiration.
More often than not, I am pulling from memory when it comes to selecting colors. BUT, most of those memories are due to a bit of a love affair with botanicals. Flowers. Greenery. I love it all. And because of that love, I do a lot of research on flowers. I have books, Pinterest boards, Instagram Collections, and of course, there’s always Google. Not to mention I’ll jump at any chance to visit a botanical garden!
When it comes to books, my go-to for inspiration is The Flower Color Guide by Darroch and Michael Putnam. It’s a fantastic book with tons of photos and information about flowers. The information on blooming seasons is perfect for Leila Duly’s The Flower Year and Rita Berman’s Seasonal Books. This book is meant for flower arranging, but honestly, it’s ideal for coloring. There are even little swatches of each flower in the back!
Sometimes, getting books shipped around the world can be a bit of a challenge, so you might check out your local library. I’ve found the library usually has amazing botanical books with the most gorgeous illustrations. The British Library (and their Flickr) and US Library of Congress both have digital archives online that are open to the public, as well.
If I am at a place where I know exactly what flower I want or what color but am unsure of the realistic options, Pinterest and Google are the best resources. Just search for any kind of thing and so many wonderful options come up. And even if you find something you can’t use for this coloring, you can totally save it for the next. Between Pinterest and Instagram, I definitely hoard floral photos online. haha!
Instagram is generally my favorite place for inspiration and a treasure trove of beautiful photos. I follow so many amazing florists and farms. (As I share this with you guys I really am beginning to think I might have a problem. haha!) Here are a few of the accounts that I super love and highly recommend:
And of course, a trip to the florist or garden center is always a great idea! I’ve mentioned it on Instagram a few times, but I have fresh flowers delivered through a subscription service with The Bouq Co. I don’t know if they are available outside the US, but I really can’t get enough of their service. Flower delivery day is one of my favorite days! If you can, I totally say do! It’s hard to have lush, beautiful gardens in Texas with the heat and lack of rain/natural water, so the florist (Bouq or local) is where I get most of my flowers.
In fact, my latest delivery of lovely sunflowers inspired my newest coloring. And I am coloring in my Hanna Karlzon book, Summer Nights, for the first time. This is a great book - many, if not all of you, already own it. I’m a little late to the game on this one, but so glad I finally ordered a copy!
So far, Summer Nights is amazing. I absolutely love the paper. I’m not a huge fan of coloring faces, but who knows, I might give it a shot one day. For now, I’ll stick to what I love, flowers. This sunflower is a mix of browns and yellows. I love how simple the colors are while still having some depth. It’s rare that I use the same four shades for every flower, but I really like how it turned out.
I hope this post helps you find a bit of floral inspiration!!
Happy Coloring!!
Sky: Cool Greys 1-5 Sunflowers: Shinhan Art Y44 (85), YR32(84), BR103(182), BR98 (177) Leaves: Copic YG97 (173), YG95 Faber Castell equivalencies in parentheses.
**This post is NOT sponsored by any of the people or businesses mentioned in this post or their affiliates. I just really enjoy these things and want to share them with you.
