Introduction
Poppies are an easily recognisable symbol of Anzac Day. For years, we have associated poppies with the battlefields of World War 1. This artwork focuses on two very simple ways to draw poppies. Students can get creative and make an entire poppy field full of beautiful flowers to help commemorate Anzac Day at home. Encourage them to put their artwork in the front window so that everyone can see and make their own mark of respect to our veterans. You can use just about any medium at all for this artwork. I’ve used watercolours, but pencils, pastels, paints, collage – really anything would go!
Materials
- lead pencil, rubber
- Thick paper (ie – watercolour paper, litho paper)
- Paintbrush
- Black sharpie (permanent texta)
- watercolour paints
Step 1
Use the step by step in the picture to help you draw two different perspectives of poppies. Varying your size and angle will really add interest to your artwork.
Step 2
Practice a few on a blank piece of paper. Once you have the knack of drawing the simple flowers using the guide in step 1, start to fill your page with just the blossoms.
Step 3
When you have made your poppies in various sizes and heights, add a straight stem leading from the flower to the bottom of the page. This will help you practice drawing super straight line without a ruler!
Step 4
Add the whimsical curls and leaves. Allow your pencil to just flow with the curves of the organic lines. Fill in the centre of the poppy flower and start to paint the poppies, followed by the field then the sky.
Step 5
After the paint is dry, add the small detail of lines to create pleats in the poppies.
Variation/Option
If you wanted to do a bit more of a dramatic poppy picture, simply vary your medium. I’ve used chalk pastel and only 2 colours. I’ve applied the same drawing process of the two styles of poppies, but didn’t include the whimsical curls and leaves. It gives it a completely different look and feel.
