Wild Violets

“I am blessed with many different varieties of wild violets in my woodland spring gardens, including whites, yellows, purples, striped, and various shades of blue. I had photographed this lovely grouping of sunlit blossoms and picked it for my series of wildflower whiskey paintings. I had completed painting pink wild geraniums and a white bloodroot so the various purples would be a nice change.”

I had a few transparent purples in my stash of watercolor paints and knew I could extend the options by mixing blues and reds as well. It’s hard to know how a paint color will look just by reading the name on the tube - like those in my stash: Shadow Violet, Quinacridone Purple, Quinacridone Violet, Amethyst Genuine, or Moonglow. Different manufacturers might use the same name but the colors can be slightly different. To ease my confusion I made a swatch card, painting each of these colors as it looked lightly diluted and also with lots of water. Every one was unique! I also found a nice purple by mixing Phthalo Blue GS with Quinacridone Magenta, and found I could vary this from a cool (bluish) shade to a warm (pinkish) shade depending on the ratio of one to the other.

So much for the technical stuff! The curling petals, variety of shapes, orange centers and dark center lines all combined for an intriguing composition and a joyous painting experience.”

This Whiskey Painting was created with watercolors diluted with Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Sour Mash Tennessee Whiskey.
Judy is a lifelong member of the Whiskey Painters of America.