Tie-Dye Dahlia by Ken Powers
Ken Powers

Tie-Dye Dahlia by

I had a concept that I wanted to try for this piece that I thought might be interesting and that was to model a dahlia after a tie-dyed shirt. I painted it very loose with what I always remember as being some of the prominent colors used for shirt dying in the past. I decided to paint this piece very loosely and with damp paper in order to accomplish that tie-dyed shirt look. I had fun trying to mimic that appearance while still allowing petal definition. The original is 16″×12″ in size and is painted entirely with Sennelier paints, papers, and brushes.

Featured in Painter’s Universe March 2011.

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Tags

watercolor, watercolour, flower, dahlia, ken, powers, nature, botanical

Comments

  • Lora Garcelon
    Lora Garcelon12 months ago

    I love the way the warm colors pop against the blue – This is a beautiful painting!

  • Thank you Lora! I tried to pick some typical tie-dye shirt colors.

    – Ken Powers

  • Sandrine Pelissier
    Sandrine Pelis...12 months ago

    Wonderful colors!

  • Thank you Sandrine! Hopefully the tie-dye shirt vibe comes through.

    – Ken Powers

  • JennyArmitage
    JennyArmitage12 months ago

    Lovely color variation in the Dahlia.

  • Thank you Jenny! I wanted this one to be bit looser and to glaze the Sennelier rouge over their yellow to help with the gradations.

    – Ken Powers

  • Sherry Freeman
    Sherry Freeman12 months ago

    I really love the lighting and the colors! I must admit I’m not a fan of tie-dye shirts (I do remember wearing a few when I was little, though, heh), but this is beautiful.

  • Thanks Sherry! It has been a long time since I wore one too!

    – Ken Powers

  • Marsha Elliott
    Marsha Elliott12 months ago

    Wild & wonderful…..great painting…….reminds me of the clothes we use to wear! :) I love it….great job!

  • Thanks Marsha! Very kind of you to say!

    – Ken Powers

  • Marsha Free
    Marsha Free12 months ago

    very cool image! I like how you achieved the tie dyed effect!

  • Thank you Marsha! This was a fun one!

    – Ken Powers

  • Mary Sedici
    Mary Sedici12 months ago


    Featured Work MARCH 9th, 2011

    ►"SEE YOUR WORK IN THE PERMANENT FEATURED GALLERY":http://www.redbubble.com/groups/painters-unive...

    ►"Please enter/vote in the ongoing Challenges":http://www.redbubble.com/groups/painters-unive...
    Mary

  • Thank you Mary! That is very nice of you!

    – Ken Powers

  • bernzweig
    bernzweig12 months ago

    Awesome job – the colors fly off the page! Another beauty!

  • Thank you! This was a lot of fun to paint and forced me to be a bit looser with my style!

    – Ken Powers

  • Gary Paakkonen
    Gary Paakkonen12 months ago

    Your concept worked well Ken, Great job!

  • Thanks for taking a look Gary!

    – Ken Powers

  • Mario Donk
    Mario Donk12 months ago

    Very nice, this also reminds me of a tropical fish, perhaps another good subject. Your work is excellent.

  • Thanks Mario! A tropical fish series would be a blast as well.

    – Ken Powers