I turned to good ol' Dr Google for photos of carnations and picked a reference picture to work from. They are a solid red - not the red-and-white striped variety, thank goodness - but demanded no-less close observation on the various shades of red and how to render it like the petals were all folded against themselves within the blooms.
This was first sketched lightly in 2B pencil. The detail work itself was done using my Prismacolor pencils, using at least two shades of red, a true red and Scarlet Lake, a deeper maroon. Coloring them in took two hours or so, rather less time than I expected.
After the petals, the stems and leaves were a breeze. They were done in Sage Green mainly, with touches of a darker green, yellow, a 50% warm grey and some white.
I had to keep reminding mys0elf to keep the pencils at a sharp point, especially to render the serated petal edges.
I presented them to her this afternoon and she was truly appreciative, said that it was great that I had fun doing it and that it was something that felt to her like a blessing as well.
Post-script: My friend has framed the picture, and it now sits atop her dresser. Wow, my work, good enough for framing! (Jan 8, 2017)
