How to draw a Good Enough poppy

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard among the guns below.

-John McCrae

I love poppies. They are my state’s official flower, and you can see them growing wild along the coastal roads.

You can also see them in fields and on people’s coats, serving as reminders of the wars we have fought and the veterans who have served and sacrificed in the name of those wars. All thanks to John McCrae’s powerful poem, written to honor fallen soldiers from the First World War.

In the U.K. and Canada in particular, people wear a poppy on their lapel as a sign of respect and remembrance for their veterans and to remember the wars in which they have served. I would love to see this century-old tradition find a place on our own lapels when we honor and remember our own veterans.

So this year, if you don’t have access to a poppy to pin on your lapel, why not draw one of your own? The sentiment will be appreciated just as much, I’m sure. 

How to Draw a Good Enough Poppy

Three Tips

• I only need to draw four petals to communicate that my flower is a poppy. Four wide curve shapes drawn together do the trick to outline that shape.

• The center of my poppy is black, with an open dot in the center to represent the flower’s pistil and a swirly black area to represent the flower’s stamen

• To finish off my poppy, I round two opposite petal lines to extend just a wee bit beyond the curvy outline to give a bit of definition to my petals. I add a few accent lines to the base of each of my four petals, add some color, and I’m done!

There you have it: instant poppy!

What does YOUR poppy look like? Draw yours up, Tweet it out to @jeannelking #goodenough, and watch it blossom.

I cannot wait to see what you draw forth,