For the last painting of the challenge, I chose another camellia, this time white with a faint pink edge. I kept this one a little on the subtle side. I did it! I painted 30 paintings in 30 days! I think it's time for a little rest, but I'll be back!
These vines are supposed to be hummingbird magnets, but I haven't seen that myself. The flowers just glow at the edge of the woods, though! Got the reference photo just the other day, and the flowers were so striking that I couldn't wait to paint them.
You knew I couldn't wait to punch up some color - this time with a pale lavender flower that comes early in the spring. When these trees bloom, the whole tree is covered in these pale pinky-purpley flowers, and no leaves. Then the petals fall as the pale green leaves emerge.
These little guys came back this year after spending a very cold winter in a planter in my garage, so I rewarded them with their own portrait! 
This is the one-hour version of a flower I did earlier this summer while the bush was in full-bloom. The plant is also called Rose-of-Sharon, but it's not a rose - it's in the Hibiscus family! I really liked the drama of this particular flower, as it was being back-lit by the morning sun.
White flowers are such a challenge! How to give them a subtle personality along with shadows and light, without overdoing it? This Cosmos was stark white, but I went back with a faint pink wash to some parts, but I don't think I got the shadow quite right. I may go back and fiddle with it again...
I really love this flower! This one is special because my husband took the photo when we visited Spruce Pine, NC a few years ago. He spotted it near the parking lot of a tourist attraction and was able to get a few pictures of a clump of about six flowers - he said they were too out in the open to have occurred naturally! It is difficult to capture the delicate nature of the lady slipper, I think I went a little too purple and dramatic, but that's one more done!
These gorgeous flowers pop up in the fall after we have a good rain or two, thus the name 'Hurricane Lilies,' also known as spider lilies. They have a bright scarlet color that seems to glow in the landscape. A friend has over 100 stalks in her yard this year. I may trade her a painting for a bulb or two!
These are some of the earliest spring flowers in Lower Alabama, blooming in February before the big showy imported azaleas. These are native to North America, and occur in colors from white to pink to orange. The flowers appear before the foliage. This one grows in our back yard and I am grateful to the former owner that planted it there!
I tried to keep this one nice and loose, but I don't think the form is described very well. I also feel like it doesn't blend into the background very well. May have to fix that.
I struggled to get the softness of this delicate flower, but I don't think I was quite successful. My favorite part is actually the sepals, and they don't show up very well against the green background! 
Surprise! Another hibiscus! I'm at a workshop far from home so I scheduled this one for today. I actually painted it the day before the challenge started as a warm-up. I love the soft diffuse colors of this one! 
We spotted this beauty a couple of years ago in Spruce Pine, NC. My husband had to take the photos, because I was too short! The soft yellow-green with the bright orange base of the petals is a striking contrast.
Another flower from the garden center! Its beautiful pure whiteness caught my eye. I chose to keep my grays grayer than I usually do, but there are still some touches of yellow, pink and blue amid all that gray!
Before I moved to south Alabama, I had never seen camellias that not only survived, but thrived throughout the winter. We have two species here, one that blooms in the fall to early winter and the other which blooms late winter into early spring. They are both lovely, with various shades of deep red to pure white, and some are variegated. My challenge with this one was suggesting the light coming through the petals.
Red seems to be a popular hibiscus color - so one more! I think I have an orange on the drawing board as well, somewhere... 
Another hibiscus, because this is the month for them in the Deep South! They have really been blooming up a storm around here, but their season is almost done. I thought I'd complement this one with some deep blues and purples. Enjoy!
I spotted this tiny flower last week while painting at the garden center. It was so small, but just perfect. The plant itself looked like it was almost done. I thought this little flower was going to be easy to paint, but the photo was flat, and it had very little shadow. I had to keep going back to try to find those shadows!
The iris is the state flower of Tennessee, where we lived for 19 years before moving to Alabama, so they are special to me. I found this one outside of Lowe Mill in Huntsville, AL this spring. Finally got to paint it for the challenge, but it was more difficult to get the rose and blue variations in the yellow than I anticipated!
I love the deep purple throat on this one, but the color of the flower is hard to describe. It's not red, pink or orange, but a little of all three, depending on the light. Oh, well, I gave it my best shot, and I still have about four more hibiscus flowers to paint this month!
Yes, another magnolia - I could paint them over and over! Went more intense with the color in this one.
I just love painting white flowers - it always seems like I've gone too far with the color, then I have to walk away. I often surprise myself when I come back!
Brought sticks back from Hawaii two years ago and stuck them in dirt - this summer one bloomed!
Wanted to start this challenge off with a BANG! 5"x7", Watercolor on 140# paper.