#4/30in30 - "Gardenia"

"Gardenia" 5"x7", watercolor

One of my favorite flowers - they smell even better than they look!  I almost missed the season when we took our Grand Canyon vacation, but I did manage to get a photo or two this year!

#3/30 I 30 - "Cherries"

"Cherries" 5"x7" watercolor

Lazy Sunday, rainy this afternoon, got some shelving for the garage, which the hubs put together while I worked on this!  Didn't even realize he had gone out to work on it until he came to get just as I was snapping this photo!  Love the pale pink of these flowers when they emerge in the early spring!

#2/30 in 30 - "Magnolia"

"Magnolia," 5"x7", watercolor

Tried to start this one yesterday, but couldn't get it finished.  White flowers are hard...
Trying to get back in the groove of painting every day, I need to be much more organized to be able to!

#1/30in30 - "Pitchers"

"Pitchers" 5'x7" watercolor

It's been so hard to paint lately with school starting back.  And this illness, I called it a bad cold, but it really was more flu-like.  Now I have lingering chest pain when I breathe that I can almost control if I take ibuprofen around the clock.  I'm so exhausted all the time.  But at least I got these done!

Day 20 - Peeking Out

Another late evening, continuing the sunflower theme.  I had intended to just sketch four flowers, but after I sketch the first, I just had to slap some paint on it.  I think it needs some punchier darks, but that's all I have tonight...

Day 13 - "Sunset Blue"

"Sunset Blue", 5"x7", watercolor

Missed a couple of days because school started back, so I'm trying to get at least one done tonight.  Loved the photo I took of this heron taking flight late in the evening, I could just barely see the lights and darks of his body.  More of him soon.

Day 9 - Ms. Redbird 2

"Ms. Redbird 2", 5"x7" watercolor

Finally found a good photo of the lady cardinal, and quickly dashed this out.  I was also working on a much larger painting of one of the egrets I did this week, which I will share tomorrow!

#7/30 in 30 - Frilly Hibiscus

This hibiscus was too frilly and too peachy, and, well, crazy.  I'm done.

5"x7", watercolor on 140# paper

#6/30 in 30 - Campus Camellia #2

Found some 5" x7" paper already cut and taped down, so I attempted this very frilly camellia that I photographed today.  The painting just comes nowhere close to the intensity of the deep watermelon pink-red!

5"x7", watercolor on 140# paper

Day 30 - Pink-tinged Camellia

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!

5"x7", Watercolor on 140# paper.

Day 28 - Japanese Magnolia

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.

5"x7", Watercolor on 140# paper

Day 27 - Coreopsis

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!  

5"x7", Watercolor on 140# paper.

Day 26 - Purple Althea

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.

5"x7", Watercolor on 140# paper.

Day 25 - White Cosmos

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...

5" x7", Watercolor on 140# paper

Day 23 - Hurricane Lilies

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!

5"x7", Watercolor on 140# paper.

Day 22 - Honeysuckle Azalea

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!

5"x7", Watercolor on 140# paper

Day 21 - Peachy Keen

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.

5"x7", Watercolor on 140# paper

Day 16 - Study in White 3

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!

5"x7", Watercolor on 140# paper

Day 15 - Red Camellia

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.

5"x7", Watercolor on 140# paper

Day 14 - Blood-Red Hibiscus

Red seems to be a popular hibiscus color - so one more!  I think I have an orange on the drawing board as well, somewhere... 

5"x7", Watercolor on 140# paper.