paintings of flowers bring joy to our homes!

We can transform any space with paintings of flowers, infusing it with natural beauty, color and a sense of tranquility.

These floral paintings are not just a passion, but a lifelong love affair with flowers.

Flowers have always held a special place in my heart, whether it's tending my garden flowers or capturing their essence on canvas. This pursuit has become a source of pure delight and joy.

Daisies: A Timeless Favorite for a flower painting

Daisies are one of my favorite flowers and that includes the giant sunflowers which botanically are daisies.

An oil flower painting of a giant sunflower by artist Carol MaySon Shine

Sunflowers with their large faces, seem to be smiling.  They are such happy flowers, like the Son's face shining down on us from heaven in "Son Shine".

These giant sunflowers grew in my garden one year. They were fast to grow from seed.

They delight our senses, as well as feed the birds who enjoyed harvesting their seeds.


Daisies ‘n’ Porcelain, a flower painting by artist Carol MayDaisies ‘n’ Porcelain

Daisies have been one of my favorite flowers ever since I was a child. So naturally, I had to paint some of these delightful flowers.

“Daisies ‘n’ Porcelain” is a classic oil painting of white daisies in a porcelain vase on a mahogany table.


An oil flower painting of white daisies by artist Carol MayFresh As a Daisy

Here is another daisy painting with lovely white daisies in "Fresh as a Daisy".

If you want to do your own daisy painting and learn some about using oil paints, you can. Check out the tutorial of painting these daisies.

Each step is explained, so you can do your own flower painting by following the steps.


Echanesea painting by Carol MayEchanesea

The native "Echanesea" flowers are commonly called Cone Flowers in the Midwest. Their pretty pink flowers dot the roadsides in June.

The plant breeders have done a great service. The native pink Coneflowers are now also available in white and yellow, as well as a variety of pinks and red.

They are hardy and bloom all summer. Plus, they feed the butterflies.


Roses with a hummingbird make a good combination for a flower painting.Butterfly Bouquet

Butterflies love flowers because that's where they find their food. People are attracted to flowers for their colors, beauty and the joy they bring to our hearts.

"Butterfly Bouquet" has an artist's version of a butterfly flying to the flowers. Artists don't have to paint what we see in reality. Paintings come from the heart. We just let the butterflies and flowers fly onto the canvas. That's the joy of painting.

Artists have the privilege of inventing things like 'blue daisies' and foliage. This painting has a Hibiscus on the right and somewhat of a yellow Alstroemeria on the left.

Adding Critters to our Paintings of Flowers

Besides butterflies, critters are always a good addition for flower paintings.

Scrub Jay on Tulip Magnolia flowers painted with oils by artist Carol MayScrub Jay on Tulip Magnolia

When my Tulip Magnolia tree was blooming, I went out and sat down on the edge of the front porch and painted it.

It's a beautiful spring blooming tree that some people call a Japanese Magnolia. Later I came in the house and added the bird for the "Scrub Jay on Tulip Magnolia".

Birds and flowers are a lovely compliment to each other. Adding a bird, a bee or a butterfly always makes our flower paintings more interesting and gives them a natural appearance.


C-Blue-throated-HummingbirdBlue-throated Hummingbird

The blue flowering Hydrangeas are gorgeous and mine bloom all summer.

The "Blue-throated Hummingbird" visits the Southwest in the United States. At five inches, he is one of the larger types of hummingbirds.

He made a perfect complement to the blue Hydrangea flowers.

Springtime Flower paintings

Springtime is a beautiful time of the year with all the flowers blooming.

Watercolor flower paintings by Carol May "Azaleas"Azaleas

Daffodils, iris and azaleas are harbingers of spring.

We had an azalea plant in front of our house that bloomed every spring with white and pink flowers on the same plant.

Here they are recorded forever in “Azaleas”.


Gold-top Iris an oil painting of a German bearded iris flowerGold-top Iris

During the winter, we anxiously wait for spring. Then we get to go out and enjoy all the glorious flowers in person.

Iris are faithful spring blooming flowers. They take practically no care at all and reward us with pretty flowers like this "Gold-top Iris".


Oil painting of Corn Flowers, also called Bachelor Buttons.Bachelor Buttons

There are not many blue flowers, but it is always a joy to see the early summer-blooming "Bachelor Buttons", also called Corn Flowers.

Depending where you live this wild flower may be called something different. An English friend of mine calls them Chicory.

Where ever you live or whatever you call them, it makes my heart leap to see these tough little flowers popping up on the roadsides. When they are blooming, we know summer has arrived.

paintings of orchid flowers

Flowers are one of my favorite things, whether I am growing them or painting them.

White Flight a watercolor flower painting of Phalaenopsis orchid flowers by artist Carol MayWhite Flight

When I started teaching horticulture I found orchids in the class greenhouses. I quickly became infected with the orchid bug. They are so beautiful and make lovely flower paintings.

Orchids are found in every country of the world. Some of them like the Phalaenopsis have flowers that last for months.

Orchids, with their ethereal beauty have a captivating history.

When the wild Phalaenopsis orchid was first found in the jungles, they were seen at a distance and the explorers thought that they were a group of white moths flying.

Here are some the so-called white moths flying in “White Flight”.

Phalaenopsis orchids are easy to grow, plus they are a great painting subject.


Doritenopsis orchid a flower painting by Carol MayDoritaenopsis

"Doritaenopsis" is a cross of a Phalaenopsis with a Doritis orchid which gives the flowers brilliant colors. They are grown the same way as the Phalaenopsis orchids.

Growing and painting flowers is so rewarding.

Since I love flowers so much, I keep working on doing more paintings of flowers. My favorite garden flowers are daisies and roses. Daisies are not so hard to paint.

Roses on the other hand are another scenario. I've been working on painting roses for several years.

Roses: A Challenging Subject for floral art

Practice painting roses.Rose Practice

This section acknowledges the difficulty, but also the satisfaction of mastering the complex subject of painting roses.

Painting roses is like painting anything; it takes practice. Here is one of my "Rose Practice" paintings.

The learning curve of painting roses is in the drawing. It took me a while to figure out how to draw them.

Then when the drawing is accurate, the painting part is just flows.

After practicing the rose drawings which were all either red or pink, I decided it was time to try another color. So I tackled the orange roses below.


Paintings of flowers are a "Joy" to paint especially roses.Joy

Here is a rose painting that was a "Joy" to paint. It was one of those paintings that just flowed. There was no need to labor over it.

Orange is such a happy color and the turquoise vase is a perfect compliment.

Paintings of flowers are so much fun! You can learn how to paint a rose.

Go to the paint a rose page, where I share what I have learned.


Roses with a hummingbird make a good combination for a flower painting.Tropical Beauty

Butterflies are a favorite item in paintings of flowers. But I also see the hummingbirds going to the roses.

This rosy-chested "Tropical Beauty" flew into a rose painting, a few years ago. He is checking out the coral-colored roses.

Southern Florida is sometimes blessed with these tropical hummingbirds.

Magnolias: The Flower of the South

Magnolia trees are native in the Southeastern part of the United States. Their flowers are quite large and absolutely gorgeous!

A basket of Magnolia Flowers painted with oils by artist Carol May.Bloomin' Basket

Magnolias have such a pristine beauty. When we are painting flowers, we can't leave out this stunning flower. Here is a "Bloomin' Basket" full of Magnolia flowers.

Their lemony fragrance is like a gift from heaven.


Watercolor Magnolia flower painting by Carol MayMagnolia Flowers

"Magnolia Flowers" with their shiny, leathery leaves and large white flowers are a striking subject to paint.

Friends of ours dug a small native Magnolia from their property and gifted it to us. It grew fairly fast and was soon blooming with its magnificent flowers.

the wonder and beauty of flowers

Paintings of flowers have the power to captivate, inspire and bring a touch of natural beauty into our lives.

From orchids to cheerful daisies, flower paintings invite us to pause and appreciate the timeless wonder of the flower.

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