Working in the flowers and watercolor flower paintings are some of my favorite things. It is a pleasure working outside in the flower garden and then bringing some of them inside to paint.
Paintings bring joy!
Springtime is a joyous time of the year with all the flowers blooming. We had an azalea plant in front of our house that bloomed every spring with white and pink flowers on the same plant.
So here it is recorded forever in “Azaleas”.
One year I grew some of those giant sunflowers. The birds enjoyed them as much as I did.
When the sunflowers were heavy with seeds their heads would bow over.
Then the birds would come and sit on the back of the sunflower, reach down over the edge and pick themselves some seeds. What Fun!
Some daisy chrysanthemums were growing by the end of our house. One day when I went out to get in the car, they were covered with buckeye butterflies. I ran and got my camera and snapped some pictures.
Later I did this mixed media painting of a "Buckeye Butterfly".
Here is another mixed media painting "Hibiscus Freedom".
This painting is painted so it could be displayed either horizontal or vertical.
That makes it suitable for different positions in the room.
Fine art prints are available from many of my watercolor flower paintings.
One day I saw a Prickly Pear Cactus with a hollowed-out leaf. I thought to myself, that would be a perfect place for a hummingbird to build a nest.
Nobody would bother the nest with all the cactus thorns. What a perfect place for a "Hummer's Refuge".
I painted these "Bearded Iris" plus some Coneflowers and Poppies. These flower paintings were all done with watercolor paints.
See how I did these flower paintings.
The southern magnolia tree has large flowers compared to many other flowers. And they have a wonderful lemony fragrance.
Here is a butterfly visiting a Magnolia flower. “Pretties”
Thistle plants are often considered a weed. But their flowers attract the butterflies.
Here are lovely European "Black-veined Butterflies" on purple thistle flowers.
Learn how to paint these lovely butterflies.
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.
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 phals in “White Flight”.
Who doesn't love water with all the flora and fauna?
This "Lily 'n' Dragonfly" made a perfect watercolor painting.
The contrast between the dark water and the bright plant and the critter makes it a striking watercolor flower painting.
"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.
It is challenging and rewarding. Then the flowers will last forever.