My Latest Bird

In my watercolor class yesterday, we were asked to pick a favorite flower for our subject.  The rose, plumeria, hibiscus and bird of paradise all came to mind -- and the bougainvillea.   They are all blooming right now.  I looked at my palette and and thought through it.  I could save time by avoiding  a preliminary sketch of my flower if I did something simpler than the rose or bougainvillea. I decided to divide my large 20" x 26" sheet of Yupo and do both a bird of paradise and a plumeria.

I did the bird first so it could dry while I was doing the background for the plumeria.  Then I did the shading and lifting of color on the bird, added more orange and softened the green while the plumeria background dried.  By the end of the class, I had a completely finished bird and a somewhat messed up plumeria.  I will be reworking it tomorrow.

But for now, here's my bird.

Bird of Paradise

I haven't signed it yet, but I do like it and think it's a "keeper."

Now to fix that blasted plumeria.......