Snowy flowers

We woke up to a fresh layer of snow on the morning of April 18th. I think I jinxed the weather by putting the snow shovels away last week! I had to shake the snow from some of the flowers and I brought them into the house to thaw so I could sketch them in the afternoon.

Summer Solstice "Day Lily"

Happy Solstice. A first for me today. I have actually drawn and painted my first "plein aire" flower. Also this is my first post as a contributor to what I consider a first class blog. Thanks for the invitation Kate.

I am a big fan of orange stuff and these flowers are all around the area where I live. They are particularly stunning next to the duck weed covered pond where I had the pleasure of drawing. Lots of breezes today to keep the pesky critters at bay.

I did this at Hidden Pond Park in Springfield, Virginia. I used my fountain pen, sepia ink, watercolors, a Koi waterbrush , and a Micron 05 Sepia pen (borders) in a large Moleskine sketchbook. It was both fun and a challenge holding my color box, paper towel, and book in one hand and the brush in the other. I had to visit the Nature Center to find the name of the flower. I borrowed a field guide and found my flower. So I not only enjoyed drawing I gained some knowledge. I'm better with bird identification.

Fred R. Crowley
Springfield, Virginia