ORCHIDS IN BLOOM

Hello Friends,
 I noticed an orchid blooming on the side of my house which is pretty unusual since my orchids are supposed to be on the front porch! The side yard is "the graveyard" for plants that have pushed past their prime and are looking a bit worse for wear, so it seemed odd to see an orchid blooming there. Apparently my husband tossed one of the orchids on the side of the yard with other ailing plants. Hmm. The plants that are put here either make a miracle comeback or they are moved to their final resting spot (trash), its up to them to survive and believe it or not, 90% of them do make a comeback over in the side yard.

Orchids on the porch

It's been a glorious weekend here in South Florida, we are enjoying abundant sunshine and low humidity.  The orchids have been blooming on the front porch for several weeks and I was thinking about the Orchid Show that used to be in the local mall many years ago.  The most wonderful, exotic blooms and fantastic orchids from all over the world were shown there.

Orchids in sketchbook 

 Well, the Orchid Show is back in its full glory, bigger and better than ever and it was this past weekend!  To make the show even more exciting, my granddaughter had a painting in the show!

Brianne's Orchid Painting

She amazes me with her drawings for a seven year old.  She drew and painted the purple orchids above.  I think I mentioned before that Brianne and her sister Lyla LOVE flowers especially orchids.  When they were little and my orchids were blooming, they picked every blossom in the yard but they never touched the orchids.  They know these flowers are special ones and they aren't to pick them.

Orchids in pencil 

The variety of orchids with their colors, shapes, patterns are endlessly fascinating and it's always challenging to draw or paint them.  Over the years, you can see I've tried to capture their beauty in my sketchbooks with pencil, watercolor and pen and ink.

Orchids in the window

I'll leave you with some photo inspiration from the Orchid Show.

 Please join us in sketching, painting these fantastic flowers! We'd love to see your work! Leave us a comment below with a link to your drawings.

Have fun!

Suzy

JUST SKETCH SOMETHING

                                             


                                                      JUST SKETCH SOMETHING


When I was a child my grandmothers always remarked about my great coloring .... How I always stayed "inside" the lines.  If only they could see me now. I am all over the place.  I finally learned to sketch with freedom trying to catch the essence of my subject. It's just fun and there is no commitment to go further. These sketches speak for themselves. These few below were done while I was assisting in a summer school program over the summer. Most are unfinished .... People kept MOVING. The nerve of them.

Subject matter is always being sought... Especially when I am in the mood to sketch but too lazy to get out of the house.  But being "on site" is not imperative. I have been known to resort to drawing whatever I can see from my chair.... Even my art supplies!   I have also done a still art composition from kitchen items. 😊. I find if I just sketch SOMETHING... Anything... My art juices begin to flow and its easier the next time.

Trees and flowers are perfect subjects, because they are all different. So who can say they are wrong?
I like that.....A LOT!!!  Architecture I am not as adept at  (where blatant imperfection comes in) so I just throw in some shrubbery and pretty colors.   VOILA!

But my real love is doing people... Especially when the sketch actually turns out to looks like (or even similar to) the subject. Although I am only an amateur sometimes I get close enough to recognize my subject and that's always a big win.  And no one is ever more surprised than me!

Keep sketching And share your efforts. We would love to see that we are inspiring you to just try.


Bonnie