Flutter By

Flutter By

Watercolor 11" x 15" Mats to 16" x 20"

Wildflowers are starting to bloom and nature seems to be awakening!  Butterflies and birds are returning to my flower garden.  I like wild flowers;  and in my painting above, Flutter By,  I have painted Queen Anne's Lace with a butterfly sipping the sweet nectar.    One of my fondest memories of this particular wildflower was at a nature center near our home.   We took our son to the Spring Festival at the nature center when he was around 6 years old.   At  one of the exhibits they were preparing "natural" foods.  They had dipped Queen Anne's Lace in a pancake batter and deep fried it....probably not too healthy, but it was "natural."  We enjoyed watching the faces of the people who sampled the delicious "batter cakes" and then found out they were eating wild flowers.   Yum!  I figure if you dip something in batter and fry it - what is there not to like!  :)   My son thought this was great fun!

Watercolor Tip

I masked the flowers and butterfly using a liquid masking fluid so that I could paint the background easily.  I used a very wet wash of several different colors and allowed them to blend and merge as they dried.  If the colors did not blend naturally, I sprayed a little water on the paper to help with the blending.  Use a concentrated wash of color so that as it dries, it will stay bright.

Now, get out and enjoy Spring, sketch something special, and pick up that brush!  Pick a few wildflowers while you are at it.........is that batter cakes I smell!  :)

Happy Painting!