Last week I was in the garden looking at my tomato plants to see if any were ripe and how huge the beefsteaks are getting.  I like to pop into the garden every morning and see how my tomatoes are doing, it is one of my favorite things about the summer. Nothing better than being able to grow your own veg, even if you only have three tomato plants! All of my plants have lots of tomatoes which is a marvelous thing.

Anyway, on the day in question, I spotted a dried up leaf mangled up among my little tomatoes.  I went to pull it out when I realized that it was not a leaf, but a dried magnolia flower from my neighbour’s tree.  Perfectly formed, just with brown petals instead of the delicate pink of the fresh version.

In all the years I have lived here, I had never noticed these mini wonders.  I began to look all around the tree and I found a handful of crispy flowers.

Of course I did what anyone else would do and laid them out to photograph, then I brought them in to draw.  As I sketched them with my pen, I thought how nice it would be to paint them with my sumi brush and watercolors, then I thought that the shape would be cool if I simplified it down. So I did and I enjoyed each different media.

When my poppies started to flower I did a similar thing with a brilliant red bloom, I drew it then painted it and had a go at a simplified shape to represent the poppy.

Of them all I thought I would like the simple shape best, but in both cases I liked the colour of the watercolor best and I don’t love either ‘simple’ drawing.  Strange how these things turn out and it just goes to show that it is a good idea to try a few different ways to approach things, to get the best result for you, even if it isn’t the route you thought you would take.

Life lessons from a little sketching exercise!

Happy Wednesday x