New Watercolor Painting: Freckled Orchids

Freckled Orchids
15" x 22" watercolour

Well, I don't know what genus of orchid it is yet, but it's finished. I sat up late last night to finish the background and my husband walked past and asked me, "Aren't you bored yet?"
"Do you get bored building hot rods?"
"Of course not - but I don't make the same hot rod over and over."
"Neither do I."
"Yeah, but you already have painting down pat, my hot rods just get bigger and better."

I think Wade should know by now that I don't ever consider that I have watercolour down pat but I told him about how I have been continually surprised by how painting has evolved for me and how it becomes more of a medium of my self-expression all the time - I think he tuned me out at that point.

This painting was a challenge for me in painting larger, and while a lot of my layout was done by artistically cropping my reference photo, I had to go beyond the photo to add more depth and dimension than was shown on film. Every painting that I start presents some sort of challenge, and in this pursuit I stretch my limits and grow as an artist. And I loved every minute of this painting!

I am going to hold off putting it up for sale until after the South Peace Art Society summer members' exhibit, which I like to take part in. That gives me a few months to find the perfect mat and frame, get a better quality photograph taken than the one above, and hopefully become a little less attached to it. I do find a little piece of myself clinging to each painting I finish, but apparently with larger paintings, the piece of myself is larger as well, and I need some time to disentangle my soul from these precious "Freckled Orchids."