"28 Years" - Year #8

For general information about this 22"x30" colored pencil drawing, see this blog post.
For more information about the flower symbolism I used (Years 1-14) and life events that led me to select those particular flowers, see this blog post.

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My 8th year starts the second row of my drawing. I used orange/peach orchids and cypress to symbolize the year.

• Orange Orchid: symbol of industry, enthusiasm, boldness, and pride
• Cypress: symbol of death, mourning, despair, and sorrow

First I drew outlines of the flowers on black paper:

Here are the two botanical drawings I used as source material while I drew (I do not own either of these images; I found them on Google):

I started by lightly coloring in the stem and seeds of the cypress, as well as the orchid petals, in yellow. Then I drew in the darker orchid leaves, and the branches of the cypress in two different shades of green.

Once the drawing was sketched in, I went back to add detail. I started with the cypress branch, and then colored in the orchids with several shades of pink/peach, and orange, with highlights in pale yellow and the petal's stripes and markings in dark red/purple.

Here is the total drawing so far - the completed first row, and the first "mini drawing" of row #2.