"28 Years" - Year #21

For general information about this 22"x30" colored pencil drawing, see this blog post.
For more information about the flower symbolism I used (Years 15-28) and life events that led me to select those particular flowers, see this blog post.

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I chose the alliterative acanthus and amaryllis to symbolize my 21st year.

• Acanthus: symbol of art, enduring life, pain, sin, punishment, and mourning
• Amaryllis: symbol of pride, worth beyond beauty, splendor, strength, and self-confidence

First, I drew outlines of the plants on black paper:

Here are the two botanical illustrations I used as reference while I worked (I do not own these images; I found them on Google):

Once I had the basic outline, I lightly shaded in the flowers, and then erased the graphite lines.

I worked on the amaryllis first, making sure to get the details of the petal markings.

Then I worked on the background acanthus, using a couple shades of purple, a very pale (nearly white) light green, and green for the stems and leaves.

Here is the entire drawing so far. The first three rows are now finished (not including any color I might add to the black background once all of the flowers are in place). Each row has seven "years" (represented by mini two-plant drawings), for a total of 28 years. I now have only seven more to go!