"28 Years" - Year #22

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 purple iris and amaranthus (a.k.a. "love lies bleeding") to symbolize my 22nd year.

• Purple Iris: symbol of wisdom, compliments, eloquence, good news, royalty, faith, hope, and a bridge between earth and heaven
• Amaranthus (Love Lies Bleeding): symbol of hopelessness, hopeless love, compassion, and sacrifice

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

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

Once I had my outline complete, I began to slowly add color.

I focused on the amaranthus (love lies bleeding) first, using four colors of red/pink to get the three-dimensionality of the hanging, fluffy "flower stalks."

I then added green to the amaranthus leaves.

To get the dimensionality for the purple iris, I used two shades of purple, a shade of medium blue, and a light pale green for highlights.

This is the first "mini drawing" of the last row. There are six more of these to go to finish up, and then I will only have one more step: adding in any final details or color in the background throughout the whole drawing. Here is the whole drawing so far, below: