Flower Attributes Series - Update

More than two years ago, I posted that I was starting a series of 8"x10" colored pencil drawings of flowers. Each drawing would be of a different plant or flower species and be horizontal in orientation; their titles would be a single word: one of the attributes given to that flower - a word that someone had, once upon a time, decided that flower would symbolize.

I'd made 3 drawings in 2017 before deciding to expand it into a larger series. These first 3 drawings were:

• "Endurance" (Succulents)

• "Anticipation" (Anemone)

• "Shame" (Peony)

At this point I stopped, did a bit of research, and made a list of which flowers I might want to include in this series, what colored paper I would use for that drawing (out of the stock I had - red, green, blue, yellow, gray, tan, and black), and what title I would give it. Since many flowers have multiple attributes that they symbolize, and many flowers mean similar things, I wanted to make sure I was choosing different titles for each drawing. The list grew to be a total of 69 planned drawings (including the 3 I'd already done).

That was at the beginning of 2018. In the two and a half years since then, I've completed 30 more drawings from that list, 24 which I've already posted here, each with their own blog posts:

• "Ambition" (Hollyhock)

• "Fertility" (Pomegranate)

• "Flight" (Birds of Paradise)

• "Playfulness" (Pink Hyacinth)

• "Prophecy" (Heliotrope)

• "Loyalty" (Daisy)

• "Nourishment" (Sunflower)

• "Enthusiasm" (Bouvardia)

• "Hope" (Button Pom)

• "Transformation" (Protea)

• "Constancy" (Bluebell)

• "Strength" (Ginger)

• "Resentment" (Petunia)

• "Justice" (Black Eyed Susan)

• "Whimsy" (Purple Carnation)

• "Immortality" (Acanthus)

• "Fame" (Trumpet Flower)

• "Vitality" (Zinnia)

• "Balance" (Enchanter's Nightshade)

• "Modesty" (Violet)

• "Fragility" (Azalea)

• "Union" (Myrtle)

• "Wealth" (Alstroemeria)

• "Luck" (Bells of Ireland)

I've also completed another 6 drawings so far this year, which I haven't had a chance to post on this blog yet (look for those posts coming soon)!

I still have a long way to go before I finish all 69, but now that I've completed almost half of them (33 out of 69), I thought it would be a good time to check in and see how they look as a group altogether. I'm loving this series, and excited to see what they all look like together at the end!

"Resentment" Colored Pencil Drawing

This new 8"x10" colored pencil drawing is titled "Resentment" due to the symbolism of petunias, the drawing's subject matter. I used Prismacolor pencils and Strathmore black paper.

I started with a quick sketch of the whitest parts of the petunia flowers, to block off where I wanted each flower to be. Then, I started lightly sketching in some background leaves with two green colored pencils.

I then went through and added detail and dimension to the flowers and leaves. For each flower, I used several shades of pink and purple to build up the interesting striped patterns on the petals. I used a white colored pencil for the highlights.

I continued this process for each flower, also adding depth and dimension to the leaves as I went around the drawing.

Here are some detail shots of the finished drawing:

Finally, I added a white mat, and listed the drawing for sale on Etsy. You can find the listing here.

Downtown Rochester Flowers 2016

Yesterday, I posted several photos of the beautiful gardens by the Rochester Hills Public Library. There are other places in downtown Rochester, MI that also have some lovely flowers. Here are some more pictures, taken walking around the businesses along Main Street and near the Farmer's Market. I took these photos in July and August.