Butterfly’s Nest
11×15″
sold
Many years ago while living in New Hampshire, I would see these beautiful plants on the side of the road. I discovered that these plants were milkweed. It wasn’t the milkweed that I recognized though. That is because the milkweed was towards the end of its life cycle where the pods send their seeds off into the world. The colors of autumn were apparent in this unusual plant and I wanted to capture these colors and the fluffiness of the plant. I also discovered that the milkweed is where monarch butterflies lay their eggs. I painted a few images of this plant, which sold immediately. Apparently, other people like the beauty of the milkweed.
These past few weeks I decided to teach a Funky Florals in watercolor course and return to painting the milkweed. Butteryfly’s Nest is one of the unusual and funky florals that I painted. It was also painted on Indigo ArtPapers. The creaminess and texture of the handmade paper was perfect for this image.
That's gorgeous! I love the combination of hard and soft edges, and the warm, a bit mysterious colours!!!!
Ria V
This is beautiful Leslie. I really like how you suggested the fluffiness. That's not easy to do in watercolor for me. You've inspired me to try it!
I can hardly wait for my muse to bop me on the head with a brilliant idea to try on that paper. This is gorgeous, Leslie, and the title is great. I had no idea monarchs and milkweeds worked together that way.
Thanks everyone! I really enjoyed painting the soft and hard edges on this one.