From Bulb to Bloom
I’ve enjoyed watching my amaryllis over the last month as it shot up out of the bulb, grew taller each week, and finally exploded in colorful blooms. I drew it each week and ran out of room on this page just as the blossoms emerged. When I tried painting the flowers on a new page, I found I couldn’t do them justice in the confines of my sketchbook. So, I started again, this time on a 12×16 sheet of hot press watercolor paper, and that did the trick.
Tips and Techniques- Look for subjects that lend themselves to a series. Like the amaryllis, it could be plants emerging and blooming. Or try the opposite and sketch flowers as they pass peak and wilt. You could also choose fruit to draw from different angles or an apple or pear as you eat it. It’s a good exercise to compose a page of several like objects and fun to watch and record as something grows or is diminished.
Drawn In 
Jean, your drawing is bright and expressive and your colors so clean. I really admire your work and would love to take a class with you. The life of an Amaryllis is so ephemeral-I enjoyed several this winter.
Thanks Ashley– Amaryllis are such lovely flowers and so satisfying to grow…and paint. I use transparent colors and build up layers to keep the colors clean and vibrant. The flowers were a challenge, so I’m glad they came out in the end.
I love this so much!! I too watch amaryllis every December- last year I put the bulb outside
I haven’t successfully saved one from year to year but I’ve heard from people in California who say they see them growing wild. Are you in a warmer climate?
Heavens no- I’m
You are truly a master of the tangled roots & scaly bulb as well as the more lush parts of the amaryllis! I’ve been inspired to try chronicling mine, so far it’s about a month behind yours & not nearly so well portrayed…alas. Going life size does present a challenge/
The tangled roots are my favorite part. It seems odd, when the flower is so spectacular, but I find painting the flowers challenging. Working life size helped me a lot. I stood at my kitchen counter and could move better to get an expressive line for the flower.
I’ve had an amaryllis bulb penciled into my sketchbook for two weeks …. You are inspiring me! I need to pot the dear thing so I can continue….
Yes! Do! Try setting aside a day each week when you will sketch it. That helps keep things moving forward.
This is a thrilling post, Jean! Your ink line work and paintings are so alive. I’m always amazed at how fast amaryllis grow, and love how the flowers (having a mind of their own) reached so tall they soared off the page. Even though your next painting beautifully illustrated the flowers, I found myself scrolling back up the post to see where you’d hidden the blossoms! It is a great illusion! Love the tips and techniques. Especially inspiring. Thanks always for sharing!
Thanks Barb! I had fun with the bulb and growth stages and was amazed by how quickly this thing grew and changed. I had to finish each sketch in a single session because waiting a day meant that the plant changed too much.
Gives a whole new meaning to “speed sketching!”
Well…you can work slowly. You just have to finish.
Jean- your work never fails to be captivating as well as lovely. You mentioned that you built up transparent paints that really glow. Would you share your palatte selections? Thanks so much.
We have a lot in our garden, and they flower at varying times during the year. I love them when they are finished too, such strange shapes appear!
So interesting!
Always lovely to see!
As said by others you do an excellent job in representing tangled roots, the thin onion-skin-like layers on the bulbs and the drama of the flowers. Your reportage shows that Practice Makes Progress. Thanks so much!!
True! Definitely lots of practice!
I think those blooms had their way with you – they wouldn’t let you confine them to a normal-size page! 🙂 Two things I really like about the first painting are the way the bud changes from pale and anemic looking to a healthy green and the stem shooting right off the page. The blooms look joyous – once again, you kept the life in the plant by not belaboring anything. I really admire that!
Thanks Lynn! I now have four blooms on the one stem and the other stalk has grown taller and will open soon. I painted it just in time before it became even more challenging!
Right! 🙂 Two’s enough!! It’s so hard to get flower petals to sit into their stem and relate to each other correctly, if that makes sense. But you did it and the second stalk will give you more opportunities….if you haven’t moved on to something else. 🙂
So beautiful!!!