A Peek into the Studio – Watercolor Floral Patterns

I heard somewhere the best way to combat the winter blues is to eat fruit and look at fresh flowers.  Well, I certainly have the fresh flower piece covered.  After a dreamy Spring and Summer season filled with cut blooms from my garden everywhere I looked, I was determined to stay inspired through the cold Winter months.  I’ve made friends with my local florist, ordered bouquets for myself when I know select varieties are in stock and most recently attended the Philadelphia Flower Show, coming home with over 6 dozen blooms to play with.  Needless to say, our home has remained full of flowers and that has given me the chance to paint my winter nights away in bliss.  Watercolor Floral Patterns are my jam this Winter and I’m feeling so full and grateful to let the fullness spill out on the blank page.

Be sure to look closely…this post is full of fun galleries and a video – enjoy!

About 4 weeks ago I began painting every night, into the wee hours…I was a bit crazed; sleep escaped me yet I wasn’t tired.  My hands wanted to move and make things and that is all I knew.  Lovingly called my #creativefury series, I began to document every step of the way.  While now I’m back on a more normal sleep schedule,  I can’t help but think that the hyper-creative experience I had in February was meant for something.  It was meant to lift me up and carve out a moment in time, that I’m convinced I will look back on soon and think…this is where IT began.

So the fury began with this Instagram image.  A simple peek at elements from a Flowerwild Workshop by Jose Villa.  If you know Wedding Photography, you’re likely familiar with this name.  Jose’s work magically combines and thrill for natural light and his ability to honor both the couples he captures and his own artistic heart.  Jose unfailingly creates only the work that is of the utmost in meaning to him and thus that spirit of commitment shines through everything he does.   That spirit, is contagious really and you can feel it pour from his images.  I’ve had the honor to work with Jose a few times over the years and experience his heart in action.

Jose Villa Flowerwild WorkshopsSomething about the above image captured my heart…the way each bloom and petal contributed to a balanced composition of similar but uncommon elements.  The main branch bloomed with Scabiosa, Magnolia, berries and Peonies all at once seeming completely natural and in their perfect place.  So I began to sketch…

Peony and Rose Pencil Sketch Pattern
Peony and Rose Pencil Sketch Pattern

So all the sketching led to a pattern than has now become one of my new favorites.  Have a look through the gallery below:

And so the fun continued.  I got my Jose Villa on and arranged these killer Anemones with various greens.  The most amazing fun of painting flowers like this is that the best time to make collages is when the blooms are on their way out…so I’m really getting the most out of my precious Winter bloom hoard.  Another gallery for you to experience the evolution of this pattern:

And the finished pattern…

Anemone Watercolor Pattern
I didn’t stop, remember I mentioned this #creativefury last for the better part of a month and had me painting at least 6 hours a day…  Next I tore apart a basket of bulbs nearly dying and plucked leaves from some market arrangement to craft this bright composition.  The creamy peach roses were so old, their petals were falling away as I tried to arrange, but once in place they seemed to take on a second life full of shape and color.  The tulip would have lost its shape with a slight whisper but I felt honored to have its graphic center revealed, to eventually become the focal point of my next watercolor pattern.

Tulip, Jasmine and Garden Rose CompositionBeginnings were soft and sheer…color popped in the tulip, leaving the remaining moments more understated.

Tulip and Garden Rose Watercolor Repeat PatternThe finish took on a few more layers and the addition of pencil sketched elements, left bare…

Sketchy and Bold Watercolor Floral PatternThis pattern is just beginning and where my #creaive fury of February seemed to find it’s close.  Mindful  of where this pattern may head, I’ve left it bare…Waiting to feel where the color here needs to go.
Delicate Pencil Sketch Pattern
God has been teaching me lesson after lesson since September of last year…He is reminding me to be grateful for the smallest of moments and pleasures, to give more than I could ever receive, to speak slowly.  Somehow the artwork I’ve been creating in the last months, has situated my spirit exactly where it needs to be so I can honor Him with my words and actions.  For so long I was lacking peace, lacking a pure experience of joy and in Him I have found them again.

Look for something, someone to fill your spirit full as you can only begin to dream what may spill out of you once you do.

4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.  1  Corinthians Chapter 12