Ivory Dahlia

© Ellen Blonder

Last watercolor of the year. This is an ivory-colored dahlia from an Oregon friend's garden. I loved the flower's frilliness and graceful curled petals. 

White Dahlia

 © Ellen Blonder

© Ellen Blonder

When I think of dahlias, I usually visualize bright colors. I thought it would be an interesting exercise to paint one that was all white, where I couldn't rely on color gradations to define the layers of petals. My reference was another flower from the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden. 

White Bouquet-Day 3

© Ellen Blonder

I'm going to play with a border or backgrounds for this, but otherwise, it's done. Happy summer!

White Bouquet-Days 1 and 2

© Ellen Blonder

After drawing the white peony in colored pencil, I wanted to paint in watercolor again and use white flowers as a subject. I love the calm beauty of a white bouquet. This one uses flowers in my garden: iceberg roses, white hydrangea, and an odd white campanula. It also has tiny chartreuse flowers from lady's mantle, bright green grape leaves and a spiky white flower whose name I can never remember. I spent the first day sketching directly onto watercolor paper, and the second laying in the first color.