The flowers have declared it Spring. And who am I to argue?
In bud last week, the first tulips are fully-open in the morning sun. By the time I go out to draw them, they’re closing for the day, speedy sketching a race to catch the tricorn hat of yellow in their centres, reds changing as the petals move with the light.
The first bluebells are out, and two grape hyacinths escorted by comfrey and acquilegia. I draw them on a sheet of washes from last week’s crocus ink, a handy ground for exploring the complex blue-purple-green of their buds and flowers.
Waiting in the wings, there are the next tulips, buds full of stripey, feathery promise and the weather’s set fair for some tea break sketching. But who knows, nature might show me something entirely different…
Ballpen, natural ink, watercolour and fineliner on old paper swatches and waste paper.
Rose sketches from this project are now available as greeting cards, from the Garden Museum shop in London, at Hackney Wick Underground and on my Etsy shop.
New on my Teemill shop: my new rose collection of t-shirts and tote bags.