Camellias in Watercolour

Camellias seem to be such generous flowers to me. All those layers and layers of velvety petals- such a picture of abundance.

Painting camellias in watercolour in the style suggested by Fiona Peart (page 39 just in case you are following along at home...) is somewhat easier than it looks.

I wasn't so sure at first. Blobs and smudges it seemed to be. I sighed and persisted. I'm glad I did.

The thing is that this style of painting allows the viewer's imagination to make what it will of those blobs. Our brains are very good at identifying the bloom from those rough shapes. I love that.

Precise botanical detail is not offered by the image, but perhaps the essence of the bloom just might be.