On my first visit to the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont it was a beautiful day for our paint-out. The garden has been dedicated to California native plants since it was established in 1927. It was so nice to walk through the various garden areas while looking for my view to paint. Since the garden specializes in native plants, many are drought tolerant for our dry area. One large and stunning tree I walked past was the California Flannel Bush which has teacup-sized flannel-y orange flowers. There was a dry river bed, and also a small, overgrown pond which had a convenient bench nearby. The perfect place to paint. It was such a busy pond scene with trees and water plants that I decided to try a gouache. There was also a pair of mallards which I had to leave out of my painting but their photo is below. While I painted, several school tours came by the pond and the kids had a lesson in water pollution. There were experiments set up for them to do which they had a lot of fun with while learning. I'm looking forward to my next visit, at least for the native plant nursery at the garden.
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| 5 x 7" Gouache |
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| California Flannel Bush |
I just posted a comment, but maybe it never made it (?) Anyway, I love how you painted this, Sherry. The water really sparkles, and this is a scene I would never have considered painting - you made it a real gem.
ReplyDeleteThanks Terry! I always love your generous comments.
DeleteLovely line work, Sherry!
ReplyDeleteThank you Joani! I have a nice brush that helps with branches.
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