The day after the skyscrapers the weather turned sunny and we headed over to the S.F. Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park to see the last week of the “Magnificent Magnolias” and other spring bloomings.
watercolor in 8 X 8″ Travelogue Watercolor Book
Who could resist the red of these flowers, which I assumed were poppies, but my friends declared were ranunculus? To get the red in watercolor requires a great deal of red pigment, all the reds and some of the blue!
Along came two year old Axel with his mom. He unleashed a steady stream of unintelligible commentary on the flowers, no doubt pointing out attributes which I had missed. His fingers were making little squeezing movements while his mother warned “we don’t touch the flowers”. She then handed him a soft ball which he squeezed happily while continuing his monologue, and the flowers were saved! That’s Bob in the background enjoying the show.
The daffodils blooming under pink budding trees provoked my own kind of frenzy, one of splattering. The result looked best lain on the daisy studded lawn where I was sitting.
Next day was my birthday and our last day in San Francisco. What a treat to celebrate my birthday with a trip to the de Young Art Museum for the annual Bouquets to Art! For one week only, 120 floral designers have displayed arrangements that are inspired by the artworks in the museum. Here are some that I sketched in the museum, and later painted. (Some were sketched with the painting which inspired them.)
fountain pen and watercolor in Stillman and Birn Beta spiral sketchbook, 6 X 8″
Arrangement by IM Chan Designs/ painting by Gottardo Piazzioni
Water Lily Pond Floral Design/ painting by Salvador Dali not shown here
‘Arrangement by Orinda Garden Club/ painting by Joe Light
Arrangement by Donnel Vicente Designs/ painting by Louisiana Bendolph
Arrangement by Poppie’s Petalworks/ painting by Kara Walker
Arrangement by Katherine Stuart Floral Art/ painting by John Koch
There are lots of differing opinions about how to enjoy art like this. Some would complain about all the picture taking. And I had to be careful to stay out of the way of the iPhone cameras when I was sketching. I totally understood the need to take the images home and enjoy them for a long time afterward! I probably took 50 pictures and would love to sketch every one of them! When I close my eyes I still see flowers and can imagine their sweetness.
Ah, dear Spring, you are only two days away!
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