new sketches-parrot tulips

1-31-2011

One bunch of tulips which came straight upright like soldiers went into a nice bumpy vase hand made by Keith some years ago. It was a nice fit and on the first day the challenge after I got the sketch drawn was to find colors that were close to the ones I saw in the flowers and the vase both very muted and subtle. As the days marched forward I enjoyed the challenge four times. Then I moved on to the next batch of tulips which were parrot tulips too but this time red. 

Here you see three versions of the red parrot tulips in a vase I found from a maker who dated it 1945. It has a white glaze that has little bubbles of dark brown scattered unevenly over the surfaces inside and out but mostly near the top. I have one more sketch in this series of red tulip drawings waiting to be scanned which shows the tulips opening wide to reveal even more colors inside. I really enjoy watching the changes cut tulips go through as they grow inevitably towards our compost pile. It is nice knowing that these tulips were grown on a farm just outside of Washington DC. Local flowers grown help the economy and the environment.