#30x30DirectWatercolor2018 Day 13 and 14

The butterfly was so quick!

Daniel Smith watercolor stick--French Ultramarine Blue

More direct watercolors from my blue and white garden for Days 13 and 14. June is the perfect month for this challenge because that's when all my blue flowers bloom. The roses are already fading now and the blue flowers will be gone in a few weeks, except for the bell floweres, lobelia and pansies.

Had to add the butterfly and the half open blossom.

I started these out on a drizzly day, testing out my blues and purples and pinks to find the right combination. Daniel Smith French Ultramarine Blue watercolor stick was better than the DS Cobalt Blue for this subject.

Then today, the sun came out and I saw the buds of my hydrangea respond by starting to open up.

I saw a very dramatically marked butterfly pollinating my subject. It was so quick, but visited again and again. That gave me a chance to note the way that it almost looks upside down and the head is not where you might think it is. I think it might be the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail.

iPhone Live photo, Press to see brief video

My husband took this live photo a few days ago. I don't know if it will react unless you see this on an iPhone or iPad, but the original photo gave a few seconds of action.

House Made of Brick

Yes! You were correct. My third in the series is something made of brick. I'm not literally telling the story of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf. I'm just using the materials from which they made their houses as the spark for inspiration.

Inktober Day 14--House made of Brick

I had a bit of a challenge trying to find something that inspired me, but this back alley in Arlington was perfect. There's a small engine repair shop in an original old brick building which has been painted over. The big door (out of photo) in the back alley is where they take in the items needing repair and where all the character lives. Eventually all the guys in the shop had to ask if I was an artist and come over to see what I was drawing.

Straw, Wood,  Brick--Final Sketch in Progress

The sun came out while I was sketching and I may have gotten a bit of sunburn, since I thought that possibility was over for the year and wasn't prepared. I didn't even have sunglasses on hand! I did have a wide brimmed hat in the trunk of my car nearby, but it seemed a bit formal for an alley.