February 23, 2017

White Camelias

Some of my fondest Spring memories are of my grandmother’s camellia trees blooming in February. So heavy with blossoms, they carpeted the grass below. Beautiful double rows of pink and white, singles with golden centers and my favorite-- the fragile white sasanquas-- loomed over me as I played in her front yard. My mother grows them too. Her camellia trees stand under a group of pines and are currently just as heavy with blossoms as my grandmother’s trees once were. My daughter and I visited her recently and brought a basket to collect some for my house. Mama was tickled to show us two small offshoots no more than three feet high, full of blooms. “Those are yours when you’re ready to transplant them,” she said to us. I felt like a child again, eager to grow them at my house too.

At home, after placing them in arrangements, I had a few left over. I placed the rest in tiny glass bottles I keep just for that purpose. I am so fond of a singular blossom in a tiny glass bottle. It’s a great little accent sitting on a window sill or a side table.

The petals have now started to fall off, and the flower is slowing changing. I wanted to capture it before it wilted and faded away.

I toned my Ampersand Pastelbord panel with a soft blue and violet gray. I wanted to leave the background simple to highlight the bloom. Just a heavy wash of watercolor with my brush, a quick scumble of pastel over it and then a wipe down with a chamois cloth.

The white sansaqua will have very little true white strokes. There are so many more colors that are part of a “white” flower. I begin layering violets, greens, blues and lavender. The leaves are a lovely emerald color with a touch of lime at the edges. The stem is knotty and a greenish-ochre color.

I keep a light touch and use a “flick” of my finger occasionally, to soften the petals.

The lightest areas are reserved for my brightest white—just a couple of highlights. Done!

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White Camelias

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