"February Surprise", mixed media by Kerry McFall

When this orchid showed up last summer, I would have given you good odds that it would be in the compost heap by Christmas if not before.  It didn’t even have a drainage hole in the bottom of the pot!  …So here it is February, and it’s not only alive and kicking, it’s blooming beautifully!  The inescapable conclusion is that orchids thrive on neglect.

The purple is almost effervescent, with just a touch of peach and lime.  A lovely surprise, and a simple subject for a quick sketch.  It’s fun to choose a couple of colors and begin sketches with a splash of watercolor before I make any other marks, then figure out how to either work around the splashes or work them in to the forms.  The watery “bleeds” of the green into the purples made the perfect segue into moss.