Orange Lily Batik

Orange Lily Batik
Watercolor batik on rice paper, 9x12

I have the most beautiful lilies in my yard.  Year after year, they keep growing and spreading - and I have given many starts to friends over the years.  The first ones came from my Grandma Frank's neighbor, Betty Ruhl.  Shortly thereafter, I got more starts from Grandma Bessie.  Each year when they bloom, I think of these special women and their loving and giving natures.  Choosing the single daylilies for today, these blooms are very challenging to paint.  Their elongated petals twist and roll away in the wind.  I set paper toweling under the rice paper to soak up extra moisture.  On the next couple of paintings, I went to wax paper underneath, thus allowing the paint to move and mingle.  How much I crumple up the rice paper directly affects how much cracking occurs in the wax, and how much watercolor can get through the cracks and onto the surface of the rice paper.  On this painting, I crumpled only once.  This technique is so unpredictable - and the results are different every time.  Every painting is a lesson!  Painting number 642 in 642 days.