Tulips Blooming in the Studio

The tulips in my garden opened up last weekend before we had our cold spell. They went so quickly from tightly closed buds

tulips, tulip plants, tulip buds, spring flowers, spring bulbs, Anne Butera, My Giant Strawberry

to fully open flowers.

tulips, tulip flowers, red tulips, studio, Anne Butera, My Giant Strawberry

I brought a jar of them up to my studio and got to work. Mixing paint. Sketching. Testing colors.

watercolor, sketchbook, painting, sketching, tulips, botanical sketchbook, Anne Butera, My Giant Strawberry

I drew the design on watercolor paper, preparing everything to start on a new painting the next day. When I returned to my studio in the morning I was greeted by tightly closed tulip flowers. The temperature had dropped dramatically overnight.

Throughout the week the flowers opened and closed depending on the temperature in my studio.

As I painted I told myself that maybe next time I should take some photos before I start painting so I can have additional references in case my subjects misbehave. I was just so excited to have real, live subjects to paint from my garden that the thought hadn't even crossed my mind.

It wasn't really a big deal. It was still fun to paint these tulips and I'm so happy that the season of painting from my garden has officially begun.

They are now available in my shop.

watercolor, botanical watercolor, watercolor tulips, Anne Butera, My Giant Strawberry

They're also gracing the front page of my website. Did you know that I change out the image on the front page about once a month?

If you haven't visited my website lately you might want to take a look. I add to the "what's new" section whenever there's news. Sometimes I even announce things on that page before I get around to announcing them here on my blog. If you're not on Instagram, it's also a good place to see the latest photos I've shared (just scroll to the bottom of the page).

I've been giving my website a little love lately, revising my portfolio to include things other than just paintings. It's still in progress, but I'd love to know what you think! (You can also get a sneak peak of my forthcoming fabric collection there).

Wishing you a beautiful week! (Be sure to stop back on Wednesday for the latest 2x2 Sketchbook pages and again on Friday when I'll be sharing a fabulous Artist Interview -- if you can't wait to find out who I'm interviewing, you can get a peek on my Artists Page).

Comments

  1. I had no idea that tulips would open and close once you had brought them inside. Fascinating! I love to see your experimentation with the paint colour Anne and your initial sketches all raw on the paper before your final design. I hope you are having a lovely start to the week :)

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    1. Flowers do such interesting things, Simone! The tulips I brought inside have given up the ghost, but I'm glad that the cool weather has helped the ones outside to last a bit longer. There are other flowers just about to burst (my lilacs are next!!).

      I hope you're having a wonderful week!

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  2. My son Atticus loves tulips. :-)
    We have not been lucky to grow them here. The squirrels steel our bulbs each Autumn.

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    1. Tulips can be so finicky. These were here already before we moved in and they're some seriously hardy plants. My husband moved some of the bulbs (I think even accidentally) when he was digging out our new tomato bed last fall and they have amazingly bloomed this spring. I've planted tulips in the past and they seem to just disappear. My mom planted a whole bunch of tulips last fall and protected them with mesh screening so the critters wouldn't dig them up, but there's no sign of them this spring.

      Maybe you'll have some surprise tulips this year?

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  3. I just adore tulips, especially red ones. Here in zone 6a, they are all finished blooming - at least in my yard but I have so much more to admire. Beautiful painting Anne!

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    1. Thank you, Jaime.

      Yes, the season can go by in such a flash. Spring bulbs never seem to last long enough. Get a few extra warm days and they're done. The one good thing about our cold spell is that it let them hang on a little longer this year! I'm sure that your garden is greeting you with new flower after new flower now that we're in the full swing of spring. :)

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  4. What a good blog you have here. Keep Your Work Up....

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