Birds of Paradise

Growing up, my grandparents had this enclosed back porch area that was huge. And in it was this huge (3×3 or more I’d say) Bird of Paradise plant. Now, I was little, so whether it was real or fake, I can’t tell you, but I remember the flowers and I grew up to love them! So when Spoonflower announced their Bohemian Design Challenge, I was pretty sure I would have to do Birds of Paradise (among other non-specific greenery).

Then I decided that illustrating and painting Birds of Paradise was going to be way too hard and wouldn’t turn out right, so I thought I’d fake it with herbs. Yep… very tropical, right?

When I mentioned my decision to my husband, he was pretty sure that was not Bohemian. But it’s green, I argued. They are plants too. Still I promised him I’d take another look at the “rules” before I started my Sunday afternoon painting. Ugh. In the midst of doing just that, I just knew I had to try the “impossible” Birds of Paradise. These challenges are about stretching myself after all. So gave it a try. And I’m actually pretty happy about the way they turned out.

If you’re a voter, you can find the challenge here until Tuesday, February 26th, 2019.

Gathering here.