A hot day at Balboa Park in San Diego, California led to some nice photos of the lilypond outside the Botanical Gardens. After a great deal of perspiration, the photo led to a complete pastel:
“Balboa Water Lilies”
There’s so much to Balboa Park, it’s often a favorite place for us to make a relaxing trip for the day. Between the carousel, Spanish Village, museums, and gardens, an artist can get lost in the scenery. It’s a great location to take a camera or sit and paint if you have the time.
The lilypond didn’t have too much growing in it on that particularly hot day, having been recently cleaned up due to some vandalism. We got a great view of the turtles, since the water was clear enough to see them swimming from one group of lilypads to the next.
The painting itself took much longer than I anticipated, mostly because I got caught up in the detailed lights and darks of the water.
To read more about this painting experience, visit my art blog at http://artbynikihilsabeck.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-hot-mess-of-water-lilies.html.
Here’s to a happy and productive 2013!