White-petalled Cosmos Flowers in a Field rise on delicate stems, their yellow anther centres reaching for the sky. Wispy tendrils and floppy petals contrast with blue-green leaves in the background. Watercolour painting. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Blue Flowers Monochrome divides the page with diagonal crossing stems heavy with flowers. Long angular petals conceal anthers and pistils, while leaves curl to fill the space between the flowers. Watercolour painting. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Feast of Fall is a multi-coloured composite of various autumn foliage from Ontario, Canada - with a few exotic houseplants thrown in for good measure. Branches and leaves are bursting with colours both real and fantasy, from green, yellow, orange, red, magenta and purple to rich browns and even blues. Mixed media painting using watercolour and colour pencil. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Sparkling Peony Rose is a pink flower in full bloom, its heavy head resting on a slight but sturdy red stem from which sprout a number of green leaves. The sparkle, which can be seen in light but not in the photo, comes from a natural pigment called red fuchsite. Mixed media painting using watercolour, ink pen and colour pencil. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Marigolds on Blue Leaves shows three yellow, orange and red flowers in different blooming stages set against a blue leaf-patterned background, with several new buds just beginning to emerge. Watercolour painting. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Green Grapes and Grape Leaves lead the eye from sunlit leaves deeper and deeper into the ever-darkening green foliage, vines and fruit of a vineyard. Watercolour painting. copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Cotoneaster Clusters in full bloom, their white petals and green leaves transformed into a rainbow of colours, from yellow, orange and red to pink, magenta, violet and blue. Tiny red anthers on ochre stamens dot the centre of the flowers, with new buds almost ready to open. Watercolour painting. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Orange-Tipped Yellow Rose in Full Bloom is a finely veined flower, its delicate petals fresh and soft and curled at the broad orange tips, the stem and leaves a pale green, and the base of the petals a vibrant, sunny yellow. Mixed media painting using watercolour, ink pen and colour pencil. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Casablanca Lily I is a painting of a gorgeously-scented, long-lasting flower with huge white petals and slender green leaves. The stamens are topped with anthers full of red pollen, waiting only for the right insect to come and transfer to the waiting pistil. White-on-white is achieved with faint tints of pink in highlight areas and blue in the shadows. Mixed media painting using watercolour, ink pen and colour pencil. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Echeveria Seeks the Sun is a fleshy-leafed succulent with a budding stalk reaching in the direction of sunlight. Colours on succulents are subtle: if you look closely, you can detect tones of purple, red, yellow as well as green. Mixed media painting using watercolour, ink pen and colour pencil. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Yellow and Red Tulip on the Stem is a brightly-coloured flower waving gently on a sturdy stem, embraced by its own green leaves. Mixed media painting using watercolour, ink pen and colour pencil. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Cactus in a Sheep Pot features a tall cactus with budding arms and white spine clusters growing out of a pottery plant pot in the shape of a sheep. The animal has creamy, curly wool, spiralling yellow ochre ram's horns and a very surprised expression on its face. Mixed media painting using watercolour, ink pen and colour pencil. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Fading Orange-Tipped Yellow Rose is a finely veined flower of transforming beauty, its delicate petals beginning to fall. Although the orange in the petals has receded to the edges, there is still green in the stem and the leaves and petals that remain are still soft and vibrant. Mixed media painting using watercolour, ink pen and colour pencil. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
White Alstroemeria Trio is a single flower profiled to the left and to the right, opening its petals in full bloom, white petals tinged with a faint green with purple anthers on pink stamens rising out of the centres of all three flowers, dropping purple pollen on the snowy petals. Mixed media painting using watercolour, ink pen and colour pencil. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Blue Bellflowers in full bloom on tall sturdy stems rise in a field of flowers that recede in bands of strong colour, from violet and pink through magenta and fire red. Watercolour painting. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Casablanca Lily II is a painting of a gorgeously-scented, long-lasting flower with huge white petals and slender green leaves. The stamens have already dropped their anthers and all the pollen, while only the pistil remains. White-on-white is achieved with faint tints of pink in highlight areas and blue in the shadows. Mixed media painting using watercolour, ink pen and colour pencil. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Cactus in an Elephant Pot has four green cacti lobes with red and white spike clusters growing out of a pottery plant pot shaped like an elephant on short legs, smiling, with a probing, curious trunk and floppy ears. Mixed media painting using watercolour, ink pen and colour pencil. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
White Alstroemeria Companions open their petals in full bloom, white petals tinged with a faint green with purple anthers on pink stamens rising out of the centres of the flowers, dropping purple pollen on the snowy petals. Mixed media painting using watercolour, ink pen and colour pencil. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Two Spring Flowers on the stem n full bloom gracefully bend their heavy heads towards the viewer, their delicate petals multi-coloured like a rainbow, from yellow and orange to red, pink and violet. A soft light illuminates the small bouquet. Watercolour painting. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Orange-Tipped Yellow Rose in Decline is a finely veined flower that is a fading beauty, its delicate petals withered and dropping to the floor. The orange tips have completely receded to the edges of the petals, which are now a deep yellow. Yet there is still green in the stem and the rose hangs on to its final petals. There is beauty in decline. Mixed media painting using watercolour, ink pen and colour pencil. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Cactus in an Ox Pot features a round green plant with white spines tucked into a burgundy and yellow ochre pottery plant pot in the shape of an ox with bulging eyes, a round belly and broad horns. Mixed media painting using watercolour, ink pen and colour pencil. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Marsh Passage reveals a narrow waterway, just big enough for a canoe, between multi-coloured lily pads and reeds in a marshy pond. A single water lily flower is about to bloom. Mixed media painting using watercolour and colour pencil. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
Autumn Twig, found along a hiking trail, has three orange leaves and the grey buds that indicate the beginning of fall. Watercolour painting. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
White Alstroemeria opens its delicate petals in full bloom, clean white tinged with a faint green. Purple anthers on pink stamens rise out of the centre of the flower, dropping purple pollen on the snowy petals. Mixed media painting using watercolour, ink pen and colour pencil. Copyright © 2022 Patricia Nolan
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The delicate scents and vibrant colours of flowers, the sparkle of sunlight on leaves, the sight of rising stems, rough branches and wispy tendrils all stimulate our senses and nourish our spirits. I am drawn to both symmetry and asymmetry, to fine details and broad strokes, in the endlessly enticing world of organic patterns and forms.