A day at the NC Arboretum

While my husband was in Asheville for 'Hot time in the Mountains', I used my free time to do some watercolor sketching.

 I took my hiking watercolor journal kit with me to the North Carolina Arboretum, and spent a beautiful day wandering the gardens and viewing their indoor quilt exhibit.  They were just replanting their garden quilt with fall plants.  In a week the blooms will make the quilt patten pop.  There were still plenty of flowers in bloom else where in the garden.  Some of the trees were starting to turn color around the edges, hinting at a color show yet to come.

It had been so long since I did any sketches it took me a few sketches to get comfortable with my paints.   The pitcher plant's patten of bright pink and green on a background of pure white were so beautiful.  I took several photos, but only did a quick sketch since my water brush wasn't small enough to do the intricate pattern justice.  But between the photos and this sketch I will be able to do a larger painting when I get back to my studio.

The garden was a mix of late summer's brilliant annual colors and the first blush of the more earthy colors of fall.  The dying leaves of the Swamp Hibiscus and spent seed pods rustled in the wind.  Whispering ghosts of the vibrant red flowered plants of summer.  The stems still had the dark red, but the green of the leaves had faded to yellow.  The dark brown dried seed pods added a bit of additional interest to the sketch.