Water Lilies Are Hard to Paint

Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord, 16 X 12 in.

I decided to try to paint water lilies. I have a lovely photo that has been in my "to paint" pile for a while, one I took on vacation. Every other time I thought about painting it I passed, mostly because I thought it would be a tough one to get right. And boy, was I right about that. I learned that it is better to get your water + reflections painted right first, because it is almost impossible to fix it after you start adding the lily pads. And I never quite figured out how to paint the lily pads.

But I haven't given up on water lilies yet. I have a photo of Monet's Giverny lily pond that is waiting for me.