Tulips

 

3/26/24 Inktense Blocks in Hahnemuhle sketchbook

A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a bouquet of tulips from a grower who sets up a kiosk at the neighborhood 76 station every spring. I intended to sketch them at some point, but then I got busy with cherry blossoms and never got around to them when they looked so beautiful on the kitchen counter.

Truthfully, though, I have a fondness for flowers when they are just about to hit the compost bin. To sketch, I like them even better that way than when they are new. Twisted like raw silk, petals often with more complex hues than when they were fresh, tulips die with an elegant grace that gives me permission to be loose and expressive.