The Joy of Painting Flowers

Real and Imaginary Blooms for the Almost-Summer Days

A little Montmartre bloom from earlier this week.

On Friday afternoon, I sat on a bench in a park. It was a sweltering day, and people were moving slowly—like through water. In the shade of my tree, under the bench, it was a tiny bit less hot, but still hot. Two mid-teens, in a good mood, approached my bench and asked if it was okay to share it. I was reading, and I nodded my head affirmatively. The blue May sky was covered with ecstatic little white clouds.

One of the girls started singing, and since I recognized the song—and she sang the well-known melody really well—I looked at her automatically and said, “It’s good.” She started laughing and proudly motioned to her friend, as if to say: “You see, I am good!” I continued, somewhat to myself and my book: “Elvis.”
Her friend asked, surprised: “Presley?”
I said, somewhat confused: “Yes, Elvis.”

They continued singing and laughing. I continued reading, and every now and then I wondered: Is there another Elvis? My reality is just one of 8.2 billion realities.

Last year, I drew a map of the world’s flowers. I love flowers—I mostly know their names in at least two languages. I already wrote about names and flowers earlier this year here. Whenever I have a little moment, I stop and look at them, smell them, or just appreciate the combinations created by the city’s gardening department. Flowers make our world so much more beautiful. Imagine the world without flowers!

When I drew this map, I wanted to learn where the flowers originally came from. Azaleas are from Japan, zinnias from South America, and lily of the valley is a local European flower… I thought people were as interested in “lesser-known facts about flowers” as I am—but alas, I’ve only sold three of these maps so far and gifted one to my mum.

So yes, we are in charge of our own ideas and realities. Some people don’t even notice the flowers—and that’s just how it is.

In today’s video—a little paint-along for my paid subscribers—I’m showing you how I use watercolor inks and how I paint real and imaginary flowers. It’s a fun and simple project for all ages and all levels. These are the flowers we’ll be using as decorations for the envelopes I’ll teach you how to make next month.