Short break....now back to business.

After a short hiatus for a weekend wedding and one day boat trip, I'm back to the business of painting. 
This week I will be working on a commission piece for a friend.  Nature offers a never ending supply of subjects for artistic endeavors.  I tend to gravitate towards flowers and usually the variety that you find in your backyard.  The subject of this painting is the Bird of Paradise flower.

Native to South Africa, the Bird of Paradise gets it's name from it's striking resemblance to a colorful bird in flight.  The flower also symbolizes joyfulness.  I can see why.....how can you not experience joy while admiring this flower.  I only hope I can represent it's beauty on paper and convey the same feeling of joy.

I'll continue to post my progress as I continue to build the background and fine tune the "bird".