Strange Beauty

Last month as spring began to unfold, I blogged about the strangely interesting flower, the Hellebore.

It has become one of my favorite flowers because of its unique details and untypical colors. I took several pictures of the ones blooming around my house and knew, one day, I would paint from them.

In this watercolor painting, I have captured the three stages of the flower and exaggerated their shapes with black ink. As the flower opens, inside you see the tubular nectaries whose shapes I find fascinating. I also like the way the stamens open and seem to dance. Finally, the center elongates into pod-like forms. The flower lasts this way for months!

Hellebore Trio
Joanne Osband
watercolor and ink
15.5" X 22"