This painting was commissioned for a family in New York City. It now hangs in their daughter’s bedroom. I delivered it in December 2014.
I cut branches from our crabapple trees and brought them into my studio loft to hand draw. I drew sketches and settled on composition for several days before creating reference photos to help me in the later phases of painting. The model branches continued to leaf out as I worked, and leaves grew larger each day.
In the photos below, you can see my sketch book, where I worked out the colors and keep a pressed sample of the blossoms. There is also a reference photo taken in my studio as I worked on composition and the early sketches. By the time I was painting the blossoms, the actual branches were shedding their petals onto my studio floor. I am still finding their dried fragments, which worked their way into hiding spaces.
The sketchbook lists watercolor paints I used. These are available through Daniel Smith. They are formulated and produced in Seattle, Washington, USA. You will find information about how to purchase them under Resources.
Reference photo and sketch book page
This image is available as an archival print on watercolor paper. Learn More