"Orchid" Original Watercolor Painting

Painted entirely with watercolor. I sketched this jungle scene while I was staying in Waikoloa last year. The plants are pieced together from a few photos I took at the Hawai'i Tropical Botanical Garden just outside of Hilo.
 

Finishing this painting took forever- not because of the details but because of my fear of messing up when I had come so far. I took several months off between sketching and various stages of painting, so that when I finally completed the scene it was such a relief and triumph.

I then began the series of tropical landscapes that you see here on my site and amazed myself at how much I could produce after getting over that initial fear. Watercolor is not that forgiving, but learning any skill takes persistence and guts! That's what this painting represents for me.  

Original Painting: 8 x 8 inches