Huge Poinsettia

Every year I buy two of the largest poinsettias I can find and put them out on the front steps. I love seeing them as I come and go and they came in handy today as a subject for my sketches.

Yesterday I got discouraged about my understanding and control of color as I tried to paint the boats in the marina. I just kept adding colors to the painting, and ended up with a jumbled mess.  So today I got out my books, read up on color theory and thought about how to better select and mix watercolor.  This is a huge subject but I did read enough to know I should rearrange the colors on my palette and then practice a lot so I know my colors well.

This is a pencil, watercolor and pastel sketch on multimedia paper.