My Orchid Collection

Orchids are definitely one of my favorite subjects to interpret.  The flowers are so beautiful and so delicate, the colors so varied.  It's been funny and also quite an obligation as my orchid collection has grown from just a few to eight plants now.  Watering these babies has really become somewhat of a chore.  I would not call myself lazy by any means, but being a mom, I tend to attend to things that are on the front burner.  Orchids don't nag for water very often, and fortunately for me, they are pretty darn hardy and don't seem to mind the fact that they get ignored an awful lot.

Sometimes I'm inspired by an orchid's color and I just have to have it to paint.  Other times I have had requests to paint certain color flowers.  I have lots of white orchid plants as I've had many a commission for white orchids.  I have two that make beautiful purple flowers, one is yellow with a purple center (very LSU, geaux Tigers!) and one that is just an exquisite lavenderish pink (which I'm happy to say is going to bloom in the next couple months!).

Here's a couple of pictures of what has become my orchid table.  These guys really seem to like it in my studio.  They get tons of natural light as my windows face North.  The morning light shines bright on them and then it's just reflected light all afternoon.  As long as I remember to water them about once a week, these babies bloom bloom bloom, so pretty.  Not sure what I'm going to do with them when I move to Louisiana.  I wonder if there's an orchid rescue?...