Mexican Sunflowers and a Free Downloadable Botanical Illustration print

This summer we grew Mexican Sunflowers for the first time. I love their beautiful vibrant colors that are unlike any other flowers I’ve seen!

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The colors are especially beautiful when light passes through the petals.

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They have soft velvety stems that always look like they’re rimmed in light.

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I was also excited to learn that the nectar of the Mexican sunflower is a favorite food of the Monarch butterfly.

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We try to make our garden a haven for Monarchs by growing lots of milkweed for them to lay their eggs upon and butterfly bushes to provide nectar. The Mexican sunflowers are a great additional food source for the butterflies and tons of other pollinators.

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The seed packet said they would grow to be around five feet tall but ours are over ten feet!

I read that Mexican sunflowers reseed easily so I’m hoping to have lots next summer. Maybe you’ll be inspired to grow them too if you have some extra space to create a nurturing environment for Monarch butterflies and other pollinators. If you already grow them, leave me a comment and let me know about your experience!

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I tried to capture the gorgeous colors in watercolor in my sketchbook and decided to make the painting into a pdf that you can download and print. Print it on letter size card stock to use it as a greeting card or you can print it on good quality paper to display it in a frame. The size is 5 x 7” when the excess is trimmed away and folded.

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Download your free print with my thanks for subscribing to my newsletter by entering your email address in the box below!

Original oil studies now available

Now available in my shop are recent small original oil studies on Arches oil paper. They are meant to be quick sketches, trying to capture accurate color and values of the subjects without too much time spent on refining details.

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The oil paper is similar to heavy watercolor paper so they can be framed the same way, for example, with or without mat, mounted on a board, etc. It is recommended not to put them behind glass so that the oil paint will have access to air in order to cure properly.

I'll be adding more studies soon and hopefully regularly, so if you would like to be informed of their availability, please subscribe to my mailing list!

 

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