Black Tie hollyhock

30x22 watercolor on Kilimanjaro 140 lb cold press paper with Daniel Smith paints.  I grew several black hollyhocks outside my studio door but no blooms this year thanks to the drought.  In my photo the bloom is more dark blood red, but with this one I've gone to the dark side and have pushed color, exaggerating where necessary.

Black Beauty hollyhock

30x22 watercolor on Arches 140 lb cold press paper, done several years ago, and purchased by my friend Debie Pirkle.  She brought it to be reframed so I took this opportunity to take a higher resolution photo image for my files.  Today I delivered it to her new house and it looks right at home there, framed with dark brown and an orange-red inner mat along with custom dark wood molding.  This black beauty is my favorite floral from the studio garden and is one of those you hate to part with.  This painting is SOLD.