Classy Callas

6x9 watercolor on Canson using White Nights paints. This floral garden still life was based on earlier calla lily photos I had taken and was done mid- March. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2026

Elegant Callas

9x6 watercolor on 140 lb cold press Canson XL paper, done last month for an online floral challenge; ref courtesy WetCanvas. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Calla Shadows

7.5x5.5 watercolor and Brusho on 140 lb Canson cold press paper done a few days ago from my many calla lily photos. I love the dramatic contrasts of the dark background against the white of the paper. Brusho was used on the stamen. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Basket Bouquet

15x22 watercolor on Kilimanjaro 140 lb cold press paper painted last month for the second time, an imaginary bunch of flowers in a basket, mostly calla lilies and tulips. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Calla Lilies Confetti

15x22 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper of a grouping of calla lilies I've repainted again, an imaginary floral of deep violet tones plus white. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2021

Three Pink Callas

5.5×5.5 watercolor, Conte pastel, Caran D’Ache wax crayons on Arteza 110 lb. sketchbook paper done today of a simple trio of calla lilies. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

March Callas

6x6 watercolor on Fabriano 140 lb cold press rough paper painted a few days ago to loosen up, just drawing imaginary calla lilies and making up a background. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Calling all Calla Lilies

24x18 watercolor of white calla lilies grouped together.  I first painted this a few years ago then recently repainted the background to be a stronger dark to set off their pristine whites.  Look closely and you can see water drops on the petals.  These lilies are the most popular wedding flowers due to their elegance and beauty.  This work is SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Baby Callas

15x22 watercolor of calla lilies bouquet, another one of my redo works from an older failed painting.  The original was a baby girl portrait so this was turned horizontally and developed into a floral.  It won a point for me in a Western Federation show and is one of my favorites.  Look closely and you can see where I've stamped a doily design to indicate lace.  This work is SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Calla Lily Confetti

15x22 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper of a grouping of calla lilies I've repainted more than once.
Image COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2016.

Callas

15x22 watercolor of imaginary calla lilies.  I used silk ones to draw images from then colored one dark pink.  This work is SOLD and is Copyright Kay Smith.

Edge of Night Calla Lilies

10.5x4 watercolor of a group of imaginary dark red purple calla lilies and leaves on Langton 140 lb cold press paper painted on Thursday.  I used Napthamide Maroon, Transparent Pyrrol Orange, Alizarin Crimson by Daniel Smith/Grumbacher Red and arylide yellow and some quin gold.
COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Hallie Cat in the Studio

6x6 Pigma Micron 01 pen sketch with watercolor washes of my rescue kitty Hallie (Halloween).  She sat on my movie star table surrounded by fake calla lilies, a zebra chair, and other plants.  As a black and orange tortoiseshell I thought her mixed patterns would fit right in that artistic environment.  This was my daily painting yesterday.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2013 Kay Smith.

Calling All Callas

24x18 watercolor work in progress is finished! I opted for a soft grey neutral background without any of the bold brightness of my usual work.  After all, calla lilies are wedding flowers and deserve an elegant setting even if it is only a painting.  I may glaze its background one more time but do think it is done.  I did add a middle lily by negative painting the shape, and do need to soften edges throughout.

Work in Progress: Calling All Callas

24x18 watercolor WIP (work in progress), of a calla lily grouping I drew on Friday then began painting today.  I used Canson Montval block with Daniel Smith paints, wet on dry, encouraging drips and run-backs.  This is about 1.5 hours of work.  I still must finish the stems of mixed greens and one more lower right petal, then decide if a background color is needed or not.  Painting whites is such a challenge! But I love a challenge.  So stay tuned.

Basket Bouquet - Work in Progress

A work in progress (WIP) begun today using no photo, only drawing flowers from silk ones I have in the studio.  Size is 15x22 and this is watercolor on Kilimanjaro 140 lb cold press paper.  After painting so many autumn and winter scenes my eyes were yearning for a colorful floral.  I will add a background garden design and the basket will be sitting on green grass.  So far I drew calla lilies, roses, and tulips.

Calla Lily Colors

 

15x11 watercolor on Saunders Waterford 140 lb cold press paper, an imaginary array of colorful callas.  For this work, I did a lot of negative painting.

St. Ives Calla Lilies

15x22 watercolor of pure white calla lilies from one of many floral photos taken last year while visiting Cornwall.  There was no sun that day so here have tried to lighten the blooms as much as possible.

Another Fractured Images Still Life

Dressy Callas, 22x15 watercolor

Here's another one in the same trend as the previous image ignoring perspective. Each of us in the Caboose Watercolor Society were tasked to create a composition using only 4 objects we'd selected prior and we had 6 months to 1 year to get our works done. (We had done a 4 Objects Still Life show several times). In this endeavor we had one fake calla lily, an Indian southwest blanket, a fake pear, and a coral colored miniature dress form jewelry holder. Good grief! I said when the items were delivered to me, how can anyone make an interesting design out of these incongruous, mundane, and uninteresting things? Well, here is my interpretation anyway, drawn, fractured, and painted in a broken shape relationship where all parts should make a whole.

St Ives Calla Lilies

15x22 watercolor on Saunders Waterford 140 lb cold press paper, painted this afternoon from one of many photos taken in Cornwall. Of course the background is my own interpretation.