Holiday Hollyhocks

9x7 ink and watercolor in sketchbook done in late December. I used a Winsor Newton fine liner pen in sepia along with White Nights paints. Not holiday flowers for sure but they are a favorite. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

Capitan Hollyhocks

8x6 watercolor using White Nights paints, done last month after a drive to Capitan, NM, to eat at the Oso Grill. Across the street is the Smokey Bear museum and these dark red hollyhocks were blooming at the base of an old tree. This floral watercolor is done on handmade rough 140 lb cold press paper. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2025

July Hollyhocks

8x5.25 watercolor on Moleskine paper done last days of July using White Nights paints and some of my white hollyhock photos. Where I was in New Mexico, the hollyhocks were still in bloom. COPYRIGHT 2024 Kay Smith

Lush Hollyhocks

5x7 watercolor on Fabriano 140 lb cold press paper begun on our last day of the trip then finished here in studio. Using my own hollyhocks for reference these lush blooms can warm up even the coldest day. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Hollyhock Garden Fence

8.5x5.5 watercolor on Masters sketchbook paper done last weekend from one of my hollyhock photos. Sometimes the plants are taller than the fence. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Hollyhock Shadows

8x8 watercolor on Masters Premium 140 lb cold press paper finished today, an imaginary scene of a white Adirondack chair backed by tall old fashioned hollyhocks. The garden flowers grow tall next to the white picket fence and cast their shadows upon the chair and pillow. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Bonnie's Hollyhocks

5x6 watercolor on Fabriano 140 lb cold press paper, sketched today using watercolor pencils.  Floral hollyhocks reference of artist Bonnie in Canada.  Part of the online challenge was to use a limited palette of 3 colors so I used manganese blue, permanent rose, and Naples yellow by Daniel Smith paints.
COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Studio Black Hollyhocks

28x20 watercolor on Lanaquarelle 140 lb hot press paper completed yesterday.  These black hollyhocks grew along the classroom side of my studio along with pink, red, and white ones.  Many colors went into the deep purple almost black hue:  Quinacridones violet and magenta, permanent rose, alizarin crimson, carbazole violet, indigo, UB, thalo green and blue, etc.  Since the blooms were transparent for the most part I used opaques for the background:  Periwinkle, Mint Julep, and Peachy Keen (American Journey).
COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Black Hollyhocks and White Roses

7x5.5 watercolor on Italia 140 lb cold press paper, an imaginary garden flower scene in prepping today for a very large one of just black hollyhocks I'm getting ready to paint.  Mixed blacks were done using quinacridone violet, UB, quin magenta, permanent rose, carbazole violet, and indigo.
COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Sunday Hollyhock

4.75x4 watercolor on 300 lb Saunders cold press paper done this afternoon, sketching with multilead Magic colored pencil first then painted wet in wet.
COPYRIGHT 2019 Kay Smith

Hypnotic Hollyhocks

16x12 watercolor on 140 lb Arches cold press paper done this afternoon for a 2 hour timed online event. I managed to go over by 4 minutes.  The pristine white hollyhocks take center stage as they guard the garden. Look closely and you can see orange tiger lilies peeking through at center bottom.  The old fashioned, tall stately blooms never cease to put me into an hypnotic state almost.
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kay Smith

Assorted Hollies

 3.5x2.5 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper, an art card also called an ACEO (Artist Cards Editions & Originals) done last week.  The size as seen in real life is posted below at lower pixels.  These assorted hollyhocks were fun to paint using no photo references.
Image COPYRIGHT 2017 Kay Smith.

Bright Yellow Hollyhocks

15x11 watercolor on Canson XL 140 lb paper done this afternoon.  Using a very tall pale yellow hollyhock by my front door area I quickly sketched the blooms in pencil then with small amounts of water put in the flower centers allowing paint to run and mingle. This is about 45 minutes as I was trying to outrun a thunderstorm and hail. Working from light to dark, I could keep going on it ad infinitum.  Negative painting with mixed darks was last.  For greens I mixed 1) Payne's Grey + quinacridone gold 2) aureolin yellow + ultramarine blue 3) green gold + indigo.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Pink Hollyhock Garden

15x11 watercolor painted wet into wet on Saunders 140 lb cold press paper, a very loose interpretation of my own pale pink hollyhocks.  With darks put in first, midtones were next, followed by lightest lights and/or white of the paper with this one application direct painting method.  Hollyhocks are one of my favorite flowering old fashioned plants. This work is SOLD.
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Harmonious Hollyhocks

22x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper of white hollyhocks that actually were very pale yellow from a grouping of them at my studio.  This painting SOLD at its first show and is in a private collection in New York City.  Also this image was published in International Artist book "100 Ways to Paint Still Life & Florals" Vol. 2.
Image is COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2002.

Hello Hollyhocks!

10x8 watercolor done today from our first house backyard, pink, red, dark pink hollyhocks along the wooden fence.  When we were in the mountains last week there were still some of these old fashioned lovelies blooming here and there.  I still plant them every year as they are my favorite and they are coming up wild in the studio yard.  Paper used is Langton 140 lb cold press.  Colors:  Alizarin crimson, quinacridone violet and magenta, Grumbacher red, permanent rose, Taylor's Pink Flamingo, quin gold, arylide yellow, Midnight blue, Undersea Green, UB, gamboge, Prussian blue, Coffee with Cream, Sepia.  At the end when dry I splattered alizarin.

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.

Heirloom Hollyhocks

30x11 watercolor on 140 lb Italia cold press paper, painted in a direct manner on paper spritzed with water.  Drawn from my studio hollyhocks these regal reds emphasize their heirloom quality as old fashioned flowers so full of nostalgia.  This painting has won Best of Show.  This work has now been SOLD.

Hollyhock House continued in progress

Now I've invested about 2 hours total into the garden scene working the entire right side, sky, trees, gate, background foliage and path leading into the composition. I'm still working wetly as I go along, spraying with the mister bottle letting some blending happen. A few hollies will be in sharp focus and others softly blending into their surroundings. Probably 20-30 minutes more and will be done with this one.