The first of a rainbow series of dragons based on flowers from Costa Rica.

Why Costa Rica? It just happened. I was pretty sure I needed tropical flowers to do a rainbow although maybe I should try a New England series next time. But I really loved Costa Rica when I went there years ago with my sisters. It’s a magical place. 

Why rainbow? Because I used to do physics and ROYGBIV gives me useful constraints. (I suppose it’s good I can’t paint in UV or IR or radio or gamma … **chuckle**)

Why a different/another series when I’m still working on the Oddly Exotic Alphabet (and, at least while painting this, also working from home AND parateaching kids at-school-from-home AND….)? Um, because it was paint and the other series is drawings? Because I’m kind of like that? 

In my early research on flowers I wanted to use, I misread a local name (Emerpadora) as a genus name so the pencil title in the photo is wrong. (I have fixed it on the original.) This one is based on Torch Ginger, Etlinger elatior. You may be able to tell from the iNaturalist link above that this plant prefers tropics, although it might be grown in local or botanical gardens as well.

I note that this is somewhat redder than the photo suggests…at least on my monitor! YMMV… Watercolor, about 11.5cm x 8.5 cm (I misplaced my ruler with the English units, so it’s SI for you!). 

Finished in April as part of Ellen Million Graphics’ Finish Fest even though I didn’t originally sketch any of them for Sketchfest. So it sort of bent the rules. Also the time frame. But I’m still ticked at finishing a painting yay!