Another year of inktober has come and gone… I always want to participate, but there’s something about being a mom and running a business that makes it a little tricky (especially if you’re like me and jumped on at the last minute without planning ahead. Don’t be like me).

I decided to jump in on another artist’s hashtag #flowertober, which I thought would be the perfect opportunity to continue working with what I love (flowers), while also supporting a smaller challenge than the massiveness that is the inktober challenge. As you might have already guessed, while I was able to have some fun and create a few extra flower drawings, I definitely did not finish the challenge out! Even know, I’m writing about my botanical / flower drawings, the month isn’t over and I know that I probably won’t have another drawing to contribute! But alas, that’s how life goes sometimes and sick babies need cuddles and this mama needs to sleep too!

Oh well, enough about that! Let’s get to the images that I WAS able to finish!

I actually don’t think that these flower drawings are in order of when I completed them, but that’s okay! We can enjoy it anyway ;)

I’m in love with cosmos lately—I’ve always been a peony girl, but I’ve wanted to stretch myself and focus on flowers will less petals and volume. Cosmos came into my studio this year and their delicate, fluttery petals have stolen my heart as well! So, of course I had to include a pair of them in here, but I tried to keep that my starting point rather than sticking to it!

I love the movement in this freesia (right). Admittedly, they are not my favorite flower to draw because they are pretty structured and I tend to like something a little more whimsical and forgiving, but I love the graceful arch of this particular specimen. In the end, I’m really glad that a freesia was requested by one of my Instagram friends.

I love this twin violet sketch on the left… something about them dancing together makes me so happy. It was also created for my favorite set of twin boys, so that helps to add meaning to it for me!

And the day lily to the right might be my favorite from the entire series. I started to play around with more movement and graceful layouts rather than strictly following the flower “model” and I am in love with it! A lot of my design work is inspired by Art Nouvau—I love the balance of structure and movement, the emphasis on nature and the asymmetrical designs. I have a feeling that you are going to see a lot more of this style of flower drawings from me in the future! I can’t wait to paint one like this—can you imagine?!

It’s hard to say “no” to a giant poppy (left)! For this drawing I left some of my original pencil mapping visible from before I started in on the outline for the flower drawing itself. This is something that I have always done to help me to get a feel for the paper, the overall shape and space, and just to start with confidence. Do I need to do this? Not really—and I wasn’t “allowed” to do it in my classes in college—but it’s a quick step that saves me a lot of time and stress. And I really think there is something to be said about being able to jump into a project with confidence! Especially something like flower drawing.

And lastly for this collection, we have the Lily of the Valley. This is probably my least favorite flower drawing of the entire challenge. I love Lily of the Valley in person, but something about them makes it so hard for me to capture! Maybe it’s their perfectly molded blooms or their cheerful little jingle that comes so naturally to them but is so difficult to capture in a single moment. Either way, I definitely need to practice drawing them before the next flower drawing challenge that I participate in!

Did YOU participate in Inktober? I would love to hear what you thought of it and if you like drawing/painting challenges!
Which one of these drawings is your favorite? Let me know in the comments below:

Flower Drawings | Inktober 2018 Roundup