I am continually searching for interesting flowers to paint. This is a big, beautiful bloom at the Botanical Center in Des Moines. These finger-like petals sprout from the center of the plant on a large stalk. Tropical plants always have bold colors, and their leaves have fun details to paint. I painted the flower shape much larger to emphasize its importance and used dark values to make the flower “pop”. Although I started painting the background in sections with a variety of blues and greens, I washed over another layer of thalo green to increase the value, and eliminated most of the details on the leaves to keep the pink flower the center of interest.