Heavenly Blue Morning Glories

Whenever I show my work at an outdoor festival these days, people tell me about their morning glories. That's because I always have a painting or two of these extremely popular flowers. Theirs are either doing spectacularly this year or not blooming at all. I keep hearing the same extremes and am not sure what the reason is for the difference. Everyone is getting the same amount of rain (lots), and sun. It's kind of funny.

At any rate, mine are not growing at all. Not sure what's wrong, but I'll have to find a new location for them. Last year I had one which bloomed with one flower and the entire plant was only one inch tall! Considering they usually grow up to cover 7 ft. trellises, that plant was not an Olympic champion.

For this painting, I did not need to have any morning glories for reference. I've painted this favorite flower of mine so many times that I could paint them with my eyes closed. Almost. I hope you don't mind that I put a bumble bee in the scene. Morning glories always seem to have at least one buzzing among them. I've never sat outdoors painting them for more than a few minutes before one will come humming along to bury its head in one of the trumpet-shaped flowers. I like the addition of the bee. It helps make the painting come alive with activity!