Just to bring a little color and light into the studio, I picked some magnolia soulangiana (l) and skimmia (bottom) last week. Then they wanted to be painted (they told me). These are paintings but I also used wax crayons to add shading and a few details. I also carved highlights into the magnolia petals, scraping back the darker pink to reveal more white. I like that effect better than painting in highlights. I might add a little more highlights to the skimmia…but they’re almost done. I really like using the wax crayons to mix things up a bit.