This watercolor sketch is of a Dinner Plate Hibiscus from my mom’s garden. These blooms are literally 8-10” in diameter, hence the name!  Gorgeous!!  I have never seen these grown in Florida, but on my recent visit to Indiana you seem them everywhere. I like doing these long vertical formats in my sketch book.

This sketch has a slight departure from my other sketches.  I didn’t use my regular Windsor Newton kit.  I have a Schmincke palette which I sometimes use.  It’s a lot heavier than my normal kit so I don’t take it when I have to carry my supplies around.   Since I knew I was going to be painting at my mom and dad’s house, I brought it along.

We drove to up to Nappanee, Indiana, which is one of several areas in Indiana with an Amish population.  I love traveling to these areas and being caught off guard when you see the horses clip clopping down the road among all the cars, pulling the ubiquitous black buggies with the orange triangle warning signs on the back.  My mom and daughter and I had a discussion about the simple, but surely hard-working lifestyle of the Amish and wondered if we could do it.  Although it sounded appealing to all of us, the consensus was for a variety reasons we couldn’t.

While in Nappanee we visited  Amish Acres which is known for it’s little village featuring a restaurant in an actual barn and a round barn theatre.   For a fixed price they serve you a family style home cooked meal.  Your choice of two of three meats, fried chicken, pot roast or ham, plus, bean soup, home-made bread, green beans, dressing, mashed potatoes, beef and noodles, sweet pickles and slaw with a vinegar dressing.  Last but not least your choice of several types of pie for dessert.  We were famished after walking and shopping at their annual artisan and craft fair that weekend on the grounds behind the restaurant around the lake.  We had a glorious lunch while admiring all our treasures we had purchased. :-)