Flanders Poppies 2026 - Part 2

Follow-up on the last week's post about my trip to paint Flanders Poppies: more gouache plein air ! 

Little Things Here and There

These are little sketches that fit between larger sketches in my sketchbook. Mostly "this is a super busy day! let me draw whatever is in front of me on my table, otherwise I might not find time to draw today" :)

Another Vase I Made

This was my second time when I was able to make a closed form on the wheel (you make a cylinder and then you make sure that it has no opening at the top). I let it dry some and made a hole for the entrance to the vase. This clay is gritty, rough, and strong, yet when completed, this little piece looked very gentle. I put some grasses from around my home in it before giving it as a gift to a friend :)

On My Table: Beginning of May 2026

April ran away from me - but I 

• enjoyed working on sharing my underwater drawing tips and tricks with a bunch of people online.
• witnessed one of the most abundant rose-blooming season in my neighborhood, and now I even have a rose in a pot! 
• marveled at the late California rains and the sudden greenery of the hills after them
• made a bunch of pots and vases
• finished a sketchbook number 164
• painted outside at least once every week!
• worked on a bunch of graphic design projects and projects that are at the stage where progress seems super slow and there is nothing to share, but I know that it will change.

Flanders Poppies 2026 - Part 1

Flanders Poppies are on my sketching calendar in May usually but since the heat wave we had this year (I know I keep complaining about everything blooming at the wrong time) I went to check the "House with Red Poppies" earlier than usual and found a field in full bloom!

This year I got to chat with the master of the poppies himself and got an invitation to check out his other crops later this year - so now the "house with red poppies is in my calendar twice! 

As you probably already guessed, more sketches are coming because there is no way to paint so much red beauty in just one sitting, but I need breaks between such colorful excursions too :)