Watercolor, colored pencil & graphite: 3 1/2″ x 5 1/2″

Okay, I think that I am starting to get a better system down. In this piece I only used graphite at the very end and over the background image to keep the focus on the host flower. Its hard to know what to leave un-touched in the background. I tried to keep it light in areas. I actually really liked the image without the graphite, but it was almost too soft. The graphite adds some strength. I am really enjoying working in this small size format. Because the size is small, I can finish in a reasonable time and then move on to the next project–which helps with improvement I think. This work was suppose to be an about a 1/2″ wider, but early on I tore the paper–not patient enough to wait for the watercolor to dry and while removing the rubber cement the paper came away. So, rather than scrape the whole thing, I just decided to cut it down a bit!