Watercolor: Liatris Painting - Part 1

This is the sketch of the liatris plant I will be painting in watercolor the next two weeks.  The original plants are from my neighbors garden.  The sketch has been transferred to watercolor paper and is awaiting me.  Unfortunately, I am not always sure when I will get to things I have set up. My weekend is already filling up.

Liatris, like many flowers, are a difficult color to match unless you start out with the right colors.  I will be discussing that, as well as how to paint depth into a composition.  This is a complex composition in terms of all the overlapping leaves and the variety of textures.  The transition on the bloom stalk will be most interesting, as the blooms go from open to hardly being buds.