I tried looking up rhododendron and azaleas to figure what I sketched. But between my loose sketch and the similarity of the two flowers, I can’t tell.
What I do know is that it’s lovely to sketch with friends. I stole these three images from Iva’s instagram feed. That’s Iva, Nina and me, sketching that day.
When I draw like this, without pausing to think and plan, my compositions are chockablock with stuff. Maximalist. Messy. Bursting at the seams. Or maybe it’s just that I’m happy to sketch with friends. And happy it’s getting warmer and spring is here.
So are those rhododendrons or azalea that we painted?
Sketch Away: Travels with my sketchbook 
These are great sketches
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Beautiful sketching! Probably azaleas which in my experience are smaller bush-wise and flower-wise than rhododendrons, plus I’ve never seen a pruned rhodie — but who knows? Gorgeous and fun in any case!
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It is way too early for rhododendrons to be in bloom (typically they bloom in late April-early May). They would never be pruned into a hedge like your photo. Unfortunately your photos don’t give enough detail to tell what the flower is. If I had to guess, based on your sketch and the time of year I would say it was an azalea. If you could send me a close up of the plant, I would be happy to tell you. I owned a nursery for 27 years so I do know my plants. Your sketches are lovely.
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Here, on Iva’s feed is the closest photo we have: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8AnfcDnZKI/
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If the flowers in the background of your photos are what you painted, those are azaleas. Lovely!
Leslie Reid Brasher http://www.lrbrasherstudio.com
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thank you! I think all my plant/flower experts that commented on this post concur with you!
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I grew up in Florida (and Georgia too) where Azaleas abound; I now live in the mountains of Virginia surrounded by Rhododendrons. The individual flowers are very close to being identical (they are basically cousins), but the flowers of the the Rhododendrons are in densely packed multi-bloom clusters. So, unless the west coast varieties are radically different … those are beautifully painted Azaleas!
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The two flowers/plants are quite similar, our thing, the difference in size? Your sketchbook pages are stunning! I love your use of color and flowing style.
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Nice sketches. I really like how you add texture with ink. To me they look like Rhodedondrons. But I cannot be certain.
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Reblogged this on sketchuniverse and commented:
🌷🌸🌻🌺 HELLO BEAUTIES, IT’S TIME OF FLOWERS. https://www.vdberk.com/trees/rhododendron-english-roseum/https://www.vdberk.com/trees/rhododendron-english-roseum/
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