With an open schedule this morning I decided to head over to the beach and visit one of my favorite places; the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens. I walked the grounds as I usually do, checking out the plants in various states of spring foliage and took a few pictures.

I adore bougainvillea. It might be my favorite of plant of all time, I just can’t get over the vibrancy of the leaves. If only I could get it to grow on our balcony…

Eventually I found a nice shady spot, (Necessary today. Was so, so, hot out) spread out my ancient beach/garden/concert/general outdoors throw and started to sketch.

I left a little sunburned, but happy with my sketches. I’m excited to play more with the basic shapes and contours of the plants; removing some of the depth and textural information. It almost feels maplike, and I am really enjoying the process.
Happy May Day everyone!