The Botanical Garden in Naples, Florida is a great place to visit and for artists to work their magic. Southern waterlilies love it very, very hot, the hotter the better. During the winter months with cool days and even cooler nights, the flowers do not fully open. As the temperature drops some of them close up and partially submerge to keep warm. To counteract the cool temperatures, the Botanical Garden uses natural vegetable dyes to color the water for three reasons. It heats up the water which the lilies prefer, it cuts down on algae and it helps pop the colors of the flowers. 

I had been working on a series of  paintings about waterlilies.  Since sunlight is constantly changing, the fun is in catching the moment with paint before light looks totally different on the scene. Water Garden 9x12 Oil on linen my intention was to paint the delicate essence of the waterscape and flowers as they begin to close.