Spider Lily

Hymencallis speciosa

One of the most prettiest flowers in my garden. Wish it could bloom all year round. Did this painting in September, i guess.
Have u ever seen this flower when it -just- opens?? Gosh! its amazing ! Its like a loose bud.. the tips are all attached and *suddenly* it breaks free and those spider-like long petals spread out. The 6 long greenish stamens with yellowish-orange pollen heads, stand upright, making it look prettier !

Next time u see a Spider Lily in a loose bud.... wait and watch it release itself. You just cannot hold back your smile!

.... a watery sunbird wash!

For sometime now, the sunbirds have been on my mind. Dipped my brush to do some small paintings of these tiny jewels. Hoping to capture them at their best, very soon. Over a hundred species of sunbirds have been recorded around the world, out of which India has just about 12 species.

These are the Purple sunbirds. One, amongst the 4 known species recorded in South India. Their long slender down curved bills are well adept to taking nectar from flowers, thus putting them in an exclusive nectar-feeding family called the 'Nectariniidae' .

True to their name, the males have a brilliant glittering iridescent plumage, which is best seen when the sunlight falls on the birds.

Out of the Sketchbook - 2

Some doodles in my sketchbook, out in the field...