Study of Pink Hollyhocks in Sunlight, from Nature

To capture the delicacy of hollyhocks, John La Farge shaped their floral forms with washes of pink and blue. Between these passages of color, he reserved, or left blank, areas of white paper to create the lightest parts of the ruffled blooms. To add contrast, he painted the surrounding leaves in translucent and opaque greens, scraping into the surface of the paper to create subtle veins.

La Farge developed his watercolor technique in the late 1870s by painting floral subjects. These watercolors were fundamental to his artistic practice. They served both as studies for his decorative arts projects and as finished works.