Magnolia Shrubs

I mentioned that I was making some magnolia shrubs for the planters outside the flower shop, Floriana. This is the first attempt; although I like the look of the plants, the bare branches looked odd to me. The only thing I could do to finish things up, was to make some flower and leaf buds. For these, I used tiny painted twists of model magic, a very lightweight air-dry clay.

After painting them a very light green, I glued them here and there on the shrubs, and once the glue was dry, brushed the bases very lightly with a nearly dry brush and the colour of the branches. The petals were made from white paper, one side coloured with a pink-purple colouring pencil, following a tutorial in the May/June/July 2020 issue of 1 zu 12 magazine, written by Hannelore Merchel.

They look quite nice in the French wooden planters, either side of the door to Floriana. A very small touch of spring, when it is bitterly cold outside with lots of snow. Because of where we live, the sky is an incredible light turquoise blue, a colour I always associate with the coldest winter days, and the sun is bravely shining.

Back to the wooden shoe workshop now....