Two Bougainvillea Vines

The tale of two Bougainvillea vines began about three weeks ago from a simple request.  A client had contacted me looking for an art print that had a Spanish element to it. This particular client has purchased a number of my art prints over the last couple years and I have done some custom work for her, so she knew if I didn’t have exactly what she was looking for, I could probably create it. After further discussion to understand the look she was going for, I directed her to a couple of different prints to see if those would work. What she liked is the first attachment.

The Alamo Adobe

The setting for this scene is the grounds of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. This structure is off in a corner of the grounds. I’m really not sure what it is used for as there wasn’t access into it and it is somewhat off the beaten path. I love the historic architecture of it as it has the old adobe homestead look found throughout the southwest and west from the Spanish influence. This particular print is done using a classic watercolor technique.

Now this is the part where the Bougainvillea’s come into it. “Kirt, my husband and I love this print, but wanted to know if you could put some Bougainvillea vines on the front two posts to add a pop of color?” With the help of Photoshop, not a problem. I started scouring my portfolio for Bougainvillea and remembered I had just finished some prints with them from my Cave Creek, Arizona shoot.   It isn’t quite as easy as tracing the plant and doing a cut and paste to get it to look like it had grown on the post. It’s a fair amount of trial and error and in my case, a lot of piece meal. I would take portions of the plant and with each piece create a new vine growing up each post. The following is the final product also done in the classic watercolor technique.

The Alamo Adobe with Bougainvillea

I like both of them for different reasons….I like the subtle, clean look of the original, but I also like the pop of color in the final one. Thoughts?

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