Floral painting in a Chinese style

Today, I went to Stella Niagara, in Lewiston, New York, for a painting class. Normally, I go twice a month to this class. Two weeks ago, the class was canceled, due to terrible weather. It was snowing sideways, creating whiteout conditions, so I was happy to stay at home and paint a bear. Today, it was relatively warm and it was sunny, so I went to paint at Stella Niagara.
The theme of the class was flowers done in a Chinese style. We had to adapt the lesson because we didn't really have the proper tools to make the painting look Chinese. The main tool that we were lacking was a very soft paintbrush. Our instructor, Virginia, told us that we would find the paintbrushes to be difficult to handle and that we would need one class session just to learn how to manipulate the paintbrush. We will have such a lesson at some point in the spring.
This morning, before I went to the class, I watched a video on the Internet that demonstrated a Chinese technique of painting flowers. It was interesting to watch. The artist used a lot of paint and a lot of water. He began to paint immediately, without making a sketch first. He spoke in Chinese, without any subtitles, so I didn't understand a word of it, but I did enjoy watching it. Click on the video below and you can watch and listen, too, if you like.

The painting at the top was the start of my painting. I used red paint and added lots and lots of water. Here, I am adding details to the flower, as well as a little yellow.

Here, I am beginning to add leaves. and to paint in stems, very lightly.

I add more leaves and more detail, until I reach this point. This is when I decide that the painting is finished. One of the more challenging things for me when doing watercolor is making the decision not to paint anymore. It is very easy to overwork a watercolor painting!

And here we go! The completed painting! A large flower, which is really a pleasure to see in the middle of the winter. It is a type of lily. I had a load of fun making this painting. Watch the video and enjoy!