Carolina Magnolia, 6 x 6 " oil painting, Fay Terry, ©2012

The Magnolias are in full bloom where I live and the lemony scent of the flowers is in the air.

This afternoon I walked around all the trees in our yard looking for the perfect flower to paint.

I think I found it.

This bloom seemed to have just the right amount of shadow on it and the petals were whiter than any others. It must have just opened a few hours ago because it had not taken on the creamy yellowish white that shows up as it loses freshness. It was also not above seventy five degrees today so that helped keep this beauty from drooping.