Watercolor Cactus Flowers

I miss painting the usual spring flowers like tulips and magnolias, so I paint what's here, in this case some cactus flowers. There are a lot around here I guess because they make great natural security fences. I know. I got too close taking some pictures. Nasty little stickers attach themselves to everything that gets too close. And have hideous little barbs on the ends that won't allow you to simply pluck them from your skin.

This is watercolor in my sketchbook, then photo'd with my Panasonic. I have trouble with the light here in Brasil - it's bright and tropical, even early in the morning. Glaring actually. So a lot of colors just wash out. The flash of course does the same thing. Indirect interior lighting is too weak. So the actual painting values and colors are probably somewhere in between these two images.