Iris Blossom in a Tall Glass Panel Coloring Page

The iris here is drawn as a flower first and a glass panel second. Its upper standards curl inward above the falls, which spread wide and low, and every petal is a closed outline rather than a mosaic of small facets, so a wet blend or a smooth pencil gradient can cross a whole petal without meeting a lead line. A thick upright stem carries the bloom, and sword shaped leaves sweep down from it to the base of the light, each one creased along its length by a single interior line. Four corner ornaments mark the frame, a circle set inside a pinched diamond at each one, and they are the only places where this drawing turns geometric. Two tall side strips run the full height of the panel and are completely empty. They present the easiest decision on the page: leave them white and the iris reads as though lit from behind, or lay a flat saturated tone into them and the flower suddenly sits in a dark window. Purple with yellow is the traditional iris pairing, though these open petal shapes will take almost anything. Nothing here is fiddly, which makes it a good sheet for markers.