This tall plant in a pot at the Native Plant Project greenhouse at work was calling to me.  I chose to paint directly with Tombow dual tip markers and a waterbrush.  In a Canson Mixed Media sketchbook, I started laying down tan, brown purple and red marks for the flowers and stem.  Just a few strokes of color from these water soluble markers goes a long way… once you add water.  It’s best to use a paper with sizing, like the Canson Mixed Media sketchbook has.  The paper in an Aquabee or Stillman & Birn sketchbooks also work very well with this technique.

This is a timed sketch. You can get a lot of color with these markers in just 10 minutes!

But could I stop here?  Nope : )
I set the timer for another 10 minutes.  I was able to add some brown Micron pen ink to the flowers and stem.  Then added the the plant names / common and Latin, and a few details.