Wildflowers
« Previous Entries Next Entries »Wild Mustard
Friday, May 27th, 2022
Wild Mustard, Coppell TX, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Like most invasive species, beautiful flowering en masse. That and being edible are two of many reasons it has been able to flourish, robbing resources and space usually occupied by Texas Bluebonnets and other native plants now said to be in danger because of it.
New Zealand Christmas Tree
Friday, April 15th, 2022
Metrosideros Excelsa – New Zealand Christmas Tree, windy day in Auckland NZ, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper, framed size 27H x 33W”.
Cape Meares Cliff
Sunday, January 2nd, 2022
Cape Meares Cliff, Oregon Coast, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper, framed size 27H x 33W”.
Bluebells
Wednesday, November 17th, 2021
Bluebells, Rowley, Alberta, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Chicory
Saturday, November 13th, 2021
Chicory, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper (done April 2021 – now sold), showing through December in Las Laguna Art Gallery’s online exhibition, Botanical Art and Illustration.
Viper’s Bugloss
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2021
Viper’s Bugloss – Echium vulgare – beside Highway 15 near Franktown, ON – this is the second version, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. The earlier version done in 2010 was probably my first success with soft pastels. I didn’t try them again until last year.
So cheerful and beautiful with pink buds and blue-violet flowers along tall stems, it’s tempting to pick them for wildflower bouquets, but the plant has tiny spines along the stem and leaves that are very irritating to the skin, so are best enjoyed left where they are, growing en masse in summer fields beside the highways in eastern Ontario.
I was curious about the name… according to the Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism edited by Michael Stuart (c. 1979, 1987 ISBN 0-9999-48911), they were formerly one of the most respected plants used for the treatment of viper’s snake bite venom.
Wild Lupine
Thursday, June 17th, 2021
Wild Lupine, Mount St. Helens WA, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Firewheels
Wednesday, May 19th, 2021
Firewheels, Grapevine TX, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Here is a link to the Firewheels acrylics painting I did a few years back.
Chicory
Thursday, April 15th, 2021
Chicory, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on 90 lb watercolor paper. Sold.
Indian Paintbrush
Friday, April 2nd, 2021
Indian Paintbrush, Gifford Pinchot National Forest regeneration, near Mt. St. Helens, WA – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Mt. St. Helens is still an active volcano about 50 miles north of Portland, OR and 100 miles south of Seattle WA USA. The last major eruption was in 1980. It disrupted all ecosystems near the volcano, except aquatic ecosystems in the area benefited from the amounts of ash. Most lakes in the area had returned to their normal state six years after the eruption. 42 years later, new growth forest is abundant, and many seasonal varieties of wildflowers thrive in the dry but mineral-rich soil.
« Previous Entries Next Entries »