Blossoms of PNW Natives, SBA Assignment 4

August 16, 2011 by · 8 Comments

Clockwise from top left: Lilium columbianum, Penstemon richardsonii, Cichorium intybus, Campanula rotundiflora, Oenothera hookeri, Vicea americana, Rosa nutkana

This is my fourth assignment in the Society of Botanical Art course that I am taking. We were supposed to depict blossoms of different shapes, colors and sizes (all life-size). The perspective should accurately describe the construction of the blossom, ie having a throat or a cup-shape. I chose to feature plants that are native or naturalized in the area where I live. It was a very challenging assignment but I learned a lot!

I found some of these growing in the fields around my house.   Some were plants that I either regarded as weeds or hadn’t noticed before, but after studying them for this assignment their beauty speaks to me in a new way when I see them on my rambles.

If you are interested, I posted the flowers individually on flickr.
Addendum: Tutor’s Comments & My Reflections:
Overall, I got great feedback from my tutor.  She liked my choice of flowers, and thought the variety of color, shape, size and texture was good.  She thought the foreground petal of the Oenothera was hard to read, which was her only criticism.  She thought my range of tone was good, which gave the flowers a 3D look.  She liked the rose and lily the best, but thought the chicory was well described too.  I was thrilled to get such a positive response.  She said although at first the page looked sparing to her, she thought the use of negative space was well planned so it worked.  If I was doing this assignment over, I would group the flowers more closely but somehow had the impression that I had to use the whole page thus the large spaces.
Filed Under: Native Plants, SBA Course, SBA DLDC Assignment Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Comments

  1. Cathy Holtom says
    August 17, 2011 at 2:44 pm

    These look fantastic, lots of delicate details. Great work!

    Reply
  2. debra morris says
    August 18, 2011 at 4:11 am

    Great work Janene, as Cathy said lovely delicate details

    Reply
  3. Vicky says
    August 19, 2011 at 9:16 pm

    Janene, these are so delicate and beautiful. They look like they could be floating through air. These botanicals really show your fine touch, precision, and ability to capture such fragile forms.

    Reply
  4. Vicki Lee Johnston says
    August 21, 2011 at 8:52 am

    Beautiful page Janene. It certainly was difficult with all that colour to choose from! Look forward to the journey with you, nice to move on and enjoy the next challenge!

    Reply
  5. Janene says
    August 29, 2011 at 2:14 pm

    Thank you for visiting and for your encouraging comments, Cathy, Debra, Vicky and Vicki! I am so looking forward to the next assignment, when I can combine flowers AND leaves!!

    Reply
  6. Linda C. Miller, Artist, Naturalist and Instructor says
    September 2, 2011 at 3:13 pm

    Wonderful natives! I like your shading and looik forward to your future posts!

    Reply
  7. Irene Brady says
    September 2, 2011 at 4:08 pm

    Definitely botanical illustration quality. Nice work, Janene!

    Reply
  8. Janene says
    September 3, 2011 at 3:16 pm

    Thanks Linda and Irene–I consider those to be high compliments from wonderful artists like yourselves!

    Reply

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