 From right to left: Bromus (Brome grass), Clarkia amoena (Farewell-to-Spring), Dichelostemma congestum (Congested Snake Lily), Castilleja hispida (Indian Paintbrush), Brodiaea coronaria (Harvest coronaria) |
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My initial inspiration for this piece was Durer’s “Large Piece of Turf”, but I decided to leave my wildflowers “floating”, according to botanical illustration tradition, and left out the ground plane because there is already so much on the page. I wanted the viewer’s eye to travel up and around the page, rather than lingering on the bottom. But my hope is that on some level the plants relate to one another in this composition as if they were growing together in a field.
 View of the Columbia River Gorge facing east. |
The graphite landscape drawing is a view of the Columbia River Gorge, facing west from the Catherine Creek area. I left the river white, as if the sun was reflecting light off of the river, so the background would flow into the foreground. My inspiration for the graphite background was Auriol Batten‘s wonderful paintings of the plants of South Africa, with the pencil representation of their natural environment in the background.
Addendum: Tutor’s Comments & My Reflections:
I enjoyed this assignment although it was very difficult for me. I took a lot of photos and did many sketches and studies in my sketchbook of the meadows surrounding Catherine Creek. My difficulty was that most of the plants were very small, with tiny delicate flowers. I knew my painting needed something larger to anchor it, but the few possibilities were too big for the size paper we were supposed to use and would overwhelm the smaller, delicate flowers. After doing all of the sketchbook studies that we were assigned, I had little time to plan the painting so had to go forward even though I wasn’t terribly happy with it.
My tutor was impressed with my sketchbook work (particularly of the Manroot and Balsam Root) and thought my painting didn’t live up to the sketchbook! He thought some larger studies should have been included and I would have done well to fill two sheets. Overall he said my painting was good but the design could have been stronger. This critique brought me back down to earth after my assessment on assignment 9. I realized that I couldn’t coast along in any way but had to keep extending myself further.
This blog is about my journey as a botanical artist--what I am learning, what inspires me and what I am currently drawing or painting. My desire is to continually hone my skills to better express my wonder and gratitude for the beauty of the creation around me in the Pacific Northwest (USA).
Lovely blog post Janene and even more so after seeing the artwork – to relate to where it comes from and associate the two. The graphite background is really special, a unique way to show the environment and very skilfully achieved. The colours are so pretty and the movement in the piece is lovely. You must be so happy it’s all done now … as I am – it was so much work but probably taught me the most so far. I love your Field Studies artwork – and have a great appreciation for the amount of work you put in.
Yes, I am very happy it is done now, although I miss working on it in a way too…but onward to the next assignment. Thanks for your encouragement. I am glad we are on this journey together!
Janene, it’s impressive how much thought and planning goes into your compositions and the results show. This is another lovely illustration, from the pencil landscape in the background, the focus on the single blossoms on the side, and the delicate exquisitely rendered flowers in the foreground. Beautiful!
Thanks so much Vicky!
This is a beautifully delicate piece with a fantastic composition Janene – really love the graphite background, it adds so much depth without ruining your glorious paintings. Cleverly done!
It’s a spectacular habitat – so breathtakingly beautiful. I can almost smell the clean air from here.
Hope you get a good mark for it – I think it’s a great piece.
Thanks Jessica! It is a beautiful habitat and was a pleasure to study (despite a run-in with a really large snake).
Hi Janene. I really like the addition of the landscape in graphite. It fits so well into the whole composition and it illustrates where you are coming from. And I think that is very necessary information for a botanical drawing to convey. Terrific!
Thanks, Deb. Fortunately, the gorge provides wonderful vistas to use as a background, so I may be revisiting this layout. I agree that it adds necessary information about the plant.
This is a beautiful illustration Janene!
Thanks so much, Sue!