Coastal Adventure

On a recent weekend, a member of Oregon Botanical Artists hosted several of us for a two-day “Coastal Botanical Adventure”.  We visited four different ecosystems in two days, all within ten miles of our base.  On the first morning we hiked through deep forest near Fort Clatsop in the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.

Some plants we saw along the trail through dense forest at Fort Clatsop; Petasites frigidus, Gaultheria shallon, and Ribes

Dorota, our host, was a great guide and pointed out many of the coastal native plants that she knows so well, like Coltsfoot, Salal and Gooseberry and one of my favorite plants, Skunk Cabbage.  (I beg to differ about the common name–it doesn’t stink at all to me!)  Some of us found shady spots to sit and sketch and others hiked further along the trail.

I plopped down in the underbrush beside the trail to do a line drawing of a beautiful Skunk Cabbage specimen.  I took many reference photos and did a tonal study when I got back home. I’ve been wanting to paint one of these for a long time so I wanted to study it closely in preparation.

I’ve loved Skunk Cabbage since I was a child.  Our backyard faced a nature preserve mainly comprised of springs and wetlands, where my brother and I spent much of our spare time exploring.  These gigantic bright yellow blossoms reminded us of lanterns lighting the shady swamp.  In fact one of this plant’s common names is Swamp Lantern!

The Skunk Cabbage line drawing I did in the field; the tonal study in progress with spiraling lines to indicate the pattern of the buds on the stalk (I changed the composition slightly by moving the leaf bud on the right); the finished tonal study for future reference

The beautiful Lysichiton americanum that I drew; another specimen with the leaves unfurled; the perfectly orderly pattern of buds ready to burst into tiny flowers along the spike. I find drawing urban architecture challenging but the architecture of this plant is much more exacting.

After a delicious lunch and some gallery-hopping together in nearby Astoria, we headed to the Netul Landing on the Lewis and Clark River.  It was interesting to see how the plants varied on the sunny banks of the river as opposed to the dense shade of the forest.  We all found spots to sketch what caught our eye.  I drew this little native vetch, Vicea americana, that trailed along the ground.  I liked the purple blossoms and the curling tendrils at the tip of each petiole.

“Sketch o’ vetch” done in the field. I shifted it slightly when I took the photo–sometimes its hard to juggle everything!

The next day, we went to the beautiful Ecola State Park, which is on a windswept bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  We hiked through the forest along the cliff, which was lush with Sitka Spruce, Hemlocks and huge sword ferns which were bigger than I have ever seen, despite growing in these harsh conditions. It was drizzling so not conducive to sketching but we enjoyed the dramatic scenery anyway.  The thick forest canopy kept us fairly dry.

View of Haystack Rock from Ecola State Park; the trail up to higher cliffs; View of craggy coastline below

Our next stop was the Ecola Creek Forest Reserve, which is the watershed that supplies the town of Cannon Beach.  Since this was more inland, a lower elevation and protected from the high winds at the beach, we found yet a different ecosystem.  Although there were some Sitka Spruce and Hemlocks here as well, we found many Western Red Cedars and Alder in these wetlands…and I was pleased to see many more Skunk Cabbages.  Here the cabbages had almost finished blooming and their huge leaves were unfurled.

Ecola Preserve wetlands; Skunk Cabbage unfurling its leaves

Last but not least, here are the artists that joined me on the adventure.  They all were pretty knowledgeable about native plants so I got to absorb a lot of interesting information from them, plus we all share a wonder and appreciation of the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest.  The weekend was a great opportunity to be inspired by others with the same interests.

Dorota, Rebecca, Janene and Catherine

Do you have fond memories, or maybe not so fond, of the plants you played around as a child?  In the wetlands where my brother and I played as a child, we sometimes accidentally brushed against the Stinging Nettle which grew thickly beside a trail we often took, and even now I grimace whenever I see it!