Insects keep crawling in…through my sketchbook and into my paintings! I know this sounds like a problem that requires a quick search down a store aisle for a certain spray or powder…but I actually invite the insects into the picture. I want to indicate that these plants belong to a community, to hint that there […]
Lupines, Paper and Masking Fluid
September 23, 2016 by · 9 Comments
After doing detailed drawings, color studies and developing my composition, the next step is to bring the subject to life…to create the illusion of a 3D image on the two dimensional paper. So as I paint, my focus is on light and shadow, which is how we see shapes. Choice of Paper But before I […]
Starting a New Project, part 2
June 16, 2016 by · 8 Comments
In my last post, I described my preparations for a painting of lupine that I was commissioned to do. My client said I could paint any lupine I wanted, so I chose the graceful native variety that grows in the eastern Columbia Gorge, Lupinus latifolius x sericeus. With my client’s permission, I decided to add […]
Starting a New Project, part 1
June 12, 2016 by · 9 Comments
Lately I’ve been a captive of fading leaves and withering petals–trying to use every minute to get them drawn and studied for a painting before they are totally gone. Drawings, color studies, and reference photos take precedence over anything that can be postponed during that brief period when the cuttings remain fresh. When they’re not […]
Field Study: Balsam Root and Saskatoon, SBA Sketchbook
June 13, 2012 by · 10 Comments
I was taken with these thick leaves with their graceful undulating edges–I loved how massive they looked in comparison with the fine grasses surrounding the plant. I settled down on the ground in the meadow at Catherine Creek in the Columbia Gorge to do the drawing, but added the color later in my studio. Amelanchier […]
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).