When life gives you lemons, draw them, 11 x 14 inches dry pastels, graphite on paper

"When life gives you lemons, draw them." (Nikki)

"Color! What a deep and mysterious language." (Paul Gauguin)

Wildflowers

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Kootenai National Forest

Tuesday, July 19th, 2022


 

Kootenai National Forest ID, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Kootenai National Forest ID, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper, 27H x 33W” framed size.

Wild Sweet Peas

Monday, June 20th, 2022


 

Wild Sweet Peas, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Wild Sweet Peas, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper.

Daisies and Hawkweed

Monday, June 6th, 2022


 

Daisies and Hawkweed, 24H x 18W inches soft pastels on paper
Daisies and Hawkweed, Stony Swamp Trail, Ottawa ON, 24H x 18W inches soft pastels on paper

Wild Mustard

Friday, May 27th, 2022


 

Wild Mustard, Coppell TX, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
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, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
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, OR - 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Cape Meares Cliff, Oregon Coast, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper, framed size 27H x 33W”.

Bluebells

Wednesday, November 17th, 2021


 

Bluebells, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper

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

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


 

Vipers Bugloss, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper

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

Wild Lupine, Mount St. Helens WA, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper

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