In honor of my annual trip to the Oregon coast next week, I'm temporarily switching ecosystems in my art making. I've wanted to paint these lovely starfish for the past few years, and would love to show my work in a venue on the Pacific coast. So much of my life has been spent in this part of the world (northern California, Oregon, and Washington), that this subject matter is always inspirational and a natural one for me. Tis the beginning of a new series (yes, I have several series going, but there is so much to draw and paint, I can't help myself ;-). Be on the look out for a painting in progress photo.
First washes on Yucca painting
I typically begin my paintings with wet washes of color in the background. The sky looks decidedly like northern lights...so many surprises with watercolor! In the lower two-thirds you can see the rimrocks starting to emerge. The light blue washes on the flowers are the shaded areas. I will paint the leaves with a more opaque paint near the end of the painting (they aren't drawn here yet).
Yucca Moths
These are sketches of the unassuming white yucca moth, as well as a little moth anatomy.
Taking a doodle break
Yucca Seed Pods
The fresh and dried seed pods have interesting lines to draw.
The amazing yucca plant
A 9x12 watercolor sketch of yucca plant. I'm working on a shrub grasslands portraits of nature series, with the soapweed yucca plant being at the top of the list. The blooms of these plants were lovely and prolific this year. I'm enamored with them not only because of their usefulness (soap, edible, medicinal, etc.), but they have a uniquely symbiotic relationship with the yucca moth. I've read that the moth is the only pollinator of the yucca plant, and the yucca plant is the only food source for the moth larvae. So cool.
Cliff Swallows
While on our Smith River rafting trip, I became intrigued by the cliff swallows flitting and gliding over the water and up into their perfectly designed mud homes. These are preliminary sketches that will eventually end up in a painting as part of my Smith River ecosystem series.
Smith River Landscape
9x12 watercolor sketch. Reminiscing about last year's family rafting trip down the Smith River, MT.
Prairie Wildlife
Drawings of pronghorn antelope from my shrub grassland sketchbook. Pronghorn are interesting animals to observe and draw - beautiful markings, strong horns, and big brown eyes. They are thought to have evolved to outrun the now extinct American cheetah. As such they are the fastest mammal in North America, running at speeds of up to 40-60 mph! To enable them to run this fast, their heart, lungs, and trachea are several times larger than other similar sized ungulates and they have high levels of hemoglobin in their blood. While their long legs appear lightweight and delicate, they are made with strong bones. With the largest eyes of any North American ungulate, they can see a 300 degree arc without moving their head, allowing them to detect predators at great distances.
New Painting Series Idea
I often come up with ideas for art series while working on other projects (or in the middle of the night when I get a flash of insight). I jot down my ideas in my art journals for later contemplation, with the intention of having my ideas turn into amazing works of art in the future! My honeybee pesticide idea was inspired by my concerns about bee population declines, which expanded (in my head at least) to a whole series of toxicology art. Why not unite my years of work in toxicology with making art?! As you can see in the sketch, I'm rolling around the idea of incorporating chemical structures with the animal and/or plant affected by the chemical. In my sketch, I'm showing conceptually that a certain class of pesticides has been shown to negatively impact honeybees and other pollinators. I'm really excited about this concept and will continue to share sketches as I come up with new ideas!