Evening Primrose from Alcatraz Island

This year for the first time, the Northern California Society of Botanical Artists is collaborating with the Gardens of Alcatraz to build a florilegium, or collection of botanical paintings, to document the species of the island.  Many of the botanical subjects survived years of neglect to persist from the island's prison past.

As a NCalSBA member, I toured the gardens in March and chose the 'Pink Evening Primrose' (Oenothera speciosa) for my subject.  It was located on the windy side of the island in the 'Prisoner Gardens.'  I completed the color pencil painting below earlier this summer and was recently informed my piece was accepted for the florilegium. A giclée print of the drawing will be on display this fall and will also remain permanently in Alcatraz's collection.

11" x 14" - color pencil on Stonehenge paper

"The initial exhibition of Alcatraz Florilegium images will be in the Alcatraz Prison Band Rehearsal Room, September 1 – December 31, 2013 and will be open to all island visitors."

Watercolor Shallot Study

Happy New Year!

The following painting of a shallot was done with watercolor on hot press watercolor paper.  I love shallots, especially with green beans and butter.  Yum!

Narcissus Geometric Tiling Pattern

I set out to create a geometric tiling pattern based on the Narcissus flower and the following is the result.  This is just a small view of what could be a much larger area.

gouache on hotpress watercolor paper

Geometric Floral Mandala

Now that the San Francisco Giants have secured their 2nd World Series Title in 3 years, it is time to return to the real world and things other than baseball.....after the parade tomorrow.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a mandala that was created for 'Sacred Geometry.'  It is a geometric interpretation of a passion flower, the image of which I have included below along with the mandala.

It was created using a compass, straight-edge and pencil then colored with watercolor washes and watercolor pencils on Fabriano Artistico HP paper.

Watercolor II - Painting a White Flower

For Watercolor II at Filoli, one of the exercises was to paint a white flower for which I chose a simple rose.  It is a little hard to see on a screen but my completed piece is shown below.

watercolor on hot press paper

Hydrangea Flowers and Artichoke

watercolor on hot press paper

Studies of overlapping petals and shading a complex botanical object completed for Watercolor II.

Botanical Watercolor II

The second installment of my botanical watercolor adventures for the summer began with shading some simple forms.  Check out my potato, camellia leaf and pepper below!

8.5" x 11" - watercolor on hot press paper

Avocado Leaf

watercolor on hot press watercolor paper

The final assignment for Watercolor I at Filoli was to paint a leaf of our choice.  I wanted a subject with some variation of color so I chose an avocado leaf from the tree in our backyard and waited until it had begun to decay.

Watercolor 1 at Filoli - Session 3

The third session of Watercolor I at Filoli focused on formulas to mix grays for shadows as well as different greens.  We then used the mixtures to paint 5 different leaves which are shown below along with the ingredients for all mixtures.

leaves and watercolor of hot press watercolor paper

Portrait of a Squash

This quick study was done last semester of a grocery store squash using color pencil and turpenoid.  I've been using color pencils for years but never knew it was possible to dissolve them in a drawing with turpenoid for blending and different effects.  The purpose of this drawing was to experiment with this technique.

color pencil and acrylic background on mi-teintes canson paper

Tulip Leaves

Part of the assignment for 'Drawing Plants in Perspective' at Filoli is to draw a leaf with a fold or twist.  I chose a group of tulip leaves from a bunch, which is shown below.

graphite on bristol paper

Blue Flycatcher and Fly

watercolor and color pencil on paper

I couldn't post this little guy without also providing him without the snack below, although it is an awfully big fly for a bird that size!

watercolor and color pencil on paper

Tulip

graphite pencil on bristol paper

Continuing the botanical drawing from earlier this week, the tulip above was drawn this afternoon as an example of a flower shape similar to a cup.

Calla Lily & Magnolia Leaf

Today was the second day of 'Drawing Plants in Perspective' at Filoli and we worked on cups, cones, cup/cone flowers and leaves.  The Calla lily (cone flower) and Magnolia leaf below were completed earlier.

graphite on bristol paper

Round Botanical Objects

graphite pencil on bristol paper

The sphere, grapes & tangerine/grapefruit hybrid drawn above accompany the cylinder, asparagus and stick previously posted.

Thanks to John Walker for his gift of the tangerine/grapefruit hybrid.

Botanical Stick

Part 1 of my botanical assignment is just about complete, as seen by the addition of the stick to the cylinder and asparagus above.  The stick was found in the parking lot of the Tanforan shopping center.  

New Business Cards!

I just ordered my first set of business cards featuring my artwork from Vistaprint, and am very excited to receive them and start passing around.  Hopefully I will like them as much in person as I like the preview above!  The image is a pink iris rendered in watercolor and color pencil.

Botanical Art at Filoli

I love botanical illustration and recently began taking classes towards a certificate in Botanical Art at Filoli.  Today was the first day of 'Drawing Plants in Perspective' and the above drawings were completed today with graphite pencils on bristol paper.

For our first assignment, we need to complete drawings of a branch and some sort of round botanical object (without perfect symmetry).  I am on the hunt for subjects and welcome suggestions!

And just for fun....a little Filoli trivia courtesy of Wikipedia:

The "exterior of Filoli [was] used as the Carrington Mansion on the TV series Dynasty."