A Page for the Dead and Decaying!

When I returned from London last week I found Jarnie's lovely sketchbook waiting for me. I thought it best to just get on with something rather than sitting thinking about it. The great thing about this project is the opportunity to paint plants that might otherwise have been forgotten for the year, and, it really doesn't require any planning....I just paint whatever takes my fancy and add along the way! If it all goes a bit wrong then so be it.  I made a snap decision and chose to paint a poor neglected decaying anemone, which I'd intended to paint when it was first dragged home from the garden centre several weeks ago. It's in a pretty sorry state now with one remaining faded flower ( the last petal dropped today) but I liked the distorted stems and seed-heads. There was even the bonus find of a lovely green shield bug thrown in.

For Jarnie

 Alas the shield bug, which wasn't too happy about being confined in a plastic container escaped my clutches when I wasn't looking, so it lost out on immortality in Jarnie's book. But as luck would have it ( for me ) my daughter found a dead queen bee, Bombus lapidarius, in the porch! So I added it today. It's a bit of a sprawling composition but I don't mind that too much....the bee and anemone are gone but not forgotten
What's next....I've no idea! but can't wait for Sarah's sketchbook to arrive.

The 'Grapes', March

In March I worked in Terri's sketchbook. A quick decision was made to paint Fritillaria uva-vulpis also known as Fox's grapes - it only seemed right to add  the Grape Hyacinth (two coloured Muscari).  I've never painted either of these plants before so it was good to get the chance to try them.  I grew the Frit's from bulbs which I planted very late after painting the bulbs in my own sketchbook at the start of the project, so felt I had to paint them in flower as part of the project. The Muscari was purchased from the garden centre, just a coincidence but I thought the name theme seemed appropriate and the colours sat together quite well....just a bit of opportunisitic fun and great for loosening up the painting style....makes a nice change from the usual planning with botanical stuff!

'Grapes' for Terri