Posted in Botanicals, My Paintings, tagged Cacti, Prickly Pear on January 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Cacti! A marvelous adaptation to severely dry conditions on the planet Earth. In arid conditions they thrive. Put them in a pot and water them and they wither. Backlit with early morning light a variety of colors emerge … colors which are not usually associated with Cacti. It is hard to “see” these colors unless you look intently in the correct light.
Posted in Botanicals, My Paintings, tagged Hollyhocks on May 11, 2020| 1 Comment »
The old-fashioned Hollyhock came from Asia and Europe. When I was a child, 75 years ago, they were plentiful. I imagine that the pioneer women brought a few precious seeds with them to remind them of their countries of birth. They are extra hardy and love hot weather requiring little care: water them and they will thrive. In a little town by the Salton Sea, in California, I drove by a breathtaking display of hollyhocks in full bloom.
Hollyhocks Against the Fence
Stopping, I was thrilled to meet the person watering them. Her name was Lucy and we chatted after she told me to take all the pictures I desired. She handed me a cut stalk of brilliant red and said, ‘Would you like to see my paintings of the flowers?” In we went to her living room, where she had these two paintings.
“I only paint roses and hollyhocks. They are my favorites.” Lucy said. I said that the flowers she gave me were inspiring me to paint hollyhocks during this shelter-in-place isolation. She nodded and said that she still had to go to work regardless since she had to support herself.
As we parted Lucy invited me to come back anytime if I needed fresh hollyhocks for my watercolor painting.
So I painted those flowers and returned to give the painting to Lucy.
Lucy and My Painting
Here are the flowers, Lucy, and the painting.
Hollyhocks
Still trying to get it right! These colors are hard to match.
Posted in Botanicals, My Paintings, Sierra Nevada Natural History, tagged Beetles, California Buckeye, Reeds on July 20, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Done! Finished! They say only the painter can tell when a painting is finished … well … for me that moment occurs when I am heartily sick of looking at the #*%$* painting. So here they are.
California Buckeye Tree
D.L. and I scouted up and down a remote country road in order to find the California Buckeye Tree … pinched off some leaves which were rapidly turning brown and beginning to drop. This native tree has a clever strategy to defeat the dry, dry summer. When the hills become parched in June or July it drops all of its leaves and concentrates of developing its seed pod. The crispy leaves are graham-cracker colored – the seed pods are enclosed in a leathery yellowish covering which splits as the summer progresses and releases the glossy orange/brown seeds. The seeds are spectacular !
Iridescent Beetles
Painting 2 is a fantasy of the iridescent beetles emerging from a pot … a sort-of still life with drapes and two umbrellas.
Foothill Reeds
Painting 3 is a flowering reed which grows around ponds in the California foothills. In order to see the blossoms you must kneel in the soggy soil and look close … and it must be in the two weeks the reeds put out their peculiar flowers.
O.K. ….Tha … that’s all for now folks! … as my favorite roadrunner says.
Posted in Botanicals, Butterflies, Natural Phenomena, Texas, tagged Guatemalan Cracker Butterfly, Texas Insects on April 6, 2017| Leave a Comment »
A sweaty-humid day and we seek the shelter of some towering oak trees. Whew! It’s hot. Then I hear a cracking sound and am instantly alert … is a branch of the tree going to fall on my head? Moving hastily away and looking up, I can see no branch appearing to tilt or fall. The cracking sound continues as I look around. A man walks by and smiles at us as he remarks “Don’t worry … it is only a Guatemalan Cracker butterfly.”
The cracking sound diminishes and he walks over to the trunk of the tree and points upward. Squinting at the spot I see nothing. He waves me over and says “It is so well camouflaged that it takes a while to see it.”
Guatemalan Cracker Butterfly
Lifting my binoculars I scan the spot and there it is! Above my head, resting on the bark, is a butterfly the size of an apple. “He is a rare one this far North in Texas. He belongs in Central America,” the man says and bids us goodbye.
Once home I look up this strange gray butterfly and find that the cracking sound is from clapping his wings together to warn other male Crackers that this tree is HIS or to attract any female in the vicinity to his tree. Will wonders never cease … Crack away you marvelous butterfly trying to insure that your species will go on into the future. We wish you success.
Posted in Botanicals, Gardens, Sweet Pea Maze, tagged CA, Flinn Springs, Sweet Pea Maze on April 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »
A NEW rite of Spring! … at least new to me. The Sweet Pea Maze in Flinn Springs, California is a fragrant, heady, colorful event which all the locals attend. There was lovely live music, a sunny breeze-laden day, and sweet peas of every color climbing the fences laid out in a maze … walk the maze if you dare! You may be overwhelmed by the odor … or by the color … or by the wonder in the eyes of the children as they sniff and wander thru deep purple, vibrant pink, and pure white sweet peas.
It all began at 9 am and at 11 am you are allowed to pay $3.00, handed a pair of scissors, and told to re-enter the maze and cut sweet pea bouquets if you wish. By 11:30 every flower was cut and held in the hand of the lucky attendee … so many happy faces!!
Hurray for this sweet occasion!
Love, Mary and D.L.
Posted in Botanicals, My Paintings, tagged Botanical Painting, California Plants on November 17, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Pomegranates, Persimmons and Roses
Paula’s garden down in the south of California contains a wealth of plants … all kinds and all colors. The garden is terraced and the trees are tall. She planted every plant herself over a period of thirty years. They tumble over each other and under one plant is … another! Avocado trees, tangerine trees tomatoes, sage, … takes your breath away to look in any direction … desert plants, mingled with roses.
Agave Next to Grapevine
A happy heart is the result when you walk around the garden.
Posted in Botanicals, My Paintings, Sierra Nevada Natural History, tagged Botanical Painting, Milkweed on October 8, 2012| Leave a Comment »
The Milkweed is the host plant for the Monarch butterfly!
Milkweed by Mary P Williams
In hot August days the pods on the plant mature, dry up, split open and the orderly rows of brown seeds peek out of the pod. Then a vagrant wind picks them out of the pod and hefts them into the heavens where they float with their silk floss. This wind scatters them to the four corners and they are randomly deposited on fertile soil and rocky, hostile lands. The lucky seeds will grow into a handsome plant next spring … and once again supply a beautiful sight as they take to the wind the next August. Perfection!
Posted in Botanicals, Sierra Nevada Natural History, tagged China Painting, Kachelofen, Sierra Nevada Natural History on October 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »
I have not been idle … just diverted into china painting by my daughter who is doing a bathroom in the cabin she inherited at 5500 feet … she wanted to show the local fauna … fun for all !
Flying Squirrel Tile by Mary P Williams
Here is the Northern Flying Squirrel, a nocturnal creature, who flies around the treetops in the Sierra mountains. He is seldom seen but a tall tree crashed to the ground and there he was … looking stunned and desperate to ascend another tree … A lovely, shy, tree-top-flyer!
Yellow Jacket and Scorpion Tile by Mary P Williams
Then the yellow jacket … a wasp with a painful sting. Heaven forbid that a number of these insects should zero in on you … there would be fiery welts dotting your skin. In this same tile is the small black scorpion discovered under a rock .. .he hastened to erect his tail and threaten the world.
American Fence Lizard and Skink Tile by Mary P Williams
The third tile depicts the American Fence Lizard with his showy blue throat. Below him is the Skink in the juvenile state which means his tail is blue. In the adult the tail is brown.
Garter Snake Tile by Mary P Williams
Fourth tile has the Garter Snake who slithers around ponds and streams. He is harmless, beautiful,and will flick his red tongue at you … you may pick him up!
Douglas Squirrel Tile by Mary P Williams
The Chickaree, or Douglas squirrel, is a noisy inhabitant of pine forests. He notifies every animal in the neighborhood of your presence with his chattering calls. Not shy or retiring, he is in busy residence in the Sierra foothills and mountains.
The American Kestrel, or Sparrowhawk can often be seen hovering over a meadow or perched on an overhead wire.
American Kestrel Tile by Mary P. Williams
The next three images are of the Kachelofen which heats my house.
Kachelofen, Front View
The word “kachel” (pronounced cockle) relates to “stove tile”, which in material and form is different from ordinary tiles. The word “ofen” is equivalent to oven or stove. So it is a heated, ceramic tile wood-burning stove which gives radiant heat.
Kachelofen with view of Sierra Wildflower Tiles by Mary P Williams
The painted tiles decorating my stove are the wild flowers located on my land in the Sierra’s at 8000 feet. It is a history for the children and grand-children of what particular flowers grew at this elevation in the year 2000.
Kachelofen Dedication Tile by Mary P Williams
Posted in Botanicals, Paintings, Sierra Nevada Natural History on August 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Sierra Angelica, or “Rangers’ Buttons”
Sierra Angelica is commonly described as “Queen Anne’s Lace” but it is not … it is a true California plant while Queen Anne’s Lace comes from England. It is a member of the carrot family and a spectacular sight … delicate umbrels waving in a slight breeze, growing in the shade of fir and pine, intermingled with Crimson Columbine. When finished blooming the seeds are tiny purplish/green packets thickly spread over the umbrel. Delightful!
Mary P Williams 