Botanical Illustrator's Handbook by Sally Pinhey

Author:Sally Pinhey
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781847977182
Publisher: Crowood

Bearded iris, with withered flower.

CHAPTER 8

EPHEMERAL FLOWERS

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old time is still a-flying, blooms today, And this same flower that blooms today, Tomorrow will be dying.

Robert Herrick 1591–1674, To virgins to make much of time

Ephemeral or Short-lived Flowers

Desiccated, tough and long-lasting plants, such as limonium and orchids and flowers readily available year-round in a florist, make wonderful subjects when we are learning and still slow. They enable us to take all the time we need to reach the desired level of perfection. We can work in studio conditions and use all our favourite equipment. Blowsy, delicate and fleeting summer blooms, such as poppies and peonies and plants with a very short flowering season, are too often either rejected as unsuitable subjects, or left unfinished because our painting techniques are geared towards slow and laborious work. Roses, peonies, poppies, ipomaea, hemerocallis and many other raving summer beauties go unpainted with a sigh for what might have been. What we need for these is a different approach.

Anyone who has attempted to draw animals and has worked out a technique for this has a head start. Each animal is a new subject to be studied in its own right, and perfecting it could be a life work. Seen by comparison a flower that moves only slightly throughout the day must be easy, but the approach can be the same. That is to study the subject at all stages, in all positions, and get to know it so well that you can finish a work from your notes and knowledge. The keys to painting ephemeral plants are careful preparation, making sketches, taking photographs, having a continuous supply of specimens, and trusting in a reliable drawing.

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