Shepherdia

Shepherdia
Originally uploaded by apple-pine

Back in November I was in the park with some friends who recommended to try these berries. The tree looked amazing - very green, bush-like and covered in bright blood-red berries. Rather tasty :)

I think it was Shepherdia argentea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepherdia_argentea

Dry Grass in Wunderlich Park

Too bad I did not make additional notes and did not identify it right away - I'd love to have a bunch of these sitting in a dry composition - would work great with evergreens I think :)

Sketchcrawl - at local farm

I had my boy as a team member and lots to sketch :)

In June I sketched flowers of this tree and even wrote down the name - today I ate a few fresh and delicious feijoa fruits from that tree ;)

Here is my June sketch:
www.flickr.com/photos/23173190@N07/3711344053/in/set-7215...


I am not sure if this is a chestnut and if this is Amaranth though... But theu look pretty close ;)

Coral Tree (Erythrina)--Nina Khashchina

I spent a wonderful morning sketching this unusual building with a very colorful, "shapy" tree - from a distance.

When I finished everything I planned to and thought that it was a perfect moment to get some lunch and celebrate last page of a sketchbook, I walked under the tree and saw these flowers....

Needless to say that lunch had to wait as I tried to capture as much as possible about this wonder!

I think it's a Coral Tree (Erythrina) - and here is a link why:
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/coraltr1.htm

Scroll to the image of flowers - I think my tree is D.
what do you think?

Artichoke Flowers

I saw these beauties while on my run and returned later that day to draw them, posting a quick snapshop of my sketching set-up from my phone:)

Later I found out that it's a Globe Artichoke (Cynara cardunculus)! ;)

Jacaranda Tree Stop

I was a little early for an appointment and decided to hunt for a 20 min adventure on my way. Jacaranda trees are painting my life in a beautiful, lace lilac color - so the choice was obvious ;) I sketched a tree, took a picture of me sketching (while waiting for paint to dry a little more) and picked up a couple of flowers and seed pods to look closer.



I am trying to use some soapy water with watercolor since I ended up with a moleskine sketchbook again - it works much better - and bubbles are fun ;)

Hidden Villa June 6, 2009

I asked the guide (who was giving a tour next to our kids who were playing hide and seek under huge grape wine) what kind of bush is that and the answer was that it's a Jerusalem Artichoke - but she was not sure. At home I did some research and found out that it is indeed Jerusalem - but not Artichoke but Sage ;)

Below - purple, rather large and tall (about 4-5 feet) poppies ;)

June 4, 2009: "Poppy Field" hike

I had a chance to sketch while "hiking" (it's a park in the middle of Silicon Valley) with my son today. At first I was not sure that I would have time for anything but a quick contour drawing or two but gradually my companion got interested in sketching too (though his flowers were surrounded my trains and railroad stations :) and I filled two pages of mini notes and drawings :)

Prairie Coneflower

Another Texas wildflower.... These are the yellow version of the Prairie Coneflower. More commonly, these flowers have a dark red color on the petals, close to the base. They are also known as Mexican Hat. 

Ink & watercolor on hemp paper.

Tulip Tree - Liriodendron

Today in the park I got a wonderful present from my little companion - a flower from a Tulip Tree.
It was very nice to let sun warm my back while I sketched this with my new little kit - here is an image of the process.

Both images in this post have some notes - click to see them on Flickr.

Prequel: monstera fruit

I am going to post a proper introductory story - with a photo and little background but right now I am too excited to be invited to this group not to post one of my recent discoveries:
Fruit from a Monstera plant.

A little story behind it: I got it quite some time ago as a small house plant. Later that year my husband noted that if the rate of it's growth will keep as is we have to choose who occupies the room - HIM or US. I thought of it as a joke but later that year I realized that it's time to make a decision ;) We moved it under the window and now - a few years later - have a nice shade ;)

It's name is Monster and it bore three fruits (about a year ago)! I picked one of them when I realized that two already fell on the ground and were eaten by enthusiastic squirrels :) And here is my sketch of it. I used a bit of pencil (a rare occasion for me) to make sure that pattern on the cone is captured correctly. Then - used my Lamy with black water resistant ink to draw as much as I wanted and added watercolor.



Length of this fruit was about 10 inches and it smell very nice and fruity. I did not try to eat it though - while I was drawing a whole bunch of ants occupied it (and mind you - it took me a mere 20-30 minutes to finish this one! How did they know that free sugar is there? ;)

Thanks for inviting me, Kate - I will be back with a proper introduction soon :)