Drawn the Road Again

Tag: wildflowers

  • Seaside splendor

    Seaside splendor

    You already know that San Juan Island is perhaps my favorite place on earth, and the California poppies that grow wild at Cattle Point are just one of the many reasons why. I actually started this sketch on an earlier trip, and came back to this spot exactly one year later to finish it. And…

  • Living library

    Living library

    I love sketching wildflowers and other plants—but unfortunately, I’m really not great at identifying them. Of course, sketching is an excellent way to cement the information into your brain, but it doesn’t help much when you’re not sure what you’re looking at. I’m not a fan of standing there, juggling sketchbook and guidebook, trying to…

  • Beargrass, bare grass

    Beargrass, bare grass

    When I was on Mount Adams, the ravenous bugs prevented me from sketching the most spectacular part of the scenery: the endless meadows of cream-colored beargrass. So when I spotted it again at a native plant garden this spring, I jumped at the chance. As an aside…I have no idea how beargrass got its name,…

  • Lush, eh?

    Lush, eh?

    A couple of summers ago, the Tailor and I took a cross-country road trip along the Trans-Canada Highway. For hundreds and hundreds of miles, the roadsides were dotted with bright pink, blue and purple lupines. It felt like all of Canada was one big, bright bouquet.