prickly poppy

Bluebonnets get the most attention of the vast variety of Texas wildflowers, but my personal favorite is the Prickly Poppy. It begins blooming in mid spring and lasts through late summer’s heat, a bright pop of white in the green pastures and along roadsides. I drew these from a photo taken at our campsite in Bastrop State Park. I especially liked how the flowers looked next to the Bastrop ironstone.

State Farm acted quickly after our car wreck two weeks ago. We received our claim payoff and yesterday we were able to buy another Trax, this time in a new color called “cypress gray” — in some light it looks dark earthy green and some light it looks gray. Once we add a tow package, we can get back to camping adventures.

tree forms

While here in the woods (our RV is literally surrounded by trees on 3 sides!), I have been slowly collecting sketches of the more unusual tree forms. Lots of post oak, cedar elm, and bald cypress in unusual growth patterns. The main tree on the left seems to be standing tiptoe with a patch of grass growing underneath it! I’ve included a photo of it from the other side.

The trees in the center share a large common root between them. The front one also seems to be parting its “skirt” to reveal an underlayer. The tree on the right has what appears to be a wee doorway at the end of one of the roots.

Drawn with Pitt Artist brush pens and colored pencils; fountain pen ink and gouache for the bluebonnet bloom.

bluebonnet time

On Thursday I got together with a good friend but we spent more time catching up with each other than sketching. She happens to live surrounded by the most beautiful of Texas wildflowers but I only sketched a couple of them while we chatted; the rest, I drew from photos later at home, including some fun decorative bits from her new kitchen.

The second photo shows only a small portion of their land of wildflowers.

a little bit of play

Here, I was trying new ways of sketching some wildflowers seen on a walk yesterday.

First, simply drawing with Pitt Artist brush pens. Then, details in colored pencils but it didn’t show well on this toned paper.

So I broke out my safari green Lamy filled with Noodler’s El Lawrence green ink. Overworked, probably, but I had fun trying.

Nameless

We receive a monthly periodical from Texas Co-op Power full of interesting photos and articles of the area’s history. November’s issue included the photo that I painted this page from; the composition really caught my eye. 

The story is about a ghost town northwest of Austin called Nameless. In 1880 the growing community applied for a federal post office under the name of Fairview but the name was rejected because it was already in use. So were the five subsequent applications. After six rejections, the frustrated townsfolk replied “Let the post office be nameless and be damned!” The “name” was accepted.

I used watercolor, gouache, and a bit of colored pencil on this. Not sure I’m quite happy with the finished piece but it’s all a learning process.

✳️ UPDATE! Further reading about Nameless shows a complication in sketching from a photo a place where I’ve never actually been (the photo showed this area in shadow). The building in the distance in the sketch is actually a dog run structure, two rooms under the same roof with a breezeway between. Built in 1876 as a homestead to one of Nameless’ founding families, it was rediscovered in 2023 when the original site was being cleared for a subdivision. It has been relocated across the street to where Nameless’ restored schoolhouse stands.

wild sunflowers

With all that’s been going on with us in the past few weeks, our bird feeders have been sadly neglected — I found this rogue sunflower growing underneath one of the feeders.

So far, I have only used Neocolor II watercolor crayons in this small nature journal I made (Ink lines are done with a Pentel Pocketbrush pen). Today, I tried regular watercolor to see how a more watery color looks on the toned paper.

tiny sketches from Inks Lake

These tiny sketches are from Inks Lake State Park. We are home now, but with no cell phone service at the lake, I’m posting these from home. And following, one more photo from the lake, some white-tail deer on an outcropping of gneiss. Maybe I’ll sketch it someday.

toadflax

Early wildflowers are beginning to show themselves along local county roads — and in our south pasture. Bill found some toadflax while out playing fetch with our corgi. He picked one and brought it to me.

This (quick) tiny sketching has definite advantages, as I have been busy buying garden plants and making sourdough crackers and bread.

new sketchbook, random bits

Over the past week, I added a bit here and there to the first pages of my new sketchbook. Eclectic and unplanned. The paints I put together in this “landscape” palette include several colors I’ve never used before.

wild morning glories

I had to really work to get morning glories to grow when we lived in Kansas. Here, they grow wild like weeds! In fact, this year has been an exceptionally good year for them.

The washi-tape I used to tape off a frame for this sketch tore some of the paper when I removed it. Odd — it hadn’t done that before.

Indian paintbrush and bluebonnets

This year the Texas bluebonnets have been a bit sparse, at least in our immediate area. But the Indian paintbrush have been abundant — even colors of coral and yellow have bloomed among the usual orange-red.

This photo was taken in the same area as the above were sketched from by my friend A. just one year ago:

sketching wildflowers

This past Friday, a friend and I got together to sketch and chat. She lives on land currently covered with windflowers — I drew some bluebonnets, a primrose, and false dandelion in a glass yogurt container that were sitting in front of me. 

This crazy jumping spider kept coming near me so I added him (her?) to the page.

The local bluebonnets have been outdone by Indian paintbrush this year. Oceans of orange have overtaken the usual blue. A. and I both took photos (her iPhone camera is newer and much better than mine!) — I plan on trying to sketch a landscape of wildflowers later this week.

This is a photo I took looking towards a neighboring farm . . .

And this is a photo A. took recently. I absolutely love Texas wildflowers!

a touch of spring

These tiny yellow-to-coral wildflowers are popping up all over our yard and front pasture. The wee blossoms are only 1/2 to 3/4” diameter. I don’t know what they are called but they make me smile.

Texas wildflowers

Texas wildflowers were so amazing this past spring! Though I wasn’t able to get out among them in person, I enjoyed the vast views on our drives to and from College Station. And my dear friend, A., sent me plenty of incredible photographs taken on her property.

thirsty firewheel

Our extremely high heat (over 100° f.) and lack of rain has really stunted the area wildflowers this year. Bill brought me this wee Firewheel (aka Indian Blanket flower) when dragging the trash can back to the shed on Tuesday. Much smaller than usual and “droopy”. Like the rest of us . . .

Texas bluebells

Recently our daughter told us that a local grocery store had Blue Bell ice cream on sale. We spent the rest of the day talking about making an ice cream run — but never did. It’s just Too Hot to get out! So I sketched these bluebells instead.

Originally the Brenham Creamery Company, the famous Texas ice cream brand was changed to Blue Bell in 1930, named for this elusive Texas wildflower. A friend of mine sent me photos of blue bells she found growing on her property.

recent wildflowers and reading

I am still caught up with trying to read the complete Lord Peter Wimsey books written by Dorothy L. Sayers in the 1920-1930s. Normally a quick reader, I have been checking them out as ebooks from a Houston library and am constantly having to wait for another reader to turn the next one in (I prefer to read things in order).

Anyway, because of my voracious reading habit, I have been neglecting my sketchbook pages, just sketching a bit here and there of these wildflowers recently found on a friend's acreage. Finally finished this page last night -- that Monarda is extremely complex!

Since I am enjoying these clever mysteries so much, I looked into buying the complete set of 15 but I just can't wrap my head around spending $25 on EBOOKS!! (the lowest price I have found). A book that can be held in the hand can be passed on to others, but an ebook stops with the original purchaser. I found a complete used set for sale as Mass Market paperbacks but I am not willing to spend $125!

Still trying to decide . . .

Texas wildflowers

The brilliant blue bluebonnets, orange-red Indian paintbrush, and pink primrose are gone for another year, giving way to yellow coreopsis and white prickly poppy. I took these photos at a friend’s beautiful country property in early April. The day was very windy and pollen levels running very high, but I hoped to try painting a landscape or two from these photos. But painting a whole field of wildflowers still intimidates me!

bluebonnets . . . and a new sketch pal!

This past week, after a 2-year delay, I was finally able to meet a new sketch friend in person and we drew bluebonnets! A. heard of me through this blog and contacted me 2 years ago to see if we might meet somewhere local to sketch. She and her husband live in a barndominium, as we do, just a short drive up a country road from our place.

But then Bill was hospitalized a week due to a cat bite infection — the same week that Covid-19 shut down the world. We have stayed in touch through email but didn’t meet in person while Covid numbers were still up. 

Covid cases are now pretty low in this area so A. invited me out to her place — a beautiful property with acres full of Texas bluebonnets and other wildflowers! Strong winds and high pollen levels made sketching outside difficult but I took photos, then we sketched these bluebonnets in the barn.

Maybe I’ll be able to do some more sketches from those photos I took . . .

palmettos and an unknown lily(?)

The palmettos growing in the forest undergrowth looked pretty sad the day we arrived to our campsite, but after several days of sunshine they were beginning to perk up. Carrie arrived wearing these unknown lily-like wildflowers in her hair; they look like rain lilies except for the exaggerated stigma.