Category Archives: Garden flowers

Snake’s heads

Posted on by under Art, Country life, Garden flowers, Photography, sketching, Uncategorized, Wild Flowers

I’ve been sketching snake’s head fritillary in the spring sunshine.

Mauve flowers, sunlight shining through petal, snake's head fritillary, mauve flowers against a dark background

Aren’t they beautiful, …and strange? With their checkered petals, drooping heads and narrow tendril leaves. I wish I could say that I found them growing in the wild, but I bought these in B and Q.  I find they have very good healthy plants.

A pair of hands sketching in ink on paper in the shadow on the left hand side a snake's head fritillary in the sunshine on the right

By coincidence, well not exactly coincidence, since it at this time of year that they flower, I found another snakes head, this a Mediterranean plant, called Widow’s Iris, which is cultivated in this country by a Cornish grower.

Lilies in a glass of water on a trestle against grass and dark back ground in sunshine

That was a few days ago. Since then we have had little but grey skies and rain.  The well outside the house is full and oozing rusty water into the ditch.

Now I’m painting the flowers as part of a seascape.

The hand and paint brush of Catherine Forshall painting Snakes head fritillary

speckeled move bell shaped flowers, snakes head fritillary

speckled purple flowers in front of painting by Catherine Forshall

Snakes Head Fretillary, fritillaria meleagris against a painting of the same flower by Catherine Forshall

All photographs © James Forshall

In a Cornish Garden – Sketching Magnolia Stellata

Posted on by under Country life, Garden flowers, Photography, sketching, Uncategorized

I’m very lucky. The garden I’ve been asked to paint is so beautiful. It feels so loved. I’m down here to sketch studies of Magnolia Stellata. Just being here makes me feel happy, and in the spring sunshine….

Magnolia stella, hand skeching drawing pad

Magnolia Stellata, I love this flower. You only have to look at it to see why, but like all the magnolias its petals bruise easily. By the time I had finished the sketch this one was smudged with Indian ink too.

Magnolia stellata, Yew, garden, Catherine Forshall sketching

Catherine Forshall sketching in background, Magnolia Stellata in foreground

Hand holding bottle of indian ink and flower, magnolia stellata, sketch of flower in back groundPhotography © James Forshall

Sketching Cornish Spring

Posted on by under Country life, Garden flowers, Photography, sketching

I’m sketching Cornish Spring.  It’s a camelIia, Cuspidata Japonica.

Sketching Camellia Cuspidata x Japonica Cornish Spring

The tea plant is a camellia. The first camellias grown for their flowers in this country were those of Robert James, Lord Petre of Thorndon Hall. Other plants were brought to Britain by the East India Company.

Sketch in preparation of Camellia Cornish Spring, Cuspidata x Japonica which lies on a table beside the sketch pad

 

Photography © James Forshall

Sketches for paintings of a Cornish garden

Posted on by under Country life, Garden flowers, Painting, Photography, sketching

I’m sketching the flowers of a Cornish garden in preparation for a series of paintings I’ve been asked to do.

magnolia, sketch of magnolia flower, tubes of paint on table

Sketching is important to me.  It allows me to learn to observe the subject, to learn about it’s shape, its line and how they work on a flat surface. It gives me time to absorb these things so that when I come to painting I can do so without hesitation. I like to work quickly.

Helliborus niger beside sketch of helleborus niger on white paper, white flower with green leavesSketching also allows me to experiment with mixes of colour.

Magnolia flower lying on sketch of magnolia flower in sunlight

Photography © James Forshall