I’ve recently made a few pieces that include water drops in the background including this little composition using real ferns so it’s not that big a leap to work directly on a leaf. This dramatic sweet potato leaf made the perfect canvas for this experiment.
I love what these undulating lines do to the look of the foliage I use. In previous versions of this basic design I’ve used feathery ferns and, in one case nothing but very tiny individual fronds. While this piece uses some ordinary ferns to balance the composition, the real stars of the show are the bold Sensitive Fern at the bottom center and individual leaf clusters from my Fringed Bleeding Heart.
The single exquisite sweet potato leaf at the center of this composition seems to swirl in a vortex created by the plants around it. They include three varieties of fern — the dagger-like ones are Sensitive Fern — Sweet Woodruff, Ivy, Yellow Archangel and Andromeda. Although I usually design a graphic background for my work, I thought in this case, simple was best.
Even though I created it, this hill of little ferns and strange trees makes me want to see what’s on the other side. I’m busy replenishing my Etsy inventory after last Saturday’s trip to the Artisan’s Market at Lippett Park in Providence. Will miss next week’s market and return on June 29th.
My stock of interesting pressed foliage is growing so fast it’s hard to know what to play with next.
Let’s treat this like a newspaper photo but with plants instead of people– Front Row Left to Right; Fern, Sweet Woodruff, Yellow Archangel, Sweet Woodruff Second Row: Dill, Fern, Sweet Woodruff, Fern, Dill
Back Row: Sweet Woodruff, Fern, Fern, Azalea, Ivy, Dill.
(Photo bombers in sky: Sweet Woodruff)
Meet the plants in person at Lippett Park in Providence next Saturday or check into my Etsy shop.
When I wasn’t tending my display this weekend at beautiful Lippett Park in Providence, I turned my attention to some sweet little landscapes. I wanted to depict three different times of day and was tempted to use identical plants and placements, but my ADD wouldn’t hear of it, so the foliage differs from image-to-image. Some ferns, Andromeda, Sweet Woodruff, Columbine and even Raspberry.
I think it’s time to go abstract tomorrow.
I put them up on Etsy and Pinterest. Why not?
As I said in my last post, I’m thinking of incorporating flowers into my botanical art for the first time. There’s so much beauty in foliage that I never saw the need, but I couldn’t resist using these roses this week.
So yesterday I went in one direction and today in another with a different look but an equally nostalgic result. Next we’ll go to a black background and see what feels different. Manwhile, my fallen but not uprooted Andromeda is in full bloom so I have some drupes of flowers in process. They should be ready soon.
I put my botanicals into three general categories — abstract, representational, and traditional. I’ve spent a lot of time on the first two lately. Time to move on to some more traditional pieces — with a twist I hope.
Just when I thought my supply of pressed ferns from last year’s garden was finally depleted, I was walking the perimeter of my little property and found these brave winter survivors hiding under a hydragea. They were thriving there and none the worse for wear despite all the snow that fell in Stonington this winter. I could hardly wait the two weeks it took to get them prepared for a botanical collage. I have more waiting in the wings so watch for more in the coming days. In order to enhance their visibility against the ‘night’ sky, I mounted three of them with the lighter back of the frond showing. To see more of this growing body of pressed botanical work, click here.
Just when I thought the supply of pressed ferns from last year’s garden had been depleted, I was walking the perimiter of my (1/4 acre) property and found these great green ferns which had actually thrived all winter, snow and all. They were growing under my hydrangea where I never remember seeing ferns in the past. I could hardly wait to process them and get to work. Here is the first result. I have one double-headed one that will eventually make it into a larger composition. You can see I used the lighter back side of three of the fronds better to show up against the night sky. I’ve already completed the graphic for a companion piece that will have a wintery aspect. Maybe tomorrow. See the rest of this growing collection here.
My Stonington Garden 
