IlluminatedOrigin

Darwin Day, February 12, 2020

Another Year of Research and Study

For the illuminated Origin project, 2019 was full of research and design.  In addition to what I can show here, I filled many sketchbook pages and created and edited numerous design files, which I have to keep on external drives because of their size.  I wish I could share more, but I'm simply not ready.  I spent this Darwin Day looking back at the last year and documenting what I did manage to accomplish.  I’ll take this opportunity to share with you some images of my year to give a sense of my work flow and snail-like progress.  Most of the work this year was botanical, as I am finishing my diploma in botanical art from the Society of Botanical Artists in London.  After May I will be focused on bringing pages together and working on some small posters with image and text for next year.

Last February I overhauled my watercolor palette.  I had been using paints made with cadmium, but after a lot of research and testing I found new colors, mostly from Daniel Smith, which are cadmium-free and give exceptionally smooth and vibrant reds, yellows, and dark colors.  Not only are these paints safer, they also allow me to achieve a much smoother texture.  I made new color charts for these new colors to be able to see what they can do.  In addition to this major change, I also photographed lots of late-winter/early spring flowers, including pansies, amaryllis, camellias, and tulips.  I also completed a study of tulip flower structure and finished a beetle painting for a patient collector.

In March I completed a study of flowering kale.  That week my studio was full of the colors of spring.  I often paint studies and photograph plants not knowing how or when they will get into the Big Book, but I try to capture whatever is blooming at the time, both in the surrounding desert or wherever I happen to be traveling, or even in the grocery store.  For this book, everything counts.  All examples of life fall into one chapter or another.