Two Studies of Twinflowers
When I lived in Ontario, I loved the cedar forests. Such an amazing place for a child to play, carpeted with cedar needles and virtually no underbrush. We used to ride our bikes over the tangled roots, up and down along a lovely little lake.
Not so our forests in northeastern British Columbia. Tangled with underbrush, Devil's Club and wild roses, you do not hike off the trail unless you are wearing thick pants to resist the thorns. Dark arching aspens and evergreens block out sunlight, and leaves rot under a maze of deadfall tree trunks.
But there are treasures in the forest if you know how to look. Stepping into a glade fawn-spotted with sunlight, one might see violet faces cupped by emerald leaves. The delicacy of forest blooms stands in contrast to the ruggedness of their habitat.
twinflowers1
Twinflowers seem too fragile to pick. Pale pink, bell-shaped flowers, doubled on one stem (hence the name) they are best captured on film rather than trapped in a vase. And they are lovely to paint. I created these two paintings recently, and I would say I'm still in the "working out a painting" mode. You know my third painting is usually the one where everything comes together, so, two down, one to go!
twinflowers in progress - watercolour by Angela Fehr