Week 1 of 29 February Flowers 2024
Doing it “right” vs getting it done.
Yesterday marked the first full week of the #29februaryflowers2024 challenge on Instagram. Here are the images I posted on my feed and a few notes about them:
The first week got off to a good start, with a post each day. White checkered butterflies prefer to lay their eggs on mustard family plants, but the adults enjoy the nectar of aster family flowers, such as Gaillardia. Some of the photo posts planned for this month will explore some of the little-known relationships between pollinators and native plants. The drawing of the silver-leaf nightshade flower was made several years ago during my coursework for the RBGE online certificate. I found it in a drawer while cleaning up a few weeks ago, and decided to collage it into the project sketchbook along with a color grid. Color memory is highly inaccurate—you will know what I mean if you’ve ever tried to match a blouse in the store with the mental image of the trousers in your closet at home! 🤣 This Woods’ rose was photographed at our campsite by the Conejos River in Colorado in 2021. This is a great native wild rose that does well in partial shade.
The cheerful little yellow flower is Perky Sue. She usually shows up early in the spring bloom season, along with purple prairie verbena and the milkvetch/locoweeds. This is Tetraneuris argentea, but there are actually several yellow Aster family species with the common name Perky Sue!
Posting slid off schedule once the weekend arrived. We planted a clump of Rocky Mountain Iris (Iris missouriensis) several years ago in our yard that have really established themselves. On Saturday, I laid in initial washes of a bloom using a photo reference in my archive. It took a couple of days before I returned to add the fiddly details. The same happened with the seed pod image. I thought I had done my set up, but then needed about an hour to get comfortable ergonomics. The next day mixing the palette and blocking in the main forms took a chunk of time. Finally, rendering the veins on the pods by painting the negative shapes around them was another process.
Is it just a case of letting the perfect be the enemy of the good? Accurate botanical rendering can be a real breeding ground for perfectionism! Or perhaps I’m just not budgeting enough time. Maybe I should redefine the project, and set a goal for fewer sketches? Public group challenges can be a lot of fun, but it really is important to keep checking in to see whether the project fits your goals and sensibilities.
Have you tried an online creative challenge? Do you have any tips or thoughts about the experience? Please leave a comment and share your experience!
Santa Fe News:
Where Women Create magazine features the studio of New Mexico artist and photographer Geninne Zlatkis on the cover of their Spring 2024 issue. The serene, light-filled space was designed and built by her architect husband as part of their new custom-built adobe home to provide ample room for her many projects that range from her popular licensed illustrations to her charming artisan jewelry and ceramics. Find the issue at your favorite newsstand, or here in Santa Fe at Joann Fabrics and Sprouts grocery stores. Be sure to follow Geninne on Instagram ( @geninne ) for daily Southwestern lifestyle inspiration!
The Santa Fe Opera is offering a 30% discount until Feb 14 on selected tickets and dates of the Summer 2024 performance season for people on their email and subscription list.
I'm enjoying your commentary and seeing the drawings that usually I only hear about!
Thanks, Liz! ☺️ I should post more over on the group Discord server! 🙃