Category: Inspiration

California Poppies
California Poppies

 

It’s spring again and I am totally thrilled to see the abundant flowering plants and shrubs in my own yard.  I haven’t made the trek to the desert this year – in a lean season for rain, there wildflower reports never tempted me out that way – but enjoying the flowers right here at home has been delightful.

It’s been especially good for California poppies, and I have relished them daily!

yard flowers

A number of years ago I decided that growing a lawn in Southern California was an absurd waste of time and water and having a “stone” landscape was not exciting in my view.  I changed to a native landscape that would thrive on low water and low maintenance.  Little did I know how much pleasure I would take in having these natives close by!  Here are a few recent snapshots of my little piece of paradise this spring.

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Perhaps one day I will paint it, but for now, it inspires joy in my heart and fuels me through other projects.  IMG_2400

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Wildflowers, Culp Valley, oil pastel

 

I love visiting the Anza Borrego desert in the spring.  In some years the flowers are incredibly dense on the desert floor and in other years, they are sparse and require great attention to detail to spot them.

 

 

 

Desert flowers show up in my work, sometimes focused on individual plants, and sometimes in a landscape celebrating the riot of color splashed across the desert.

 

 

Fish Hook in Blossom, Monotype by Julianne Ricksecker
Fish Hook in Blossom, Monotype by Julianne Ricksecker

 

In either case, I enjoy “revisiting’ spring color throughout the rest of the year by creating art from photos taken on a springtime hike. This is especially satisfying if I missed my usual spring trek to the desert!

2012 was such a year, so recently I pulled out photos of last year’s visit to Desert Gardens and Coyote Canyon.  On the particular day we went. There were abundant lupine blooming, and frequently this summer I have been remembering several views of them.

Lupine, Coyote Canyon, soft pastel by Julianne Ricksecker
Lupine, Coyote Canyon, soft pastel

 

Here is a soft pastel of “Lupine in Coyote Canyon” which is  displayed at the University Club of Phoenix from September 7 – November 11.

Check out more scenes of spring on the desert at my Anza Borrego Desert page.