I have been travelling for work for probably more than ten years, but my routes tend to follow familiar paths between the same destinations. Denver, Colorado was entirely new to me — my first visit to both the city and its remarkable botanic garden.
I was in residence at Denver Botanic Gardens from September to October 2017. My principal aim was to complete an illustration for the garden's collection, and my interest lay in the native flora of Colorado. I was fortunate: that season, Ratibida columnifera was in full bloom — a beautiful composite flower. When I first saw the plant, it seemed straightforward enough. This thought always comes to me at the beginning, until I look more closely. Ratibida columnifera is made up of many minute flowers arranged in a perfect sequence — the Fibonacci sequence. Details that small can only be rendered with the finest brushes; I used sizes 000 to 0 for the centre of the inflorescence, where all those tiny flowers are packed together. After some careful study of the plant, I managed to capture the flower head at life-size. But the only way to truly see these minute flowers is under a microscope, so I dissected the plant to explore its inner structure. What I found there was remarkable.
Ratibida columnifera
After completing R. columnifera, there was little time to rest — a new orchid was already waiting on my desk. Professor Mark Wilson from Colorado Springs brought me a species native to Colombia and Ecuador. Its genus is Pleurothallis, though the species name was still pending — I was very much looking forward to hearing it. After all the fine detail work on Ratibida, I was well practised in delicate brushwork, which was exactly what this orchid demanded. There is simply no other way to do justice to such a refined subject. My eyes suffered — but the painting was completed.
Pleurothallis sp.
During my residency at Denver Botanic Gardens I completed two illustrations and taught a weekend workshop. It was a productive two months and I left feeling the aims had been well met. I was also fortunate enough to attend the Annual Meeting of ASBA — the American Society of Botanical Artists — in San Francisco. It was a great pleasure to meet so many artists and reconnect with old friends. Every lecture was worth attending, and the gathering was wonderfully busy with workshops and exhibitions. I was very glad to have had the chance to join, and I hope to attend again in future.
Of course, a visit to Colorado is not only about work. I had to go to the Rocky Mountains — and I did. For all that the dry air and high altitude took their toll, I breathed something extraordinary on those mountains. Until next time, Denver.
