Fantasy Arums

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
- Marcel Proust

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!


Arum Lilies - Acrylic on Gesso primed un-stretched canvas - 9" x 12" - Maree©

Definitely a first for me, doing a subject that is not true to life. I mean, really, Orange Arums?! What next?! Normally for me, as here, once I apply a back-ground, that normally sets the tone for the rest of the colour palette. And it seemed a natural progression of incorporating orange as the contrast to the yellow back-ground.

All species of Arums (or Zantedeschia) are endemic to southern Africa. Z. aethiopica grows naturally in marshy areas and is only deciduous when water becomes scarce. It grows continuously when watered and fed regularly and can survive periods of minor frosts.

The Zantedeschia species are poisonous due to the presence of calcium oxalate. All parts of the plant are toxic, and produce irritation and swelling of the mouth and throat, acute vomiting and diarrhoea. A beautiful flower carrying a deadly secret!

The Simple Beauty

Unfurl your cloak of silken white
Reveal your secret wand upraised at length
And not unlike a star you shine serene
To exalt the autumn-tide with silver cups.
Shall we drink sweet nectar as we praise
The simple beauty revealed now in truth?
Or shall we simply sit and idly gaze
Into the eyes of love I have for you?
Calla lily soft and silken white
With open heart I pledge my love this night.
- Author unknown

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!



Arum lilies done one the back of a sheet of Photo printing paper, using coffee (Nescafé Instant, very strong, very black!) - for the back-ground. This paper is actually very thin, and ever so slightly glossy, so it was a completely different feel painting on this in stead of my normal heavy-weight watercolour paper I'm used to. It's also not conducive to allowing the paint, or coffee, to freely flow and mix. I also gave the back-ground a slight salt treatment, which then promptly refused to budge once the painting was dry! I had to scrub it off with a nail brush! I used fine table salt, maybe that could be the reason... But it has somehow imparted a raw quality to the painting.

Zantedeschia is native to southern Africa from South Africa north to Malawi. The Zantedeschia species are poisonous due to the presence of calcium oxalate. *All parts of the plant are toxic,* and produce irritation and swelling of the mouth and throat, acute vomiting and diarrhoea.

Did you know that the striking arum lily "flower" is actually many tiny flowers arranged in a complex spiral pattern on the central column (spadix)? The tiny flowers are arranged in male and female zones on the spadix. The top 7 cm are male flowers and the lower 1.8 cm are female. If you look through a hand-lens you may see the stringy pollen emerging from the male flowers which consist largely of anthers. The female flowers have an ovary with a short stalk above it, which is the style (where the pollen is received). The spadix is surrounded by the white or coloured spathe. According to Marloth, the whiteness of the spathe is not caused by pigmentation, but is an optical effect produced by numerous airspaces beneath the epidermis.


To buy a Greeting card or other fine art print of this image, go to My Redbubble

Coffee Daisies

"Good Art comes from good Inspiration!"
- Maree

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!


"Coffee Daisies" - Coffee and watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - 12" x 8"

I have discovered painting with coffee! I have used both coffee and tea in staining certain materials before, especially cotton, but never thought of using it in art until I saw some of Barbara Glatzeder's art on RedBubble.

I've painted these daisies almost totally with coffee, adding a bit of Cadmium Red to the background, leaving it to dry over-night. Then I did the flowers straight on the page with coffee the next morning (Nescafé instant, made VERY strong!), no sketching. A bit of grey/green was used for the flower stalks.

When looking at the original, the coffee, when it dries, leaves the richest, shiniest, wet-looking patina, better than any permanent staining watercolour, absolutely great! Wish they made coffee in other colours!! And as Barbara says, the artwork smells great!

I'm disappointed in the scanning of this image, as the rich patina of the coffee doesn't show at all.

You can view more Coffee Art HERE.

Golden Daffodils

Daffodils - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - 5.5" x 7.5" - Maree©
(From my "No sketching" journal)

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
- William Wordsworth, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud," 1804

Cosmos swaying in the breeze

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!


Cosmos - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - 11" x 7.5"

"Bright flowers, whose home is everywhere
Bold in maternal nature's care
And all the long year through the heir
Of joy and sorrow,
Methinks that there abides in thee
Some concord with humanity,
Given to no other flower I see
The forest through."
- William Wordsworth

The show of Cosmos in Tarlton (Gauteng, South Africa) this year was fabulous! They stretched next to the road-sides for kilometers and extended into ploughed fields, swaying pink, lilac, white and cerise in the wind. Nature puts up this grand show every year from November, well into March, and tourists travel from the Cape Province to Mpumalanga to witness this spectacular event.

Cosmos are originally native to scrub and meadow areas in Mexico (where the bulk of the species occur), the southern United States (Arizona, Florida), Central America, South America south to Paraguay and South Africa.

Arums at night

"What a desolate place would be a world without a flower! It would be a face without a smile, a feast without a welcome. Are not flowers the stars of the earth, and are not our stars the flowers of heaven?"
- Mrs. Clara Lucas Balfour

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!

Arum Lilies at night - watercolour on Ashrad Not - 6" x 8.5" - Maree©

In a mostly green, shady and indigenous garden like I have, these Arum Lilies of mine seem to fairly glow against the dark green foliage at night, fireflies sometimes flitting in between, making me feel like I'm in a fairy landscape!

Flowers so fine

"He must have an artist's eye for color and form, who can arrange a hundred flowers as tastefully, in any other way, as by strolling through a garden, and picking here one and there one, and adding them to the bouquet in the accidental order in which they chance to come. Thus we see every summer day the fair lady coming in from the breezy side hill with gorgeous colors and most witching effects. If only she could be changed to alabaster, was ever a finer show of flowers in so fine a vase? But instead of allowing the flowers to remain as they were gathered, they are laid upon the table, divided, rearranged on some principle of taste, I know not what, but never again have that charming naturalness and grace which they first had."
- Henry Ward Beecher

Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©

A wet-on-wet exploration during one of my watercolour classes in April this year.

Daisies infinite

"Daisies infinite
Uplift in praise their little growing hands,
O'er every hill that under heaven expands."
- Ebenezer Elliott ("The Corn Law Rhymer")

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!


"One Spider-Daisy" - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - 11" x 8"- Maree©


The Gerbera Spider Daisy is from the sunflower family (Asteraceae). It has a delicate, spiky appearance and is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds, and deer resistant! (No idea why, Wiki doesn't say!)

It has approximately 30 species in the wild, extending to South America, Africa and tropical Asia and is a tender annual flower.

I just love sketching these daisies - each one has a different personality and seems to fairly beg you to look at them and take notice!

Zantedeschia (Arum Lily)

When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not.
- Georgia O'Keeffe

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!


Arum Lilies - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - 5.5" x 7.5"- Maree©

A study of some Arums in my garden - this year they have exceptionally long stalks (probably looking for some sunshine amidst all the shade!) and I have been picking bunches for my tall vase for the dining room table - stunning!

Dandelion Time

"If dandelions were hard to grow, they would be most welcome on any lawn!"
~Andrew Mason



My lawn (and the fields surrounding our house) is absolutely covered in Dandelions! In one spot it looks like a yellow carpet - wonder what the soil configuration is that makes them so rife in certain spots? I have always picked dandelions for a small vase I have, but it is only upon very close inspection when I was sketching them that I realised what true little beauties these small flowers are, each a masterpiece aster in miniature.

Did you know that Dandelions can be beneficial to a garden ecosystem as well as to human health? Dandelions attract beneficial ladybugs and provide early spring pollen for their food. In a study done at the University of Wisconsin, experimental plots with dandelions had more ladybugs than dandelion free plots, and fewer pest aphids, a favorite food of the ladybugs. Dandelions long roots also aerate the soil and enable the plant to accumulate minerals, which are added to the soil when the plant dies.

(I found this interesting information at "Northwest Coalition for alternatives to Pesticides")

Daisies for healing

"Even thou who mournst the daisy's fate,

That fate is thine - no distant date;

Stern Ruin's ploughshare drives, elate,

Full on thy bloom,

Till crushed beneath the furrow's weight

Shall be thy doom!"

Author: Robert Burns

Echinacea purpurea (Cone Flower) - watercolour in hand-made sketchbook with Bockingford 300gsm watercolour paper
5.5" x 7.5" - Maree©

The Purple Cone Flower belongs to the Aster family and is believed to have therapeutic and healing properties. Native Americans have used Echinacea for more than 400 years to treat infections and wounds and as a general "cure-all." Today, people use Echinacea to shorten the duration of the common cold and flu and reduce symptoms, such as sore throat (pharyngitis), cough, and fever. Many herbalists also recommend Echinacea to help boost the immune system and help the body fight infections.

What Echinacea Is Used For
• Echinacea has traditionally been used to treat or prevent colds, flu, and other infections.
• Echinacea is believed to stimulate the immune system to help fight infections.
• Less commonly, Echinacea has been used for wounds and skin problems, such as acne or boils.

How Echinacea Is Used
The above-ground parts of the plant and roots of Echinacea are used fresh or dried to make teas, squeezed (expressed) juice, extracts, or preparations for external use.

(However, all herbs can have possible interactions with certain medications, so you should not use Echinacea when on any prescribed medication without first talking to your health care provider.)

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Daisies and weeds and crab spiders

"The Rose has but a Summer reign,
The daisy never dies."
Author: James Montgomery


Daisies and weeds - watercolour in Moleskine Watercolour sketch-book - 8" x 6" Maree©

My Shasta Daisies have now been over-taken by the weeds and I decided to do one last sketch before I trim them down for the winter. Come Spring, they will once again bloom in abundance, and be home to the white Crab Spider, which changes its colour depending on the colour of the flower it is sitting on.

Crab spiders are not active hunters. They make use of camouflage techniques and remain quite still until the prey arrives and then catch it. With a poisonous bite (not dangerous to humans) they kill their prey and suck it dry. Every season I love inspecting the daisies close-up, seeing how many I can find on a bush. I also refrain from watering the daisies with a hose pipe from the top in case I drown them!


A white crab spider on a daisy


Here's a crab spider in yellow form on a daisy


Here the crab spider is half green and half brown, blending perfectly with the flower it is sitting on

(Pics from Wikipedia)

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Greeting card from my "Flower Series"

Daisies in my garden

Earth laughs in flowers.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Hamatreya"


"Daisies in my garden" - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - 11" x 15" - Maree©

Inspiration taken from my garden - the Shasta daisies are still going strong, but are now long overdue on trimming and rather tall and lanky, but they made an ideal study for a quick sketch on a cold and windy day.

Daisies in the rain

There is a flower, a little flower
With silver crest and golden eye,
That welcomes every changing hour,
And weathers every sky.
Author: James Montgomery


Rudbeckia "Echinacea purpurea" - watercolour in Moleskine watercolour sketch-book 17/04/2010 - 8" x 5.5" - Maree©

When it's freezing outside and threatening to rain any minute, and I can't make a field trip to do some sketching, I always turn to my garden for inspiration. Even under the most dismal conditions there is always something to be found - some flower left-overs, a few Autumn leaves clinging to a branch or the birds and insects who seem to cheerily carry on, no matter what the weather.

Tulips from South Africa ♪♫

in the shady garden | one tulip

A Twitter poem from WATERMARK

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!


Tulips in a Vase - ink sketch and watercolour in my Daily Journal - Maree©

I have this vintage, white enamel jug, which I love to fill with flowers, even grasses which I gather from the road-side, and recently a friend who owns a flower farm here in Tarlton brought over some Tulips, which they export to Holland. We all equate Tulips with the Dutch, but according to my friend the tulips were brought from Turkey and introduced to the Dutch in 1593, and the Dutch have certainly coined the phrase "Tulips from Amsterdam"!

Jack of all trades

“There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted.”
- Henri Matisse

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!


Roses - Watercolour on Ashrad hot-pressed 6" x 8" - Maree©

When I woke up this morning, I thought, "What is my agenda for today?" so I decided that, today, I will just sketch - anything, everything, landscapes, flowers.

I've been wondering about my "style" lately - have I got a "style"? Are people able to look at my art and say "that is a Maree Clarkson"? Isn't that perhaps what art is all about, finding your niche and sticking to a recognisable format and "style"?

It's been a long time now that I've been berating myself for being such a "Jack of all trades" - sketching and painting, making jewelry, can do wood carving, copper work, pewter work, bead work, and the list is longer that what you want to know - thinking that I should be specialising in something special, something unique, or only one thing, even only sticking to one subject in painting, and then I came upon this quote this morning:

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, Conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.
Specialization is for insects."
-- Lazarus Long

What a relief! Matter cleared up! How easily aren't we persuaded by the opinions of others...?!

Botanical - Bee in Nature

To 'bee' in nature is to experience one of our planet's most awesome gifts. Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of the instruments, not the composer.


My sketch for today...


"Bee In Daisy" a (not so quick) quick pencil sketch and watercolour done from a photograph by Crista from 'Nature As Is' on Daler-Rowney 190gsm - Maree©

This lovely photograph by Christa inspired me to sketch this and at first I thought the bee was going to be the difficult part, but the daisy just would not conform to the way I wanted it to go! Just goes to show...

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Cottage Rose

Being in nature and allowing ourselves to absorb both its gentle beauty and fierce power is a healing act. We do not have to travel far to open ourselves to this gift.
- Unknown

My sketch for today...


"Cottage Rose" watercolour on Visual 140gsm - Maree©

I did this sketch on a piece of Visual 140gsm watercolour paper - it's so thin, it just sucks up the paint and won't flow at all and once you've made a mistake, that's it, can't be fixed. Like the muddy leaf top right-hand corner - I promised myself I won't be using it again, but there you go...

And it reminds me of Ronell van Wyk's post on using greens - I've decided they are very tricky after all!

Botanical - Primula

Botanical - Primula 'Gold Lace' watercolour on Bockingford watercolour paper - Maree©

This polyanthus primula has unusual golden-eyed flowers with black petals with gold margins. Plants enjoy a position in moist, slightly acid soil in partial shade. However they can tolerate full sun if the soil remains moist at all times, but prefer slightly acidic soil in partial shade.

This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds. Requires consistently moist soil; do not allow to dry out between waterings.

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Irises

You are not quite in control of nature; you are part of nature. It doesn't mean that you are helpless, either. It means that the whole question in art is to be wide awake, to be as attentive as possible, for the artist and for the person who looks at it or listens to it.

- Fairfield Porter

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!

"Irises" pencil sketch and watercolour - Maree©

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