30×22 watercolor; 37×29 framed
This painting was created to support the environmental organization, Friends of the Eel River. It was reproduced on T-shirts, prints and cards, then published in The Eelriver Reporter, vo.XIII Spring 2011. All the various plants and animals depicted are found in the Eel River watershed of northern California. There were so many possible plants and animals to include, at first this project seemed overwhelming. Where to begin? Finally, I decided to use the river itself as a focal and starting point. So the salmon, lamprey and sturgeon are shown in water near the bottom. I worked the composition outwards from there, going to small amphibians and reptiles that live near water, then to wildflowers around them. Moving up the page also represents gaining height as I added shrubs along the sides, then trees near the top. Flying creatures were added, plus a few mammals. Since I live in northern California myself, most of the plants and wildlife are familiar to me. It was great fun to pick specific favorites of mine to include. Many of the butterflies I see all the time on hikes near my home. Some of the wildflowers I have enjoyed ever since I first went camping in the Sierra Nevada mountains as a youngster. I did slip in one little creature just for fun – the banana slug. It is actually the school mascot of my college alma mater, the University of Santa Cruz.
First Place Award in “Music, Dance, Flowers” juried show at Marin Society of Artists, March 2011.
1 White Sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus
2 Pacific Lamprey, Lampetra tridentate
3 Coho Salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch
4 Alligator Lizard, Elgaria multicarinata
5 CA Red-Legged Frog, Rana aurora draytonii
6 Banana Slug, Ariolimax columbianus
7 Northwestern Pond Turtle, Emys marmorata
8 Western Skink, Plestiodon skiltonianus
9 Tailed Frog, Ascaphus truei
10 Rough-Skinned Newt, Taricha granulose
11 Sierran Treefrog, Pseudacris sierra
12 Scarlet Monkey Flower, Mimulus cardinalis
13 Western Houndstongue, Cynoglossum grande
14 Coast Checkerbloom, Sidalcea oregana
15 Vivid Dancer Damselfly, Argia vivida
16 Blue-Eyed Grass, Sisyrinchium bellum
17 Crimson Columbine, Aquilegia Formosa
18 Bog Asphodel, Narthecium californicum
19 Mountain Iris, Iris douglasiana
20 Redwood Sorrel, Oxalis oregana
21 Western Coltsfoot, Petasites frigidus
22 Miner’s Lettuce, Montia perfoliata
23 Western Wakerobin, Trillium ovatum
24 Wood Strawberry, Fragaria vesca
25 Harvest Brodiaea, Brodiaea elegans
26 Henderson’s Shooting Star, Dodecatheon hendersonii
27 Western Lily, Lilium occidentale
28 Common Large Monkey Flower, Mimulus guttatus
29 Coast Fawn Lily, Erythronium revolutum
30 Red Ribbons, Clarkia concinna
31 Silver Lupine, Lupinus albifrons
32 Common Green Darner Dragonfly, Anax juius
33 Calypso Orchid, Calypso bulosa
34 Stream Violet, Viola glabella
35 Behren’s Silverspot, Speyeria zerene behrensii
36 Lotis Blue, Lycaeides argyrognomon lotis
37 Anise Swallowtail, Papilio zelicaon
38 Milton’s Tortoiseshell, Nymphalis milberti
39 Gray Hairstreak, Strymon melinus
40 Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta
41 Buckeye, Junonia coenia
42 Flying Squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus
43 Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus
44 Blue Elderberry, Sambucus mexicana
45 Madrone, Arbutus menziesii
46 Yellow-Breasted Chat, Icteria virens
47 Red Alder, Alnus rubra
48 Humboldt Marten, Martes americana humboldtensis
49 Jeffrey Pine, Pinus jeffreyi
50 Chestnut-Backed Chickadee, Poecile rufescens
51 Coast Live Oak, Quercus agrifolia
52 Western Tanager, Piranga ludoviciana
53 Varied Thrush, Dryocopus pileatus
54 Coast Redwood, Sequoia sempervirens
55 Northern Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis caurina
56 Marbled Murrelet, Brachyramphus marmoratus
57 Bigleaf Maple, Acer macrophyllum
58 Pileated Woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus
59 Ceanothus, Ceanothus thyrsiflorus
60 Pt. Arena Mountain Beaver, Aplodontia rufa nigra
61 Salmonberry, Rubus spectabilis
Click here to view the original in my Shop.
Click here to view prints and other options in my Shop.