I sketched this at home, in a sketchbook. I used a carbon ink pen to sketch then filled in with Winsor & Newton watercolors from a travel kit I used to have, before the fire.
Queen Anne’s Lace and Chicory – this is what was growing in my front yard in August 2020. I had just moved into an old mobile home on 1/2 acre in my remote mountain community as of January 22, 2020. I lived there eight months. By August the “lawn” had turned into weeds, and there were a lot of flowers just like these growing up and in and among all the other things growing out there.
I’m glad I memorialized these plants with this sketchbook page because about a month later a forest fire started six miles up the creek. It was a very windy day and tragedy ensued. Wind-swept flames turned into a conflagration that quickly moved through the canyon, destroying over 200 homes. When I evacuated I had a home. By the following morning I was informed that my home was one of the casualties.
Since then I’ve been living in various places. At first I slept in my van, and then the Red Cross provided a nice hotel room for two months. After that I was back in my van for a month until the local tribe of Native Americans loaned me a 30′ travel trailer. I’m still living in that trailer. I spent over a year in a local RV park but now I’m back on my land and all utilities have been restored, and of course the fire debris has been removed.
What’s missing? Oh . . . an art studio. That’s what I miss. However it is July and looking outside I see, what else, but a fresh crop of Queen Anne’s Lace and Chickory. Plenty of it. More sketchbook opportunities. This is a beautiful wildflower place.
I’m still settling in again and am creating a small garden area. I have so much more to do on that! I’m considering options for where I’ll be creating art in the future. I would love to have another art studio.
I hope you’re having a lovely day and that flowers are blooming for you!
