Sumac Original Gouache Painting
Sumac is an amazing plant, and the diversity of its uses make me buoyed with pride, as if I had something to do with its evolution or discovery of its usefulness. It calls to autumn from the depth of summer, something to look forward to as I am currently surrounded by fields of dirt freshly plowed and ready to plant. The useful nature of sumac is that you can make the berries into tea. The whole plant can be used for a dye, basketry, medicinal herbs, and it's great for erosion prevention and banks of streams or like drainage ditches. Habitat, lots of habitat for critters and its food for birds and other critters. Spiders love this plant. Just beware.
—Excerpt from the letter about painting Sumac in the summer of 2024.
These en plein air field studies in natural ink and gouache capture the vitality and beauty of even the humblest plant. Native, naturalized, and invasive plants are all captured equally as they appear in my yard throughout the seasons. See the entire Backyard Botanical series.
In the studio, painting sumac from life. The thunderstorm drove me indoors.
A Letter From my Studio to You
Curious about the experience of paining the pieces, the story behind the painting? I wrote a letter from my studio
