Hello Art Patrons,
In June, I received an email from the editor of Fine Art Connoisseur magazine asking if I’d like to be featured, along with some other botanical artists, in their July/Aug issue. I’ve no idea how they found me, but after my teacher assured me it was not a hoax I sent them a few choices. Guess which painting they chose? Yep, Pinus, jeffreyi. That pinecone gets around. The article identified the artists as “some of the brightest botanical talents working today.” Ha! Little do they know I’m just a kid in my family room replicating nature’s beauty on paper.
The American Society of Botanical Artists’ annual conference is in town Oct 12-14 and our chapter is hosting. The San Mateo Marriott will display our small botanical works that measure 12” x 12”. Mine is the bumpy little Kaffir Lime that you saw in my last newsletter. Some of the classes will be given at Filoli Gardens in Woodside and there is currently a plethora of botanical works on display there. Be sure to visit. I’ll be taking two all-day painting classes with storied international instructors and a scant fifteen students each. Feeling daunted, however.
The entire 127 painting collection from the Alcatraz Florilegium will return to The Rock from Sept 16 – Jan 17. My Nasturtium and Black Walnut paintings will be on exhibit in the Band Room on Alcatraz Island, where (I’ve mentioned this favorite factoid before) Al Capone played banjo with his band, The Rock Islanders. You’ll have to book the ferry but the view is free, as is the botanical exhibition.
Next up will be our NCalSBA chapter’s annual Plants Illustrated show at the Berkeley Botanical Gardens in the Julia Morgan Hall, Jan 9 – 25. This year we are Celebrating Trees, and you can see Jeffrey pinecone there for the first and last time. Jeffrey and I now suffer from pinecone overload and one of us must retire soon!
I’m sending good thoughts to the Key West Garden Club members who maintain the non-profit botanical garden on the far coast of the Florida Keys. A year ago I toured their little known, free to the public, native tropical garden by the sea and it is a gem. It’s located at a National Historic Civil War fort, now the West Martello Tower Garden Center, in Key West Florida. Certainly inundated by Hurricane Irma, they will have a horrific cleanup ahead. Donate or visit when you can. www.keywestgardenclub.com
I spent time this summer at Lake Tahoe and Hope Valley CA drawing, in graphite, nearly 100 life-sized Quaking Aspen leaves swinging on branches from a lanky white trunk. Did you know that Aspen leaves shimmer and rustle so effortlessly because their stems are flat, enabling them to catch the slightest breeze? Can’t wait to paint them with color in Fall when the leaves turn gold and hopefully begin to dance on the paper.
There are several new Bug Hotels posted on my website gallery from the Bento Box collection. Please have a look. Stay cool if you are in the Western U.S., stay dry in the East and watch out for tornados just about everywhere. Good grief!
Yours,
Bonnie Bonner
a.k.a. Joanne Palamountain
www.BonniesBotanicalArt.com