Another Field Sketch Transformation

 

The Ledge at Calmes Neck. colored pencil, 14"h x 10"w.

Having obtained permission from one of the homeowners who lives there, I went back to Calmes Neck the week following the Virginia Native Plant Society's excursion to do another field sketch. I wanted to capture the red Columbines growing on the rocky ledges, with the idea of doing another piece on the unique plants that are found there.

I arrived mid-morning and was given a wonderful tour of their art collection by the owners of the gorgeous custom log cabin home. After that, I walked down the hill with my gear to find the best spot for my field sketch--there wasn't any level ground, so the best I could do was to balance my portable chair between the ledge and the steep drop-off, using my feet--a rather uncomfortable position, but the best I could do.

 

My gear on the ledge.

As I began to draw I saw that the ferns and rue anemones growing nearby might make a nice frame for the red Columbines, so I included a few of those as well as some of the moss-covered rocks, to give the impression one was really sitting right there. I had to keep getting up to look closely at the Columbines, in order to properly draw their complex petals and spurs, alternating looking with sitting and drawing. It takes a lot of energy to do this--at one point my sketchbook slipped out of my lap and almost ended up going over the cliff!

 

Field sketch in watercolor, 8"w x 10"h.

 

Once I had the pencil sketch and had started putting some color down, I took my lunch break--it was around one o'clock. While eating my sandwich, I could get a closer look at the flowers of the tall Pawpaw trees growing under the cliff. A light breeze from the river below cooled the otherwise hot afternoon--too hot for April! And too dry--after I was finished and was picking up my gear a couple of clumps of dry moss peeled right off the rocks! I guess the moss will grow back eventually once the drought breaks. Despite the discomfort of my position, it was a rich and useful field trip for me.

 

Pencil sketch of the ledge - Stage 1

I generally wait a while before I decide how I'm going to develop a sketch into a finished painting; it's always good to think about it as much as possible before one commits. Pencil sketches are the best way to practice and test out ideas for a composition. I decided to include the ferns and rue anemones and add a tiny purple cliff brake on one ledge--this fern was actually farther away on another rock ledge. I decided to go with the sketch above.

 

Pen and Ink sketch on tracing paper - Stage 2

The next step was to trace my drawing with an ink pen, and transfer it to the paper for the final project. I decided that colored pencils would be the most appropriate medium for the amount of detail I wanted on this piece, and to try rendering it on a sheet of  Bristol 300 vellum finish. 

Before doing the tracing, it occurred to me that this would be a good chance to include a pollinator, and that a ruby-throated hummingbird would complement these colors well. My first sightings of  hummingbirds in my garden had taken place just a few days before, and all of these were males. I understand that hummingbirds migrate solo, and that the males precede the females by two or three weeks, to allow the vegetation they feed on to recover, as they follow the same migration paths every year

 

Pen and Ink sketch on tracing paper - Stage 3

I cut another piece of tracing paper to attach to the first, and added a hummingbird sipping nectar from a Columbine flower. At this point I noticed that the purple cliff brake was too large in relation to the other plants, so I reduced it a bit by using my copier to scale it down to about 85% of the original drawing.

 

Colored pencil drawing - Stage 4

 

Working on Bristol 300 vellum finish is a bit different from the Fabriano Artistico HP paper that I prefer--the surface is much smoother, and one has to build up the layers of color gradually. It took a while to get the drawing to this stage (above) where I could begin to develop the darker tones. But this was only half of the area to be covered.

 

Colored pencil drawing - Stage 5

 

Unfortunately, I didn't take any other photos of the intermediate stages beyond Stage 5 above. By now all the various plants and their colors were clearly articulated, and it was just a matter of deepening the tones.

The Rock Garden Trail

The Red River by the Hemlock Lodge.

It poured again during lunch, and I was wondering if I'd have to spend the rest of the afternoon in my room, but fortunately, the rain stopped around 2 PM. I walked down the hundred or more steps to the river to explore the closed swimming pool area surroundings. There was a trail leading to the rental cottages on the other side, and a few spring flowers such as Rue Anemone, wild Phlox and a lovely wild violet with spurs that I'd never seen before.

Red River cottages

Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides)

Long-spurred Violet (Viola rostrata)

It seemed the rain would hold off for a while, so I went back up the hill and decided to explore a new trail. Going back to the original trail, several other trails struck off to the right. After crossing a bridge over a small creek, the Rock Garden trail went off to the right, winding up around the hill behind Hemlock Lodge. That seemed like a promising trail for wildflowers...

The Rock Garden Trail

Just another forest trail lined with large Rhododendrons at first, after a while huge, moss-covered boulders began to show up along the path. As the terrain changed, plants grew more profusely at the base of the trees and boulders: a number of familiar  species such as Hepatica and Trillium, club mosses, and Star chickweed along with unfamiliar ones to me. Just at I reached this point, it started to drizzle again, hard enough to make everything soggy. I was just at about the point of no return, should I go on or not? Remembering my problems at Glacier last year, I'd just have to try to keep my camera dry. I slipped the camera inside my parka and hoped taking it out only now and then for photos would do the trick.

Sharp-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica acultiloba)

Star Chickweed (Stellaria pubera)

Trillium (Trillium erectum or sulcatum?)

I had hoped to see the rare Nodding Trillium which is found in the park, and thought the ones pictured above might be some, but the Nodding Trillium is white and the flower of this one was already coloring deep red, so it may be the Wake Robin (Trillium erectum) or perhaps the Southern red Trillium (Trillium sulcatum)--beautiful in any case.

A clump of Club mosses

Close up: is its Lycopodium annotinum?

Farther on there were a number of club mosses--Ground Cedar and the one above, one new to me, and even some walking ferns. Even the tree lichens were blooming--this trail certainly lived up to its name!

Walking Fern (Asplenium rhyzophillum)

Sharp-lobed Hepatica and Trillium

Fruiting bodies of tree lichens.

After this culmination the vegetation on the trail gradually diminished to a more usual forest as the trail began to circle back towards the natural bridge, approaching it from the other side. I passed the chair lift that I'd seen from Laurel Ridge Trail in the morning, which originated on this side of the mountain.

Steps leading back to the Natural Bridge

The rain stopped again, and the sun actually broke through the clouds to cast its bright rays on the rock ledges. More sets of steep steps were carved into the rock, making it a strenuous climb. After passing a number of rock overhangs, I eventually reached the saddle under the natural bridge and started back down on the original trail towards the lodge. It was getting on towards evening now, and this side of the mountain was in shadow.

The original trail

Park sign

Tired of the food at Hemlock Lodge, I went out to Miguels' Pizza for dinner--it was just down the road and jam-packed (the pizza was evidently good). There were a number of picnic tables outside, but it was getting chilly and I was lucky to find a seat inside--very lucky as it turned out! It was a long wait to get my pizza, and it had started to pour again. Many outdoor diners had no choice but to get soaked or take refuge in their vehicles, while I was able to enjoy my dinner in crowded comfort.