Yellow Lady Slipper

Yellow Lady Slipper, watercolor, 14" x 10." $150 unframed.

A few springs ago my friend Linda and I explored the Thompson Wildlife Management Area in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. We were hoping to hike through the stands of 'Millions of Trilliums' that are unique to this particular location. As we trampled through woodlands transformed by the magic of spring, we were delighted to find several small stands of Yellow Lady Slipper (Cypriedum calceolus) and another unusual orchid, Showy Orchis (Orchis spectabilis) growing near the paths.

We returned the following spring to paint the Yellow Lady's Slipper from life, but my field sketch did not capture the graceful lines of the plant: its banded leaves, the spiral curling of the two upper petals. I put away my sketch for future reference.

This weekend I dug it out along with my photos and painted this watercolor as a companion piece to the Ghost Flowers. Accurate drawing of its complex shapes is essential to bring the plant to life.

Sky Meadows

Last weekend Linda and I visited a friend in Virginia, on the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Jane lives very close to the Thompson Wildlife Management area, where trilliums and other wild flowers are so spectacular in early May. Consulting my books, I'd learned that another state park, Sky Meadows, adjoins the Thompson tract, and though the drivable roads don't go through, one can walk from one to the other via the Appalachian Trail.

It was pouring on Friday as I drove west on I-66 through a slow rush-hour slog, but with increasing distance from the Beltway the traffic cleared, it stopped raining and the clouds began to lift. By the time I reached Sky Meadows, the clouds were opening and the sun was flitting through in patches. Linda and I took a short walk on a loop trail that led up to this grassy meadow. The pastoral beauty of this part of Virginia seems like a movie set, I feel blessed to be able to enjoy it in its spring-time splendor.

It rained heavily during the night, and was still raining next morning, but the weather predictions assured us it would clear up in the afternoon, so we prepared for the hike. We held off starting our until the rain had stopped, drove out to Sky Meadows to leave my car in the parking lot, then drive up to the Thompson area in Linda's.

We started out at one o'clock with the mountain mist still heavy, but within an hour the sun was out. There weren't as many trilliums on this part of the mountain as on the slopes below, just patches here and there. A small native orchid, Showy Orchis, was blooming all over the woods (in photo above); we saw one yellow Lady Slipper orchid, but the pink Lady Slipper orchids I'd hoped to find eluded us. There were many other by-now familiar wildflowers like rue anemone, a few new to me (wild comfrey), and one quite rare.

The hike proved to be longer than I'd anticipated, but the woods in spring are so lovely, the spirit feels refreshed at every turn. No paintings to bring back this weekend--just a few photos and my old quite muddy and tired self.