Inspiration Sketches

My work is done directly from live specimens, augmented by photography and sketches. Since the timing for live seeds and berries may not be the same as when I want to create a piece, I like to document specimens throughout the year with sketches and photos. Here are a couple of cuties that I really like.

The little red berries are sketches of Partridge Berries. This is a very diminutive ground cover found in the Piedmont area of the Carolinas. What I find fascinating about this little plant is that the little white flowers are always twin flowers coming out of the same spot on the stem. And the berry that results from the 2 flowers is one berry with two "belly buttons". Anyone know of any other flower that does this?


The three cones are actually clusters of seeds that are tightly bound together looking like a weirdly marked berry until it begins ripening and splits begin around the individual seeds. Initially they look a bit like little pine cones, but pine cones have seeds inside the petals of the cones. Here the "petals' are actually the seeds. These seed clusters can occur in a string of these strange little balls that shatter. They are from the Bald Cyrus trees that are planted around Charlotte and turning brown at this time. This is a deciduous tree that looks evergreen in the summer, but browns and drops its needles in the fall.

Are you sketching? Please share a link to what you are doing.

Nancy