100 Flowers

I have been rediscovering a lot of the books I had acquired while I was researching for my thesis Botanical Illustration:  The Challenge of Combining Science and Art.  One particular book I love from my collection is the book 100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names by Diana Wells and Ippy Patterson.  The book is wonderful for discovering the origins of a certain flower and for visual reference as well.  I have started a sketchbook of flowers and in this I use a lot of the information I read about in 100 Flowers.  

I am thankful..

At this time of year I always like to take a minute and make a list for myself of all the things I am so thankful for.  A roof over my head, food on my table and all of the wonderful people that make up my group of friends and family.  As I was going through my old sketchbooks I had worked on while I was in graduate school I came upon a group of sketches I had done from a day I spent in Philadelphia in the fall of 2006.  One particular drawing that always stood out for me from the series was this quick one I did of a woman and her son standing on the street.  I don't know anything about this pair.  All I could tell from quickly looking at them and sketching them was that they were so thankful to have each other.  I love how a drawing can speak to you in that way and while it may read different to someone else, it always reminds me to be thankful.