Sketching Peonies at the Farm

Last week's botanical drawing class found us in the peony beds of Ottawa's central experimental farm. (There are other experimental farms around the city, but none with flowers.)














Some commented on the wonderful scent. I had to take their word for it: Recovering from a summer cold, I had not yet regained my sense of smell!














Many of the peonies were past their prime, in various stages of losing their petals. This made them more interesting to a some artists.














A few said they had to keep erasing parts of their drawings as their flowers lost petals, at the rate of one every ten or fifteen minutes!














(The worst thing that happened to me was finding a caterpillar on my arm - a sticky one that didn't want to get off!!)














Fortunately, the two peonies I focused on suffered no noticeable loses.


















I did want to include the remains of a third that had totally lost its leaves, leaving a stem topped with an interesting "crown" (of seeds, I suppose).














There were a lot of sketchers out - not only our group. Some school children were lying on the grass, drawing paper in hand. (It's much easier to lie comfortably on the ground when you're a child!)


















I'm definitely going to miss coming here every week once my course is over.