Blaue Blume - A limited edition book by Inky Leaves

A collection of floral paintings that allows you look closer at the mysticism of nature.

WE ARE NOW LIVE!

Support my Kickstarter project here:

Blaue Blume

Now is your chance to help me turn my latest flower book into a reality whilst also being one of the few who could own a copy. You might remember me my previous Kickstarter Project 'Leafscape', which sold out in the first week - (thank you)!! Since Leafscape, I have been immersed in the colour blue, travelling the world looking for it's rare blue flowers. And now, eight years on, I have amassed a collection which would look fantastic in a book.

If successful, this Kickstarter Project will help me to produce 500 copies (1000 if we get more support) of a beautifully laid-out book and soundtrack that tells the 'Blue Flower' story; marking a further historical moment in the lifeline of botanical art and flower painting. The book will include all of my paintings along with the story with lay-flat binding. It is a unique opportunity to own a piece of my art and a real collector's piece. You'll have all of my blue paintings in one place. The hardback Leafscape books from 2017 now sell for £500 each and are highly sought after.

What will the book look like?

This book will be limited to only 500 copies and will have a blue linen hardcover with embossed platinum foil text on the front and sewn, lay-flat binding to create a highly collectable volume. It will come inside a blue velvet covered slipcase box. The book itself will measure 215 x 300mm (8.35 x 12 in), consist of approximately 80-90 pages and will be printed using a digital press. The book will feature an introduction written by the artist in both English and Spanish and will have a full colour plate of every painting in the collection. Included with this book will be a copy of the environmental soundtrack. Each book will be signed and numbered by the artist and can be personalised at your request. It will be posted packaged like the Leafscape books - inside a bespoke cardboard post box, surrounded by foam insert for protection.

Support my Kickstarter project here:

Blaue Blume

What is 'Blue Flower'?

'Blue Flower' is my way of continuing to develop my ideas around the axis of flower painting and how to bring it into the 21st Century with the use of sound and paint. The collection documents my journey and quest post Leafscape. My driving ambition has always been to show the world how beautiful nature is in unexpected ways. In all of my work, I try to give plants a voice and a soul. I was inspired by Novalis' book 'Blaue Blume', which documents a young man walking across the Alps in search of a blue flower that he dreamt of. Something about this really stirred in my soul and I thought: 'why don't I do something similar, but make my quest more global?' So, I did, and since then, I have been travelling across the globe in my search for the unattainable. Teaching how to paint as I go to fund my trips.

“It is not the treasures,” he said to himself, “that have stirred in me such an unspeakable longing; I care not for wealth and riches. But that blue flower I do long to see; it haunts me and I can think and dream of nothing else. “I never felt so before; it seems as if my past life had been a dream, or as though I had passed in sleep into another world, for in the world that I used to know who would have troubled himself about a flower? Indeed, I never heard tell of such a strange passion for a flower.” - Novalis

Due to the lockdowns during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the project came to an unexpected halt. I had to cancel my tours of Canada, South Africa, Japan and Romania. I was fairly devastated by this; I had so much I wanted to explore. I ended up having to sell my works ahead of time to keep financially afloat, which meant there cannot be an exhibition as previously hoped. Alas, akin to Novalis' unfinished novel - Blue Flower will in that sense remain unfinished. I rather like this. There is something otherworldly and remote about the colour blue. It represents our dreams and the unattainable. You never arrive in Blue. Like the horizon - it never ends.

Please consider supporting my project in any way you can. I am working with some fairly unforgiving algorithms, so if you can share this campaign on your social media I would be very grateful. You can buy a pack of 10 greetings cards for 15 pounds, or a book.  If you need any help navigating Kickstarter to reserve your book, message me or comment below. 

If you are accessing Kickstarter from your phone, the book is listed under 'Rewards'.

Support my Kickstarter project here:

Blaue Blume

Support my Kickstarter project here:

Blaue Blume

Thank you in advance for your support. It means a lot.

Film of my life as a painter

 

Filmed in my Spanish residence and studio:

www.casadelamorera.com

Updates before we reach 2025

It's been a while since I last posted on Blogger. So what's the latest in the world of Inky Leaves, or should I now say - Úrsula Romero as I have also undergone a significant identity shift, which many of you I am sure will think is complete artistic suicide. 

"…all true artists shed their hides multiple times in their lives, letting any trace of a fixed mark fall away in the process. -David Whyte"

I have different priorities and am quite pro-artistic suicide. I felt pigeonholed in the world of botanical art with the nom de plume 'Inky Leaves' and having this new name means I can now branch out. Why limit yourself?! It is also more Spanish friendly and as my life has undergone such significant changes since the pandemic and brexit, me moving my base being one of them, a Spanish name is considerably helpful. I only wished I had dared to have done it sooner.

I continue to work on the Blue Flower Project, but at a slower pace - it'll be a life's work. Akin to Novalis' book, which inspired the idea, Blue Flower will never be complete. I intend to publish a book of paintings up to this point as Volume I. News on this will come soon on my Substack, which you can follow by clicking the link. Most of my posting will be done here now as I move away from blogger. Blaue Blume will be limited in edition, just like Leafscape and lay-flat bound. I like books - they make the art accessible. As a child, I was obsessed with picture books. They always calmed my mind and offered a pathway to escape this world and enter another. Maybe this is why I like to make books now.

Other news is I have opened a new Inky Leaves School which is called Casa de la Morera. Here I teach one-to-one or two-to-one classes over two days. It's a great chance to combine learning with a bigger holiday in Southern Spain. You can visit me and book time to see the sights - from the Alhmabra in Granada to the mesquita in Cordoba and the beaches of Malaga. More information can be found here:

CASA DE LA MORERA

I no longer teach on Patreon as I found the platform clunky for long videos. I sometimes offer online workshops on zoom and these are usually advertised on Facebook, Instagram or Substack. If you are interested in a class on leaves or black backgrounds get in touch at mail@ursularomero.com.

I also offer online mentoring at £40/hour which can cover anything from business planning to painting techniques. Often I find students just like to check in now and then with someone to talk about their art and their progress so that the artistic journey is less lonely. If you are someone who thinks you'd benefit from a one-to-one, again message me. I'd love to be able to help. 

More information about online mentoring can be found here - Mentoring

More information about visiting me for tuition can be found here - Visiting

Current 2024 Exhibitions

I am thrilled that quite a lot of my work is currently on show at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew Gardens as part of Felicity Aylieff's exhibition. More information about this can be found here: Botanical Blues. The exhibition is open until March 23rd 2025. Thank you Shirley!

Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature

My big Poplar leaf also continues to tour the USA with Rory McEwen's work as part of his retrospective. The tour will continue until August 2025 and the full itinerary can be seen here: Rory McEwen in the USA

There will be more updates soon ow I am possibly (finally) writing again. It's taken me 5 years to get my voice back. Wishing you all a very festive time this winter solstice and a Happy New Year. Thanks for joining me on the ride!

xxx

New Inky Leaves School of Flower Painting!

I am incredibly excited to announce that this year I opened the doors to my new arts house Casa de la Morera - for courses, exhibitions, film nights and secret suppers. Casa de la Morera is a homestay, artist retreat and part-time school. Built in 1904, this timeless Andalucían house sits in the heart of the village of Albuñuelas overlooking the orange groves that adorn the banks of the Rio de Saleres. The house was known as one of the most elegant houses in the village back in the 40s-60s with its intricately patterned floor tiles, high ceilings and tall doors. The worn splendour of the property is as alluring as it is unique. The integrity and charm of this house has been preserved in every room, from its bakerlite light switches to its huge windows, the latter of which were rescued by the previous owners from an older Napoleonic manor house in the 1950s. Staying or learning in Casa 2 Cadiz is an opportunity to embrace the imperfections created by the tear of time and to explore its mysteries and authencities.

Watercolour painting courses

At my Spanish residence, I am offering painting and sketching holidays. All are welcome. The days consist of painting, sketching, eating, drinking and taking time to explore Granada's most abundant valley.

Education is at the heart of everything I want to do here at Cadiz 2. As the years roll by I want to be able to provide a wealth of inspirational learning opportunities for everyone from childhood years and beyond, internationally and locally. It’s all part of my mission to connect people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds with each other and the natural world, whilst simultaneously inspiring and empowering them to continue growing into the people they want to be, with the skills they want to learn, in a relaxing, Mediterranean environment. 

Casa de la Morera is a great place to visit if you want a slow, nourishing weekend in the hills of the Lecrín Valley in Southern Spain. If you want to escape the demands of daily life whilst enhancing your painting skills, eating delicious food, learning the odd Spanish phrase and catching a few rays of sunshine. Some of the courses include excursions to restaurants with views of the Alhambra Palace after a relaxing afternoon in the Arabic Baths of Granada.

For more information about some of our very first courses for 2024 see below:

Private Tuition and Mentorship with Úrsula Romero 

It is possible to book Úrsula for one-to-one tuition at her residence in Casa de le Morera. These two day mentorships concentrate solely on tuition for two days. You get to spend the day with the artist and experience his way of life and work in his studios. We have several walks here in the village you can explore for relaxation and a bar next door if you'd like to spend some quiet time in solitude or get to know the locals! All breakfasts, lunches and dinners are local. Tuition is 4 hours a day, but you can use the studio for longer. Accommodation is in the village.

£600 for two days

Includes: 

Two nights stay in a private B&B in Albunuelas 

Food and wine 

Airport transfers from Granada Airport 

Use of the studio 

Paper up to 56 x 76 cm 

What isn't included: Specific materials such as paint brushes, watercolor paint

A helping hand to catapult your painting onto a new level 

Do you feel lost and unsure how to grow your art into a thriving business? 

Do you feel you need to learn new skills in painting? 

Do just feel alone in your studio and crave a nurturing hand? 

Are you trying to find your own voice as an artist? 

Do you find it difficult to schedule study time? 

Do you need someone who you can trust as a soundboard to discuss ideas with?

MENTORSHIP:

🔸️I'm offering five places for private, 1:1 mentorship program to help you find your voice as a painter.

🔸️The spaces for this are very limited so I can give you more.

🔸️Meetups are on Zoom or WhatsApp. You can also message me on WhatsApp anytime if you're struggling in the studio and need a few minutes of guidance.

🔸️You can opt for as many sessions as you like.

🔸️Paid by an hourly rate at £40 which includes all homework and help given in between sessions on Whatsapp.

🔸️Meetups are tailored to your specific needs as everyone is unique.

🔸️We can discuss everything from art techniques, watercolors and art business, to exhibition curation, publishing and marketing.

Doubts and complications arise all the time in an artist's career and it takes someone who has ridden the waves of success and failure to help, encourage and motivate others. When you are working with me, I will set realistic goals that you can achieve in your time and help you find your style and voice within your work. I'm your teacher, mentor, coach, personal trainer and business consultant. I am here to help you navigate the botanical art world as an illustrator, a painter or photographer. My role is to support you on your journey of self-discovery. If you're interested in learning more about my Mentorship program, or booking a session, please contact me at mail@ursularomero.com.

I look forward to meeting you!

Los Pensamientos

197 Pensamientos (thoughts) to represent every country in the world. Painted by J R Shepherd during her isolation from the Covid 19 Pandemic in 2020 whilst in her studio high up in the mountains of Granada, Spain. The piece is titled after the Spanish name for pansy as not only was Jessica in Spain during this historic moment, but the name, akin to the French 'Pensée', has a double meaning for 'thoughts'. In the language of flowers, a pansy means that someone is 'thinking of you'. Often used as a get-well flower, pansies can show that you sympathise with someone's pain and distress, in this case, a country. Each pansy in this piece has been painted individually on a 15 x 15cm square and was posted to a recipient somewhere in the world. The finished posie of 197, is the complete collection of all of these tiny paintings. Masquerading in the final piece of 200, Jessica included three imposters, who have appropriated the pansy patterns to go unnoticed.

Final piece is 300cm x 150cm

In Italy, the pansy is known as 'flammola' (little flame),  and I rather like that. A little flame of hope. Hope in the dark. They are petals of nostalgia, happy flowers. Gateways, representative of the portals of our hidden transformations as we shelter in our houses from Covid-19. They are botanical butterflies.

On account of its popularity in both society and its recurring appearances in Romantic poetry, a variety of new nicknames for the flower began to circulate. Dorothea Lynde Dix proclaims that:

“Perhaps no flower claims to be so universal a favorite, as the viola tricolor; none currently has been honored with so rich a variety of names, at once expressive of grace, delicacy and tenderness.”  

Many of these names play on the whimsical nature of love, including “Three Faces under a Hood,” “Flame Flower,” “Jump Up and Kiss Me,” “Flower of Jove,” and “Pink of my John.” In Hamlet, Ophelia distributes flowers with the remark, "There are pansies, that's for thoughts."  Interestingly, Margaret Mitchell originally chose Pansy as the name for her 'Gone with the Wind' heroine, but settled on Scarlett just before the book went into print.

With time the Pansy has also become a symbol of two faithful lovers who are separated by distance. This also seemed apt under the circumstances of Covid-19 lockdowns. I knew many couples who were trapped in different countries as they rode out the pandemic unable to see or hold one another.

The Thoughts

Becoming Blue XVI - Forget-me-nots GRIEF

To be read to Agnes Obel's 'Parliament of Owls' in B Minor

My screen is smashed, like the walls of my heart. Both were smashed this late August. Dropped. Both the phone and I were dropped in unison and yet peculiarly, like the phone, the pieces stayed together, like a kintsugi bowl, nothing was lost. My body was still whole. Broken things can be mended. I tapped the screen together with sellotape and got to work on healing the cracks on myself. I am trying to be as graceful as a swan. Faithful, loyal, mute and pure. I saw in my vision swans coming out of the orange antlers I had been dreaming about since last year and sketched out this piece as a trial run. Eight swans for eternity and the looped nature of time. Mute swans for my silence. Antlers for Leda's fecundity and Forget Me Nots for remembrance and the passing of time on Swan Lake.

Swan Song, (2020),Watercolour on paper, 100 cm x 50cm, J R Shepherd
Work in Progress

To feel betrayed is a terrible feeling. Loyalty seems to be a thing of the past these days. Now, it's a rare thing to see a human not out for himself, but I guess you have to love them anyway, we're all fallible. As 2020 rolls on, I have downed brushes. I find my energy is needed elsewhere. I used to paint pictures for people to look at, but now I feel that people just want someone to listen to them during this exceptional time, so I am talking to a lot of people. 

The phone can't be replaced until March, and even then it's a push. With new borders springing up from nowhere and I am feeling cut off. I feel like the universe is pulling me away from the mothership. The cords are still there, I am still tied, but only just. Once a month something else happens and another apron string is yanked out of my navel. It's a terribly painful process for me, because it is not out of choice, but necessity and survival. This wasn't my choice. It's something higher and out of my control. For the past six years, I have been learning the art of letting go. Now, I feel I am inside a lighthouse, all at sea. Flashing my light, in a raging storm, letting everyone I know that it is going to be ok. It's perilous out there. Some are winning, some are losing and many have been lost. But the light must continue to flash, even if my window is smashed.

Swan Song, (2020), Watercolour on paper, 100 cm x 50cm, J R Shepherd
Work in Progress

This has been the hardest year of my life. Not from a stressful point of view, but more just the level of soul searching and coming to terms with myself. It was necessary. More transformations, transitions and shifting through the silt. 

'A summer of a hundred visions and revisions, the almond's armour is finally starting to split' - J R Shepherd Facebook Update

There is nothing more destabilising than finding out that you really don't know someone you thought you knew and the sense of betrayal that comes with that. As the almond husks cleaved apart mid-July I intuitively knew what was happening. Summer was waning and there was nothing I could do. Someone was going to cleave away and disappear and they did, in the most deceptive and painful way. My painter's block started mid-July and is still very much present, reaching an all-round halt on September 4th with confirmation of the cleft. My block is all tied up in this. What I thought I knew I did not, and yet I did instinctively. But I did not want to see it. I saw what I wanted to see and not what was there. I feel fooled as a person and as a painter. As a painter, you should always be able to see through the illusion. So now I don't trust myself.

Swan Song, (2020), Watercolour on paper, 100 cm x 50cm, J R Shepherd
Work in Progress

As I painfully chip away at my swans, there is an outstandingly beautiful Autumn unfolding outside here in Granada. I missed the Spanish autumn last year - the first autumn in my new home - as I was in England folding newspapers for a month. Seems so strange looking back on that time and not knowing what was coming. I have since forgotten all my pin numbers it's been so long since she used my cards. I occasionally fumble an English note with Her Majesty's head on it. It feels strange. I have forgotten the stations on the London underground, and I've forgotten that you can't get a pick-a-mix from Woolworths anymore as I also loose track of timelines and I feel like I don't know anything anymore.

A sudden blow: the great wings beating still

Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed

By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill,

He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.

How can those terrified vague fingers push

The feathered glory from her loosening thighs?

And how can body, laid in that white rush,

But feel the strange heart beating where it lies?

A shudder in the loins engenders there

The broken wall, the burning roof and tower

And Agamemnon dead.

Being so caught up,

So mastered by the brute blood of the air,

Did she put on his knowledge with his power

Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?

Yeats

Swan Song, (2020),Watercolour on paper, 100 cm x 50cm, J R Shepherd
Work in Progress

As the painting block ticks on I am doing all I can to remain hopeful and ready, remaining as faithful and devoted as a swan in a cloud of Prussian Blue. 

When I hold you, I hold everything that is–swans, volcanoes, river rocks, maple trees drinking the fragrance of the moon, bread that the fire adores. In your life I see everything that lives." 

Pablo Neruda

There is the Romantic medieval tale of the Le Chevalier au Cigne or Swan Knight, which is a story of a mysterious rescuer who comes in a swan-drawn boat to defend a damsel, his only condition being that he must never be asked his name. The earliest versions (preserved in Dolopathos) do not provide a specific identity to this knight, but the Old French Crusade cycle of chansons de geste adopted it to make the Swan Knight (first version around 1192). At a later time, the German poet Wolfram von Eschenbach incorporated the swan knight Loherangrin into his Arthurian epic Parzival in the first quarter of the 13th Century and a German text, written by Konrad von Würzburg in 1257, also featured a Swan Knight without a name.

The phone screen might have smashed, but maybe there will be a renewal in March 2021 in not only the phone contract but also the bond with the invisible Swan man. The man who visits me in dreams with antlers on his head and box of Swan Vestas in his back pocket.

Becoming Blue XV: Iris - WISDOM

I have stopped dreaming. I am being slowly eroded. I can't do future tenses. While the rest of Europe slowly unfolds itself like the eyes on a startled snail, and tries to go back to the way it was before, I am still folding myself and making creases. I am becoming the most intricate origami bird known to mankind. A rubix cube of intricacy. Crumpled and clustered. My focus is no longer outward or far away. It's inside. My focus shifted and with it so has blue. The longing for faraway places and people has dissolved, along with the possibility. There are no dreams or desires. The unraveling of unbecoming has stopped and now the cogs are rotating centripetally. 

Work in Progress, oil on canvas, Iris.

It's July, and I am now working underground in true Cancer season style. This isn't something I did last year when I moved into the house. Last year I stayed above ground in the heat. This year, I changed track. I brought fairy lights down into the cave space and made a shrine above my bed with an old Beatles 'Strawberry Fields Forever LP' and a tambourine. In the other room I moved all the oil paintings and their materials. The rest of the house is a shell. I move through these spaces on occasion. Yesterday I walked through the old watercolor studio on my way to the terrace. I was briefly reminded of all the journeys I took there. Every painting is a journey. The space seemed to hold a different version of Jess, an outdated version and she was haunting that space. She hadn't left yet, almost as if she was waiting for the colder months to return so she could slip back into an old skin and resume the journeys she'd started.

Work in progress. 1.5m x 1m. Double Act. Bearded Iris. Watercolour on paper. Waiting for my return.
Jessica Rosemary Shepherd

The other bedroom was just as haunted by old journeys and former versions myself. An unfinished Iris duet rested on the bed rather expectantly along with half-read books. A hopeful, more focused version of Jess had been taking online Art History lessons in that room. Her shadow is still in that space, but it's fading fast. I looked at the wardrobes of clothes used for business meetings or travel. Smart outfits for 'going out' in and pretty dresses. I hadn't worn any of them in months. I have been wearing two outfits since October. My dad's hand-me-down 1970s blue cords and a gifted knitted waistcoat in the cold winter months and an orange £5 New Look dress that doesn't even fit properly in the summer months. I wondered why on earth I had all these beautiful clothes if I can't wear them and if there'd ever be a time to wear them again and if that time ever comes, would I even fit in them or want to wear them? It felt strangely opulent and indulgent to have so many unworn clothes just hanging there. It was also notable how a form of self-expression had been stripped from me. The projected 'made up' outward appearance was not important anymore. It also seems to have dissolved along with my dreams and future tenses.

First in a series of self portraits. Oil on canvas.

So where does this leave me or indeed 'us' as I know I cannot be alone? I am not sure but I think the answer is in here:

The Fifth Cardinal Sin is Lust. This sin was called 'Luxuria' in the medieval Christian world, and it was related to voluptuousness: unbridled sensuality. In older texts, Lust was also called 'Inappropriate Longing', revealing another, subtler, yet extremely important dimension of Lust: desiring that which one has no right to desire. And if we can begin to understand what constitutes 'inappropriate longing' for each individual, Lust might turn out to be an immensely creative force; for what we cannot possess in the outer world, we can nourish in the inner, and discover in the process a profound experience of joy.

The longing of Blue has started to shift and I quite excited about this. Like a miner, I am now looking at horizons and treasures on the inside, underground. I have a concave lens. I am deep sea diving. A hidden mermaid in the blue.

Becoming Blue XIV: Bluebell - HUMILITY

Blue Bell, Sussex Downs, Watercolour on paper, Jessica Rosemary Shepherd

Becoming Blue XIII: Puya - DISTANCE

There was always going to be at least one Puya in the Blue Collection. There had to be. Not only because it is the most extraordinary flower, but because I have wanted to paint it ever since I heard Marianne North's story in her trying to find it in its natural habitat in the Andes 160 years ago. The distance she had to travel to find it in her petticoats. It's remoteness, it's faraway-ness, it's rarity. It's like Lapis and all things blue - far away, exotic and hard to find. It was Marianne's legacy, along with Yves Klien, that made me want to turn Blue Flower global. I had to paint at least one species of Chilean Puya, if not several. 

Puya alpestris var. zoellneri, Watercolour on paper, 1.5m x 1m.
Jessica Rosemary Shepherd

However, this particular Puya wasn't growing in the Chilean Andes. This is a Puya found in an equally distant place by Artist Heidi Willis in 2016 in the Blue Mountains in Australia. She very kindly sent me lots of images of the Puyas growing in the botanical gardens there. Therefore, for the first time ever, I was painting only from photographs and I can tell you - it's not as easy as one might think. Painting from photographs is far from easy. I had the photographs on my laptop for four years holding off any Puya painting until I had seen my own version of the flower. I was secretly hoping I'd make it to Chile and be able to paint the specimen from life in 2021. But then these huge bush fires broke out in Australia in early December 2020 and we all watched in horror as the animals and plants died. I'd go to bed crying. It was awful. 

It was in these moments I decided to paint this particular specimen. I felt so helpless I didn't know what else to do and the sad irony that an endangered plant such as this, that should be protected where it grew in captivity in Australia, wasn't lost on me. The Blue Mountain nature reserve and botanical garden were damaged by the ferocious fires. The Puya might have been safer in Chile, where it battles with habitat destruction daily.

Puya alpestris var. zoellneri, Watercolour on paper, 1.5m x 1m.
Jessica Rosemary Shepherd

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Puya Painting from Inky Leaves on Vimeo.

I will admit, the Puya was a tough painting.  Several times it refused to be drawn - I found it difficult to do something on large paper in the new studio. I dropped the drawing, damaged the paper and had to start all over again. The studio was icy cold. I had to keep stoking the fire. Then I couldn't work on it while I had to house sit. Then I had a trip to Egypt and the impending doom for WWIII took over the Australian fire grief, and then a pandemic took over the issue of WWIII and then everything just conglomerated into a rather disturbing few months. 

The astonishing thing, is that the Puya painting documents all of this time - from December 1st 2019 right through to June 30th 2020. I didn't work on it every day as I couldn't, my eyes would go funny and I remember feeling restless throughout, as though I wanted to be freer. At the time I was locked in my house in Spain where I wasn't allowed to go out on walks, so there is no freeing of the soul. Working on such a 'tight' piece is hard under prolonged periods of time. So to relax I indulged in oils, painting pansies and danced in the hallway to get me through the tight spots. 

Finishing it in late June was equally strenuous. My hand's shock under the pressure and I could only work in half-hour slots. Dr. Shirley Sherwood has written to me expressing a wish to have it for her collection and I had another five people wanting it. I couldn't ruin it, for Shirley or for me or for Australia. I finished it at the end of June during a Pluto Jupiter conjunction. I decided to title her 'Blue Flame' in the hope that the forests of Australia would rejuvenate quickly.

Early stages

Palette:

Mameri blu turquoise 

W&N Winsor Blue (Red shade) 

W&N perylene maroon 

Daler Rowney cobalt blue 

W&N Paynes Grey 

Schminke Cerulean Blue Hue 

W&N transparent yellow 

W&N permanent rose - anthers with the yellow

Add caption

Puya alpestris var. zoellneri, Watercolour on paper, 1.5m x 1m.
Jessica Rosemary Shepherd

One particular thing that really startled me with this painting, was how much a struggled to finish it. This piece took a lot longer than usual paintings of this size and usually the pressure speeds me up, not slows me down. Yes, it is a complex piece, but there were often weeks when I wouldn't touch it and I wondered why this was and I think it was linked to hidden knowledge. A knowing that the Puya will probably be my last accurate watercolour. After months of finding it hard to leap into a void - another void as there are several, I am feeling inside that I am going to try to let go again and there's a certain sort of grief associated with this letting go of a well-practiced way of painting. So powerful it is, that it has meant I have not been able to, I have been holding on, tighter and tighter. and the paintings have gotten tighter and tighter and some even ruined as a consequence. I couldn't bare to finish the Puya because I knew that this piece was the 'end point' - the last one. 

And so it is now the end of June and the end of the Puya and with everything that has come to pass in 2020. Hidden in my secret house with a blue door I am now going to start leaving things less finished than finished. It is for the viewer to finish them. Who wants a photographical representation anyway?! It's all an illusion, painting is an illusion and it's really up to the viewer to finish it to see what they want to see.

Puya Framed by Fine Art Solutions in Chessington, UK
Now in the Shirley Sherwood Collection of Botanical Art