Celia Hart's blog about what's going on in and around her studio.
Art, printmaking, inspirations, gardening, vegetables, hens, landscapes, wild flowers, East Anglia, adventure, travel.

Thursday 27 August 2015

My illustration for September Gardens Illustrated - hands up! who loves Alchemilla mollis?



I know it's not quite September, but the September edition of Gardens Illustrated has already been published and is on the news stands, so I'll tell you my thoughts as I devised the the illustration for Frank Ronan's column 'The Writer's Plot'

Frank now spends most of the year at his home in California, but this month his inspiration is from his English garden in Worcestershire. Having been away, Frank appreciates its coolness as summer draws to a close.

The illustration needed to depict particular plants and celebrate their shapes . . .

I don't have Heleniums in my garden, so had to use photographs for reference (note to self: plant Heleniums!)


The other plants I could sketch from life . . .

Roses



Oriental Poppy leaves

and last but definitely not least . . .

Alchemilla mollis or Lady's Mantle

Frank was - how can I put this gently? - not particularly polite about its virtues and claims that "You hardly see it anywhere now". Gosh! Really?!
So, hands up! who loves Alchemilla mollis, or Lady's Mantle to give it the more romantic English name, ?
Between you and me, I suspect Frank doesn't pick posies of flowers and put them in jam jars, because if he did he'd appreciate those frothy lime green flowers and blue-green velvety leaves and know how very very useful they are. I think I'll start a Lady's Mantle Apreciation Society :-) who's in?


Now I needed to entwine the plants together, I took my inspiration from William Morris fabrics and created and vignette with Alchemilla mollis is prime position. I played around with negative and positive shapes and transitioning one into the other - I think this is one of the things I most enjoy doing and why working in a single colour is so interesting.


The finished linocut is printed in a mossy green. Like all my Gardens Illustrated designs, after 6 months it will be available as a limited edition original hand-burnished print. Card designs will follow too.


Celia
xx


13 comments:

  1. That's a lovely illustration and I would definitely like to be a member of the alchemical fan club, I love it. So vibrant a colour and the way it holds onto rain drops is delightful. X

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  2. Alchemilla not alchemical - stoopid auto correct on phone, it needs to learn some plant names :-)

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  3. I have a continuous row of Alchemilla edging a winding driveway which is always admired by visitors.
    The vignette using Alchemilla mollis is very attractive.

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  4. I adore Alchemilla mollis but have never had luck growing it over here in the stifling dry heat of the southeast. I did see it everywhere in full bloom in Devon in June - so beautiful in the garden especially after a shower or watering.

    Love your new illustration Celia - your work is truly exquisite.

    Hugs - Mary

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  5. Me me ME! I adore alchemilla and it's thrilling to see it become a star of your new design. It gorws in huge drifts in my MIL's garden and I took a large posy of it to a friend recently as a present. Can I join your society please? Thankyou xx

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  6. I like Lady's Mantle (that's the name I learned here). I also like your illustration. I rarely work in one color, but I've had two black and white jobs just this week that had me quite flummoxed as I tried to work out the positive/negative issues :/ I'm studying yours closely…

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  7. Celia, I admit to not being very familiar with Lady's Mantle...I know the name, but don't think that without this post I'd have been able to recognize one in bloom if I saw it. Thank you!

    I am delighted to report that I now have my own copy of Gardens Illustrated with your red pergolarium illustration. It's a beauty! Now you have me looking forward to the September issue of the magazine.

    It's such fun to point out your page in the magazine to other folks when I purchase the magazine at Barnes & Noble...I am building a Celia Hart fan club, month by month.

    xo

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  8. I planted some in my garden but I have never seen it since!

    Your illustrations are just wonderful.

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  9. I would love to join the alchemilla mollis society - it's one of my favourite plants. I wouldn't be without it in the garden - but it is hard to find for sale. Luckily it is very happy in my South East garden and self seeds freely.

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  10. I would love to join the alchemilla mollis society - it's one of my favourite plants. I wouldn't be without it in the garden - but it is hard to find for sale. Luckily it is very happy in my South East garden and self seeds freely.

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  11. I would love to join the alchemilla mollis society - it's one of my favourite plants. I wouldn't be without it in the garden - but it is hard to find for sale. Luckily it is very happy in my South East garden and self seeds freely.

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  12. Count me in - I love Alchemilla and have it growing on the edges of borders throughout my small garden - it is so easy to divide too and always recovers spectacularly. I like to inter plant it with Johnson's Blue as the colours work so well together and it is the perfect foil for all other flowers in summer posies.

    I shall look out for you at Craft Fairs and Festivals in Suffolk Celia.

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  13. definitely on your side Celia - we have loads of it.. not all intentionally but happy its so easy care and as you say lovely in jam jars with other flowers

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