This piece was a commission for my great niece. The only request was that I stay in the purple and lavender color range, so I knew that I had to collect flowers in the spring. Have you ever noticed that many spring flowers are purple, lavender, or blue and wondered why. Color takes “work” for plants, and the easiest, most energy-efficient pigment to produce is purple. The relationship between purple and insects is also a great story of an evolutionary partnership. Pollinators, especially bees, are naturally attracted to these colors because the purple wavelength falls close to the range of their UV vision spectrum which they use for navigation. Plants that produce a large amount of nectar have evolved towards this standout color because it attracts pollinators, so insects know that purple flowers are, typically, a good source of high-nutrient food.
 
Cuckoo flower, dogwood, stokesia, scilla, creeping phlox, Russian sage, vinca, crocus, deutzia, camellia, grape hyacinth, hydrangea, Virginia bluebell, star of Bethlehem
 
Original size 16x20" 
 
Matte giclée print on watercolor paper