The French Court Watercolor Technique uses layers.
Remember to apply paint by pulling it out dark to light.
Start on the shadow side and work right to left and back to front!
O.M. Braida Omisim #15

Dear Friends:

Last month we discussed Pollination, so I thought I would continue our discussion of this very interesting and large topic. Some of this may repeat what was said before but it never hurts to hear some things twice.

Plant Pollination & Their Pollinators

Although bees pollinate more flowers than butterflies, hummingbirds, and insects, butterflies seem to make people happy. Their bright colors light up a garden, they don't sting, and favor hot colors and cool shady places. This means you can design your garden with bright, colorful flowers and a shady spot to sit down in and enjoy the show. Butterflies also increase your bird population as birds love to eat them! For this reason, butterflies especially favor plants that offer camouflage so don't forget to include that in your garden.

Butterfly morphology includes a pair of "false eyes" on the tail of their wings to confuse the would-be predator into thinking their tail is their head which gives the butterfly a chance to escape. In addition, their bitter taste also helps keep them alive long enough in most cases to lay eggs on host plants that they sample first for suitability by tasting leaves with their feet!

Butterflies that are not tasty are slower flyers - maybe only 10 miles per hours. The tastier treats, like Skippers, can fly up to 30 miles per hour.

Since the whole objective for plants is to attract pollinators for survival, plants have their job cut out for them. Many, but not all, pollinators fly. They are attracted, yes to scent, but also by color and shape. Different pollinators see the same color in a different way. For example, when it comes to red flowers, only butterflies and hummingbirds see red. Other pollinators like bees and flies have to rely on the scent of red flowers because they don't see red. Bees are attracted to blue and yellow flowers, as are butterflies, but see red as blue.

Once color attracts the pollinator, shape plays its roll. It boils down to what shape is worth their trouble. It is a case of fitting or fleeing. Common flower shapes include the bowl which works for short and long tongue insects like bees and beetles. The trumpet and umbrella shapes are perfect for long tongue insects, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Flowers with landing platforms work for short and long tongue insects, but butterflies are choosy and prefer landing platforms that are pretty stable.

Ah yes, it is a case of the perfect Cinderella shoe. For this very purpose, native plants always thrive better in their native habitats. It stands to reason that the availability of the right pollinator for the right plant makes plant propagations a "shoe-in" (sorry couldn't resist ).

In the reproductive structure of the seed-bearing plants known as angiosperms, a flower may contain up to four whorls or arrangements of parts: carpels, stamens, petals, and sepals. The female reproductive organs consist of one or more carpels. Each carpel includes an ovary, style, and stigma. A single carpel or a group of fused carpels is often referred to as a pistil. The male reproductive parts are the stamens, made up of a filament and anther. The reproductive organs may be enclosed in an inner whorl of petals and an outer whorl of sepals.

Figure 1 Illustration by O.M. Braida©

Over many millennia, flowers have evolved in form and color as a response to their pollinators. Some flowers produce nectar to attract animal pollinators, and these flowers are often highly adapted to specific groups of pollinators. Flowers pollinated by moths, such as species of jasmine and nicotiana, are often pale and fragrant in order to be found in the evening, while those pollinated by birds, such as fuschias, are frequently red and odorless, since birds have good vision but a less developed sense of smell.

Wind-pollinated flowers, such as those of oak trees or grass, are usually drab and inconspicuous. Well, so how does this all work...boy meets girl I mean? In order for plants to thrive they need to pollinate and so the process goes like this... Plants are male or female, or both at the same time or at different times. A bit confusing but they have a system.

As mentioned above (also see diagram), male parts consist of stamens (anthers at the top holds the pollen and rather flexible filament holds the anther tip). The pollen grains, of which there are thousands on a plant, hold the male genes of the plant. They appear as white, yellow, or orange in most cases and disperse in many ways as dust. They are tough and travel by wind, water, animal, or insect. They cling to the back, head, wings, feet of pollinators and travel inches or miles. They have a protective coating that will keep the pollen dormant for thousands of years until once again it becomes softened by the moisture of female parts of the same flowers. And what is so amazing�with all this flitting, fleeing, and dispersing, pollen can't end up on the wrong doorstep. Each pollen grain has its own distinctive shape that is designed to precisely fit into the female parts of the same flower! Very cool

Again as mentioned above, the female parts of the flower contain the ovary. The ovary is located at the base of the carpel and ripens into a fruit after fertilization of one or more of the ovules. Each unit is referred to as a carpel. When the carpels are fused together, they make a pistil. At the top of the pistil is the stigma. The pistil can be reclusive until is ready to accept pollen, when the stigma is receptive, it will only allow the right pollen to progress to the ovary.

For illustrators, it is important to note that the "receptive" appearance of stigma is different for each flower. This is especially important if you are illustrating the different stages of a plant. Note that some pistils lunge forward, split open to display hair for trapping pollen and become sticky for the same purpose. While some gleam, other flowers appear brighter in color, while still others increase their fragrance all in an attempt to attract pollen from a male counterpart. Once this has been done, pollination has begun and the journey from stigma to ovary down the length of the style is chemically communicated and only the strong will survive!

Upon reaching the ovary the pollen finds the ovules (seed or eggs) arranged differently for each type of flowers. It takes one pollen grain to fertilize one ovule at which point the male parts of the flower are no longer needed and most of the flower parts begin to fade, wither, and drop off. Also remember to include this when illustrating flower stages.

The female part of the flower, however, swells sucking up moisture and nutrients from its roots and develops a new appearance with all its nutritional supply package in a hard shell known as the seed head.

All plant parts play a role in helping the plants succeed in reproducing. Here are some of the star players and their important role:

1. Sepals protect the flower before it opens from harmful insects and sun.
2. Petals both attract pollinators with the bright colors and scent, but also protect the reproductive parts of the plant.
3. Tepals, actually the term used for plants whose sepals and petals look the same, as in a lily or tulip. The outside sepals perform the same job as the sepals.
4. Bracts can be green, hairy, small, large or even colorful. They too act as both protector and provocateur.
5. Nectar is edible and sweet and protected, a veritable candy store behind bars, alluring pollinators who greedily take all they can get. Because of the trouble it takes to get at the nectar, pollinators deposit pollen as they flit about getting their fill.

It is all pretty remarkable how all this works. But I suppose no more remarkable that the birth of a human being. Life in all its forms is a magical blessed event. May we always care for and rejoice at the spark of divinity that is part of every living thing.

God bless. OM

Upcoming Selby Garden Lectures

Cattleya Culture

Date: June 7, 2010
Time: 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Hosted by the Sarasota Orchid Society. Join Steve Hawkins of The Orchida Specialist as he discusses "Cattleya Culture."

Academy Travel Deals

For those of you who may be traveling in the near or possible future, I thought you would like to know about Penell Braida Skinner, Travel Specialist, who expertise will help you plan not just glorious vacations but exciting trips to the Galapagos, Africa, and other exciting places. If the name sounds familiar, Penell is my sister. So as you can imagine, highly recommended!!! Take a look and if you have questions, let Penell know. She will be delighted to help you and delightful to work with.

http://www.penellontour.com/Hot-Tips.html

Penell Braida Skinner, ITMI, PAAWW
Travel Specialist - Europe/the Americas

"Dreams & Adventures" (941) 266-2689

VIRTUOSO - Affiliate,
Admiral Travel International, Inc.
www.admiraltravel.com

Sarasota Bed & Breakfast

La Palme Royale
A Bed & Breakfast Inn

Great Rates at a Beautiful Bed & Breakfast
In Sarasota, Florida
Walking Distance from
Marie Selby Botanical Garden

624 South Palm Avenue
Sarasota, FL 34236

CELL 1-941-284-8890
FAX 1-866-804-6331
PHONE 1-866-800-3921-x104

reservations@lprsrq.com
Ask for Tim and tell him you are
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Visit their website to see their beautiful rooms!
http://www.lprsrq.com

What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade.

~Gertrude Jekyll

~

In winter I get up at night And dress by yellow candle-light. In summer quite the other way I have to go to bed by day.

~Robert Louis Stevenson

~

In June, as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day. No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them.

~Aldo Leopold

~

I question not if thrushes sing,
If roses load the air;
Beyond my heart I need not reach
When all is summer there.

~John Vance Cheney

~

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the
grass on a summer day listening to the murmur
of water, or watching the clouds float across
the sky, is hardly a waste of time.

~John Lubbock

~

No price is set on the lavish summer;
June may be had by the poorest comer.

~James Russell Lowell, The Vision of Sir Launfal, 1848

~

Summer afternoon - summer afternoon;
to me those have always been the
two most beautiful words in the English language.

~Henry James

~

Love is to the heart what the summer is
to the farmer's year - it brings to harvest
all the loveliest flowers of the soul.

~Author Unknown

South Florida Museum
201 10th Street West
Bradenton, Florida 34205
(941) 746-4131
http://www.southfloridamuseum.org/

John and Mable Ringling Museum
5401 Bay Shore Road,
Sarasota Florida 34243
(941) 359-5700
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Museum of Fine Arts
255 Beach Drive NE, St.
Petersburg, FL 33701
(727) 896-2667
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Salvador Dali Museum
1000 Third Street South
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701-4901
(727) 823-3767
http://www.salvadordalimuseum.org/home.html

Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213-3890
(412) 268-2434
http://huntbot.andrew.cmu.edu/

National Museum of Women in the Arts
1250 New York Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20005-3970
(202) 783-5000
1-800-222-7270
http://www.nmwa.org/

Smithsonian Institute
10th Street and Constitution Ave., NW in Washington, D.C. 20560
(202) 633-1000
http://www.si.edu/

Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10028
(212) 535-7710
http://www.metmuseum.org/

American Museum of Natural History
79th Street @ Central Park West
New York, New York
(212) 769-5100
http://www.amnh.org/

American Museum of Natural History
79th Street @ Central Park West
New York, New York
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Modern Museum of Art
11 West 53 Street,
New York, NY 10019-5497
(212) 708-9400
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Brooklyn Museum of Art
200 Eastern Pkwy
Brooklyn, NY 11238
(718) 638-5000
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/

High Museum of Art
1280 Peachtree Street, N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30309
(404) 733-HIGH
Receptionist: 404-733-4400
http://www.high.org/

Art Institute of Chicago
111 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois, 60603-6404
(312) 443-3600
http://www.artic.edu/aic/

Bruce Museum One Museum Drive
Greenwich, CT 06830
203-869-0376
http://www.brucemuseum.org/

Harvard University Museum of Natural History
Home of the famous Glass Flower Sculptures
by Leopold Blaschka (1822-1895)
and his son Rudolf (1857-1939)
22 Divinity Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 495-2365
http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/

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Art Classes & Workshops

You can now combine
Distance Learning with Class Time
at any of our locations!!!

Studio 20 Resumes October 2009

Time:
All Private Studio Classes
are from 10:30am to 3:30pm

Location:
2068 Sunnyside Lane, Sarasota, FL, 34239.
Just off 41 in the Southgate area two blocks north of Webber and the Mall.

Dates:

2010
October 7, 8, 21, 22
November 4, 5, 11, 12
December 2, 3, 9, 10

Tuition:
3 classes/15 hours: $375
Individual class: $125
Refreshments provided, but you may want to bring your own lunch.

Credit Cards Accepted!
Register Here

Or contact olivia@omartdesigns.com
Or Call 941-953-9999 for more information

Academy of Botanical Art _sm @
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

To Register, visit www.selby.org
Or Call Marilynn Shelley 941-366-5731 x 239

2010 Academy
@ Selby Schedule

Botanical Drawing & Watercolor
Noon to 5pm

Dates:
Three Day Workshops
$350 Members/$375 Non Members

2010
October 18, 19, 20
November 8, 9, 10
December 6, 7, 8

Selby Workshops resume in October.
We hope to see you then. Have a great summer.

To Register, visit www.selby.org
Or Call Marilynn Shelley
941-366-5731 x 239

Academy @ Kentucky
with Leslie Ramsey

ANNOUNCING

Botanical Art Workshops

Graphite - Watercolor - Pen & Ink
Beginners to Advanced

With

Leslie Ramsey

Certified Botanical Artist
Certified Academy Instructor

THURSDAYS
to June

Day & Evening Classes
Day: 10am to 1 pm $200 (individual class $75)
Evening: 5:30pm - 8:30pm $200 (individual class $75)

Location
4464 Stuart Hall Boulevard #33102
Lexington, KY 40509

Art supplies and books not included.
For recent Arboretum/Kentucky University
Workshop attendees who completed Drawing I and Watercolor I, pursue the next level book
Drawing II and Watercolor II.
For Books and Course Paks and
Art Supplies visit...
www.botanicalartsupplies.com

To Register, call Leslie Ramsey:
606-434-4280

Art Exhibit

Mark your calendars

Botanical Art Exhibit

By Academy of Botanical Art
Founder & Instructors

Nature,
Naturally!

Meet the Artist Reception
June 10, 2010 5pm to 7pm

Exhibit Dates
June 10-18, 2010

The Dorotha Smith Oatts Visitor Center
500 Alumni Drive
Lexington, KY
Center Open 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Admission is free.

ACADEMY @ Kentucky Workshop

Drawing & Painting Butterflies

June 14-17, 2010
9am to 4pm

The Arboretum
State Botanical Garden of Kentucky
The Dorotha Smith Oatts Visitor Center
500 Alumni Drive
Lexington, KY

To Register, call (859) 257-6955
Executive Director Marcia Farris
http://www.ca.uky.edu/arboretum/

For more information, contact

Olivia Braida 941-953-9999
Leslie Ramsey 606-434-4280

ACADEMY @ Kentucky Workshop

Simple Color Theory for Nature Artists

4 Day Workshop
August 23 - 26, 2010
9am to 4pm

The Arboretum
State Botanical Garden of Kentucky
The Dorotha Smith Oatts Visitor Center
500 Alumni Drive
Lexington, KY

To Register, call (859) 257-6955
Executive Director Marcia Farris
http://www.ca.uky.edu/arboretum/http://www.ca.uky.edu/arboretum/

For more information, contact
Olivia Braida 941-953-9999
Leslie Ramsey 606-434-4280

Academy Specials

NEWEST OM BOOK!!!

COLORED PENCIL
For The Botanical Artist

Volume 12 and Course Pak #12

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Today's Botanical Artists

By Cora Marcus and Libby Kyer

LOSING PARADISE?
Endangered Plants Here and Around the World

This beautiful catalog showcases contemporary botanical artworks created by ASBA artists from the US and around the world, including a pen and ink illustration
by Anne Marie Brady-Carney.

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Academy of Botanical Art
Distance Learning _sm

Now Available for Anyone Interested in Endangered Species, Bromeliads or Palms

Endangered Species for Botanical Artists
This wonderful course is available to anyone interested in the study of endangered species.
Academy Students earn elective credits for taking this course and completing the enclosed exam. A wealth of information that all will find extremely interesting.
Academy Electives: 15
by John Beckner, Botanist
$95.00 Non Certificate Student ~ $220 Certificate Students

Bromeliads for Botanical Artists
The structure of bromeliad plants and their flowers
with suggestions for ways to illustrate and
better understand these exciting plants.
Academy Electives: 5
by John Beckner, Botanist
$39.00 Non Certificate Student ~ $164 Certificate Students

Palms for the Botanical Artist
This publication is just the tip of an iceberg.
Palms are plants inclined to large dimensions.
They are very numerous and more varied than you first imagine. This text is for the person interested in illustrating them in various ways;
artistic or scientific and as a motif for crafts. But nearly all of it will be useful to plant lovers, tropical nature fans, gardeners and other people.
Academy Electives: 5
by John Beckner, Botanist
$39.00 Non Certificate Student ~ $164 Certificate Students

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ABA Instruction & Course Paks

The Academy of Botanical Art's flexible program allows for distance learners to tailor a schedule of botanical art training to their needs that includes phone tutored lessons, classes with the Ringling College of Art and Design, the Marie Selby Botanical Garden, and Academy workshops now offered in several locations. Distance learners take advantage of classes offered in their hometown as part of their study program. There is hardly an excuse left not to join the Academy's growing school.

Book Volumes 1-8 = $44.00 each
Book Volumes 9 = $55.00 each
Book Volumes 10 = $65.00 each
Plus Shipping and Handling

Accompanying ABA Course Paks
Volumes 1-9 = $22.00 each
Volume 10 = $39.00
Plus Shipping & Handling

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Newest Books & Paks

Volume 12
Colored Pencil for the Botanical Artist $44.00

Course Pak #13
Research on the Internet $39.00

Course Pak #11
Marketing Your Art $39.00

Course Pak #12
Colored Pencil $22.00

Course Book/Pak #16
Combined Endangered Plant Species of the World $125.00

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