Colorful Company: Where the Wildflowers Bloom
For this story on wildflowers in urban spaces, which I both wrote and illustrated, the idea was to paint illustrations that would support and carry the story forward; spot illustrations that would not only add visual charm to the story but also give it meaning.
I first chose to work on two complementary illustrations that would show how wildflowers can grow abundantly in both gardens and garden pots if only one leaves them undisturbed. The result was the illustration on the left (with the middle pot showing wood sorrels, blue pimpernels and dayflowers growing profusely) and the one below (showing an otherwise manicured lawn with flowering "weeds").
Most people think of wildflowers as weeds but through the illustration, I also wanted to show how ecologically important some of these plants are. A great example is the Calotropis gigantea which, in spite of being poisonous, is the host plant for the Plain Tiger butterflies.
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For the next illustration (below), the idea was to show how different wildflowers grow in some specific seasons. Yellow rain lillies and purple minnieroots for example grow just as long as the monsoon showers last! And the final illustration: a watercolor landscape of Kaas Plateau, one of the few protected sites in India where people can see wildflowers.
And the final illustration: a watercolor landscape of Kaas Plateau, one of the few protected sites in India where people can see wildflowers.