Returning Loostrife

"Returning Loostrife"

12x18 Soft Pastel on LaCarte (peach)

 

I picked this up today at Sullivan Framing in Bedford NH.  Amy did a great job framing it, I love the way pastels look under museum glass with a spacer and no mat.

 

I have always loved the loostrife.  I remember it as a child in the dry Merrimack river bed and wondered how it got there. August fields were lit up with its breathtaking color. It was controlled because its invasive nature was overwhelming other native plants and fields that were once permanent magenta became goldenrod.  Now it is slowly returning and adds to a more balanced color.  Any landscape painter knows that the secret to green is orange and purple is the friend.

 

Today is the first day of Spring and I long for this much color.  The snow has been beautiful but I am ready for a change.