Story behind the art of Vi Strain

26th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art and Garden Center

Wyoming Indian Paintbrush

Castilleja linariifolia

As a child, I roamed the northern Wyoming prairie on horseback. My parents ranched in both the Shoshone River Valley and the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains. I was familiar with the prairie grasses and plants even though I did not know the common or botanical names. I knew plants and flowers would emerge and bloom after winter snows melted and the soil warmed. The Indian paintbrush was my favorite with its rich red, orange, and yellow colored display atop patches of varied green and gray plants and grasses. They provided the most colorful patches in the monochromatic landscape.

Many years later, I would take my mother to Wyoming to visit her sister who lived near the Red Desert of central Wyoming. The Indian paintbrush was my aunt’s favorite flower, and it gave me a reason to study the plant further and paint it for her. Over several years, I did color studies in the field at different times of the year and in different types of lighting. I also observed the plants associated with the Indian paintbrush as the plant is a member of the parasitic broomrape family (Orobancaceae).

In my research, I found the Indian paintbrush or Castilleja is a genus of about 200 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants native to the west of the Americas from Alaska south to the Andes as well as northeast Asia. The Indian paintbrush species, Castilleja linariifolia, is found in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. It is also known as Wyoming Indian paintbrush and prairie fire. It was adopted as the official state flower of Wyoming in 1917.

This perennial plant grows on rocky slopes and arid plains and is associated with sagebrush scrub, bunchgrass, chamise, and pinyon pine or juniper woodland. The associated plants are important as Castilleja linariifolia is a partial root parasite and obtains a portion of its nourishment from the roots of other native plants.

Indian paintbrush is an important nectar source for hummingbirds and insects, including butterflies and bees. The beautiful red colored portion of the plant is a dense cluster of leafy bracts which surround a small, green inconspicuous flower. The blossoms give way to very small black or gray seeds, about four million seeds per pound, which enable the plant to provide an abundant floral display the following year.

After studying the plant, I start the art process by pencil sketching different compositions on tracing paper. When I decide on the desirable composition, I prepare a detailed pencil drawing on tracing paper. I use dark ink to delineate the major structural lines of the drawing as the drawing is somewhat fuzzy when viewed through the film that is my artwork substrate. I place a piece of .005 mm film over the tracing paper and start applying colored pencil to the film from left to right. To prevent smearing, I rest my hand on a piece of clear plexiglass as I work across the film. When finished on the front, I turn the film over and add detail, darken shadows, and apply additional color to add depth. Applying color to both sides of the film adds a translucent quality to the work. Lastly, I erase smeared or sloppy edges.

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Read more about this artist’s work: 22nd Annual