I looked out my studio window this morning and saw a brave little flower growing in the expansion joint of the sidewalk. The name dandelion is the English name for this beautiful buttercup yellow flower. It is also called lion's tooth- this is because its notched leaves bear much resemblance to the teeth of lions. The sun came out and cast the shadow of the flower head onto one of its leaves. I was charmed!
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| Sketched where it grows. |
Immediately, I abandoned the idea that I originally had for the last page in my Sketchbook Project. I grabbed my sketchbook and pen, standing over the flower to draw. See, this is the way it goes when your sketchbook is as much a part of your life as wearing shoes!
One of my colleagues on IG reminded me of a poem, “We wouldn't ask why a rose that grew from the concrete for having damaged petals, in turn, we would all celebrate its tenacity, we would all love its will to reach the sun, " - Tupac Shakur
The name dandelion is a corruption of the original French word dent de lion which when translated means 'lion's teeth'. In Greece the flower is called Leotodon which means lion tooth in Greek.
Check out my 2015 sketchbook at the Brooklyn Art Library in New York.....once it gets there. See what's on the rest of the page.
