Tragopogon pratensis L.
cm 75x55, 2006
This plant was first noticed along a street near home, as its bearing and big pappus were imposing over other herbs in the surroundings. It took me two years and several different samples for assembling this plate. Photographic documentation is of great help most times, as subjects can change rapidly while a drawing usually takes weeks and the time allowed for the best view is always very short.
Different moments of the life cycle are shown, from buds and flowers to the development of the pappus and finally the lonely stems standing dry with no more seeds.
What I remember most of this plate is a strong back ache, as you can not draw comfortably when working for long times on fine details over such a big paper.
