Winter Bullrushes – W & N Watercolours on Arches 300gsm – 7″ × 10″

For this painting I was inspired by Alma Alice’s beautiful image Frosted Bulrushes

1. “Never cut a tree down in the winter time. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.”
   - Robert H. Schuller

I absolutely LOVE Bullrushes and used to have them growing at my pond (in Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa) until I discovered how quickly they take over an area, killing everything in its path. I also used to cut the velvety flowering spikes to arrange in a vase, absolutely gorgeous!, also only until I discovered that, when they’re ripe and ready to disperse their seeds, the velvety spike would burst open, covering the house with bundles of dense, cottony fluff! Only the female flower does this, the male withers and dies once it has dispersed its pollen.

Typha Typhaceae is found in a variety of wetland habitats. These plants are known in British English as bulrush, bullrush, or reed mace, in American English as cattail, punks, or corndog grass, in Australia as cumbungi & also bulrush, and in New Zealand as raupo.

Some interesting information : the dense cottony fluff was used for stuffing Futons in Japan before the advent of cotton.

1. 20th January 2011 – FEATURED in Image Writing
2. 23rd January 2011 – FEATURED in African Art at Heart
3. 23rd September 2011 – FEATURED in Artists Universe
4. 23rd September 2011 – FEATURED in Works on Paper

4th July 2011 – 1 Greeting card to Alma – Thank you!

From my portfolio of Landscapes

Mounted print

Affordable Matted print – do your own framing

Framed print

Greeting card