Goldfinches on Thistle — Gallery Canvas Watercolor a second clover stem curving

a second clover stem curving below

GLEN LOATES

The tropical setting required research beyond his northern field work: the plant species are correct

A botanical study combining two forest floor plants — False Solomon's Seal with its arching stem and paired leaves

where he spent weeks at a time observing the land before committing it to paper

Goldfinches on Thistle — Gallery Canvas Watercolor a second clover stem curvingThree goldfinches work through a thistle patch a male feeding on a spent seedhead at left, a second male perched on the right, a female arriving from above with wings still open. The thistle is rendered with the botanical precision Glen brought to all his plant subjects: the spiny bracts, the purple bloom, the white plumed seeds drifting into the composition from the milkweed at left. This 1988 watercolour is more complex than the earlier single bird