#2774 "Singleton Spring Yellow Flowers"

#2774 "Singleton Spring Yellow Flowers"
7x5 inch canvas panel oils

I wanted to paint some flowers. These tall yellow flowers were the brightest one on the marble ridge that borders Jim Day Rapids. 

These flowers are the King Devil (Hieracium pratense) from the hawkweed family. I had to look those details up. Flowers were hairy and yellow with bristly stems covered with dark hairs. Even the leaves were hairy. The King Devil was introduced from Europe and is now common in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. Apparently, King Devil and other European hawkweeds were used as an herbal remedy for healing eyesight. Pliny reported, in ancient Greece, that hawks ate it to see better. 

The nectar and pollen of the flower heads attract bumblebees, other bees, butterflies. The Ruffed Grouse and Wild Turkey feed on the young leaves and seeds; the seeds are also eaten by the American Goldfinch. The Cottontail Rabbit, White-Tailed Deer, and Elk browse on the bitter foliage occasionally, but it is not preferred as a source of food. We do not have any Elk at Singleton. Cattle reportedly avoid consumption of the foliage. 

This is not a morphological, detailed painting in any sense of the word. I just wanted to paint some colour. 

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Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick