Valerie Richard's painting in the Exhibition

Last year we ran a series of interviews with artists involved with the Beckler's Botanical Bounty Project. We hung many of those  paintings in our Exhibition in Menindee last year. Over the next few weeks we would like to show you blog posts of some of the finished works on display.


Valerie Richards has painted some of the eremophilas that were collected by Dr. Beckler. They are wonderful plants, commonly known as emu bushes. In her interview Valerie describes Eremophila sturtii and what attracted her to paint this dainty flower.

It has an absolute profusion of lilac, pink and cream flowers. It was these colours that attracted me at first. From a distance it looks like a green shrub. As you get to close to it you see the beautiful flowers. The impact of the colours was such a surprise. The shrub is symmetrical, attactive shape. It grows to 1 to 2 metres.

The full interview with Valerie is here.

Valerie's painting, the work in progress

You can see from the photo of her painting as it hung in the Exhibition (below right), her finished work included the habitat of E. sturtii, with the bush as well.

Left: Plantago drummondii; Right: E. sturtii (Art work copyright: Valerie Richards 2013)

By the time of the Exhibition Valerie had completed five paintings, the two above and three below. And they all looked stunning!

Left: E. deserti Right: Senna artemisioides subsp. x sturtii (Art work copyright: Valerie Richards 2013)

Arabidella trisecta (Art work copyright: Valerie Richards 2013)

Valerie's work hanging together 

Margaret Holloway

Margaret Holloway -- botanic artist

Senna artemisioides

Stelligera endecaspinis

I have only managed to get to Menindee in 2011 and 2013. Both times I have found it rewarding in many ways. Firstly, to be involved in such a project which is of historical and botanical interest and also the satisfaction of being able to source the plants and illustrate them. 

Having grown up on the Wimmera plains, I find the landscape, and in particular, the big sky very relaxing and liberating.

The first painting I did was of Senna artemisioides a shrub with yellow flowers and profuse seed pods.

Senna artemisioides, painting by Margaret Holloway

The colours reflect the surrounding  colours, particularly the soil. I still have not completed it as I intend to put a bee in it. The flowers are buzz pollinated by the local bees.  

This year I painted Stelligera endecaspinis, a small saltbush which was growing on a mud flat in an exposed harsh area. 

Stelligera endecaspinis -- Painting by Margaret Holloway

It is a nondescript plant that you would normally walk straight past, but when you view it through a magnifying glass or a microscope you realize how it manages to cope with the conditions.  

Both specimens were collected from Kinchega National Park.

Margaret Holloway