Asters & Goldenrod

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut bibendum tortor sit amet ligula rutrum, at porta tortor convallis ...

This painting was inspired by fall native plants, New England Asters and common Canadian Goldenrod, that I found growing together abundantly. So often we think of fall colours as the oranges, reds and browns of leaves, but these native plants provide an alternative fallvcolour scheme. The purple and yellow are naturally complementary colours. That's why they work so well together. I only discovered recently that the author of "Braiding Sweetgrass", Robin Wall Kimmerer also talks about asters and goldenrod. She set out to study botany to discover "why asters and goldenrod looked so beautiful together.” She was told botany was a science, it wasn't about beauty. She eventually brings her indigenous understanding together with science, "There actually is a scientific reason that they look so beautiful together: purple and yellow are complementary colors, a “reciprocal pair” that evoke each other to the human eye—but also the eyes of bees, who pollinate the flowers. The bold contrast attracts their vision, so that asters and goldenrod growing together attract more pollinators than if they were to grow alone." I loved learning this. I spend a lot of time looking at the colours of native plants that grow together. I use a lot of natural combinations in my work.