Don Hyatt's Native Azaleas in Watercolor
Rhododendron prunifolium
Since I've been teaching at Jefferson, I really haven't painted very much.
Just too busy, I guess.
In August of 2001 when one of my native azaleas, Rhododendron
prunifolium, started to bloom, I decided to get out the paint brush
and and see if I could paint its portrait. It took me about
three days from starting sketches to final painting on a rough-textured
French watercolor paper. I was pleased with the picture and honored that
it received the
First Place Award in the Rhododendron Art Show at the American Rhododendron
Society / Azalea Society of America Joint National Convention in Atlanta,
Georgia (April 2002).
I received a number of honors there including the prestigious
ARS Silver Medal Award, my photograph of
Rhododendron Calendulaceum on Roan Mountain won First Place in Landscape
Photography, and my article,
Best of the Best: In Search of Native Azaleas, tied for best article in
the 2001 issues of the ASA Journal, "The Azalean". What a weekend!
Rhododendron prunifolium is a wonderful native azalea,
blooming in late July or August in for me in Washington D.C., but
sometimes it will still be flowering in September or even later. Originially
discovered in Georgia in 1913, it is still relatively rare but is finally
being offered by some specialty nurseries
now. For more information on this azalea and photographs of plants in
the wild, check out my web page on
Rhododendron prunifolium or the
full site on East Coast Native Azaleas. I have a goal
now to paint all fifteen azaleas native to the eastern United States during
the next few years. I have several pictures underway including R.
atlanticum, R. austrinum, and R. vaseyi. I expect
to complete those as well as R. arborescens, R. calendulaceum,
and R. cumberlandense by the end 2002.
I have trusses of R. canescens and
R. periclymenoides in the refrigerator hoping to make botanical
studies before I leave for a trip to Scotland, but getting all of those
done this year may be a bit ambitious. I will try to post portraits of my
native azalea paintings as I complete the watercolors.
Rhododendron prunifolium
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Original Watercolor
Limited Edition Prints
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Copyright © 2001 Donald W. Hyatt
