Before Christmas I had the pleasure of meeting an admirer of my work, who especially appreciated my lady slipper drawings. At his request, I commenced not just a single lady slipper (as had been my practice), but a giant bouquet of all the species in Minnesota: Showy (Cypripedium reginae), Pink/Stemless (C. acaule), Large Yellow (C. parviflorum var. pubescens), Small Yellow (C. parviflorum var. makasin), Small White (C. candidum), and Ram’s Head (C. arietinum).

Realistically, you’d probably never get them all together, as they grow in differing environments and bloom at different times (not to mention they are protected by the state of Minnesota, and ought not be picked). But art can ignore such things, and so I give you a bouquet of all the lady slippers in Minnesota.

For fun, here you can see the transformation of the drawing day-by-day (with the exception of one day that I failed to photograph).