works > Illustration

This watercolor, gouache and pen illustration is part of a small series of botanical illustrations of plants with long, hyphenated Victorian names, some of which are poetic, other times, ridiculous. This particular sedum, also known as the common houseleek or stonecrop, has long grown in the gaps between stones and on the roofs of houses and is said to protect against thunderstorms. This succulent’s unusual local name perhaps originates from it’s cheery yellow flowers acting as beacon against the green-grey backdrop of the English countryside and through an alcoholic haze, allowing the tipsy reveler to safely find their way back home.