Art By Roger Morgan

The bright orange California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) was named for doctor-naturalist Johann Friedrich Gustav von Eschscholtz (somehow the “t” in his name got dropped), who was the surgeon for the Russian expedition team that dropped anchor in San Francisco in 1815 in a bay surrounded by hills covered with the golden flowers.

Early Spanish settlers called it copa del ora (cup of gold) after the legend that the orange petals, turning to gold, filled the soil with the precious metal.

It was designated the state flower of California in 1903, and is now protected by state law prohibiting anyone from picking or destroying it.

On the hillsides of California, California poppies tend to make their greatest shows on grazed lands since the animals avoid eating the bitter-tasting plants and eliminate most of the poppy’s competition.

Today, Southern California’s best public poppy shows are in three locations: The “Grapevine,” along Interstate 5 where it winds its way past Gorman at the northern edge of Los Angeles County; north of Lake Elsinor, off I-15 at the end of the Lake Street exit; and at the 1,700 acre high desert grassland area, Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in the Mojave Desert.

The indigenous California Indians used this poppy as both a source of food and medicine. Several groups boiled the plant, or roasted it on host stones, to eat as a green.

The Costanoan Indians rubbed a decoction of the flowers in the hair to kill lice; the Indians of Mendocino County used a poultice of fresh root for toothaches and a topically applied extract for headaches and sores; and Cahuilla women used the pollen as a cosmetic and the whole plant as a sedative for babies.

Medicinally, California poppy is a plant with sedative, analgesic and antispastic activities, but unlike the alkaloids of the opium poppy, it does not seem to induce tolerance and dependence. It is touted by some for the treatment of anxiety and to induce sleep in patients affected with insomnia.

California Poppy history and facts courtesy of the Master Gardener.

Roger Morgan is constantly creating new and wonderful works of art. Below are just a few of the acrylic paintings recently created in 2009.

Acrylic paint is fast-drying paint containing pigment suspended in an acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry. Depending on how much the paint is diluted (with water) or modified with acrylic gels, media, or pastes, the finished acrylic painting can resemble a watercolor or an oil painting, or have its own unique characteristics not attainable with other media.

Acrylics were first made commercially available in the 1950s. These were mineral spirit-based paints called Magna offered by Bocour Artist Colors. Water-based acrylic paints were subsequently sold as “latex” house paints, although acrylic dispersion uses no latex derived from a rubber tree. Interior “latex” house paints tend to be a combination of binder (sometimes acrylic, vinyl, pva and others), filler, pigment and water. Exterior “latex” house paints may also be a “co-polymer” blend, but the very best exterior water-based paints are 100% acrylic.

Soon after the water-based acrylic binders were introduced as house paints, artists (the first of whom were Mexican muralists) and companies alike began to explore the potential of the new binders. Water soluble artist quality acrylic paints became commercially available in the early 1960s, offered by Liquitex.

Prior to the 20th century, artists mixed their own paints to increase the longevity of the artwork and achieve desired pigment load, viscosity, and to control the use of fillers, if any. While suitable media and raw pigments are available for the individual production of acrylic paint, due to the fast drying time, hand mixing may not be practical.

Acrylic painters modify the appearance, hardness, flexibility, texture, and other characteristics of the paint surface using acrylic media.

Acrylics have the ability to bond to many different surfaces, and media can be used to adjust their binding characteristics. They can also be used to build thick layers of paint: gel and molding paste media are sometimes used to create paintings with relief features that are literally sculptural.

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All works of art by Roger Morgan are available for purchase. For more information, please email roger@rogermorganartgallery.com or leave a comment in the box below.