Welcome to this month’s Wandering Camera.
Thistles are not what one would necessarily call very pretty flowers. They are a wild sort that grows on invasive thorny plants. Yet the fuchsia colour is undeniably vibrant and beautiful enough for me to seek out and photograph them, and paint them afterwards as well.
A few months ago, on our third road trip in Scotland, I was looking forward to spotting and photographing them on walking trails. I found quite a few variations of the flower in different areas.
I hope you enjoy this set of my photos of wild thistles.
This is the only one that I photographed in a garden.
I took this photo by the mountainside, bracing myself against 40 – 50 mph wind gusts. Considering the effort it took me to take this photo, I feel I brought a bit of the Scottish spirit back with me!
Thistles are not grand, but definitely tough, wild, and have a strong aptitude for survival. This little prickly weed has not only got the status of being the national flower of Scotland, it has also placed itself in different varieties of stylised art.
I too have succumbed to the magic of thistle. Hope you enjoyed the photos!
I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page including PPF. Please pay a visit to some of them.
35 thoughts on “Wandering Camera – Thistles”
Su-sieee! Mac August 2, 2018 at 12:31
Hi, again, Soma. Here I am with a photo of thistles in my area. Our are already dry. :-)
Andree August 2, 2018 at 12:10
Hi Soma, those are really lovely images and painting. I really like thistle in art, just not so much in reality :-)
Ruth August 1, 2018 at 10:21
Love the artwork and beautiful photos. You are inspiring me to get the camera back out!
Su-sieee! Mac July 31, 2018 at 19:43
Your photos are wonderful. I like thistles. I love the way they stand upright in their dried beauty. They grow wild in the countryside in California, well, in our county, at least. I’ll come soon and link up.
beth July 30, 2018 at 08:48
What lovely photos–and I adore your painting of the thistles. When I was a kid, my brothers would pick them and pretend they were brushes for putting on shaving cream like Daddy. LOL
Alycia July 30, 2018 at 06:54
They really are pretty – but… so mean to the grassland – ha ha – I love how the purples vary in each one – so pretty!
Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts July 30, 2018 at 04:58
So beautiful Soma! Even though they grow on thorny bushes, thistles are really beautiful. Thank you for capturing their unique beauty and sharing your pictures on Main Crush Monday!
Mascha July 29, 2018 at 22:03
I like your drawning and: ordinary thistles can be very beautiful!
Have a nice new week :)
Anne July 29, 2018 at 00:43
I love thistles, my creative friends uses them a lot in her paper cuts and they are amazing. I love your photos and your painting, the colour is definitely my favourite colour. x
Sandy July 28, 2018 at 16:12
I love thistles. They make beautiful bouquets, fresh or dried. Your painting of them is perfect.
Marie-OR July 28, 2018 at 09:01
Gorgeous thistles…both art and photos!
Kaja July 28, 2018 at 04:26
I have always loved thistles (except when I tread on one barefoot) and you have some really lovely photos here.
Cheryl Brickey July 27, 2018 at 14:30
Beautiful pictures and sketch! I have a fondness for the thistle as it was my school flower in college, Carnegie Mellon (Andrew Carnegie was from Scotland and we even had our own plaid :)
sirkkis July 27, 2018 at 11:50
You really have made this modest flower very beautiful with your camera shots. Love your painting as well.
Happy PPF xx
Nadya July 27, 2018 at 11:10
So lovely! My daughter has a couple of artichoke plants in their garden, and we let the largest ones flower, they’re large thistles!
Happy PPF!
Christine July 27, 2018 at 10:32
Lovely work and gorgeous thistle photos, stunning colour.
Sarah July 27, 2018 at 10:24
I especially love the purple of thistles. Happy PPF from Number 22 :D
krislovesfabric July 27, 2018 at 09:07
Thistles, a bit of a hard sell for beauty but you have given them a place to truly shine – great post :)
Nicole/DVArtist July 27, 2018 at 06:52
Ohhh I love Thistles. Your drawing is excellent as are the photos.
Linda K July 27, 2018 at 04:57
gorgeous photos and watercolor painting of the thistle! Happy PPF!
Tracey July 27, 2018 at 04:24
Fabulous study of the Thistle, a beautiful flower and watercolour creation. Having Scottish blood it is close to my heart.
Thank you for sharing and Happy PPF Tracey
Vicki-Ann White July 27, 2018 at 02:10
Thistles you really make them something so pretty.. The colours are gorgeous you really make them pop.
Happy PPF
Vicki-Ann :)
Fred July 27, 2018 at 01:43
Beautiful shot!
Lady Fi July 26, 2018 at 21:53
Your thistle shots are just gorgeous!
Kim Sharman July 26, 2018 at 21:51
You have captured Thistles in a new light for me. Though they wreak havoc down here on the farmland, your photos of these resilient flowers are sublime. Love your painting……but that is a given. =)
Carol S. July 26, 2018 at 20:18
You did an amazing job of photographing the thistles. They are beautiful! Your wandering camera captures so many interesting things. Thanks for sharing!
Mary July 26, 2018 at 16:04
I have always loved the thistles. The colors are just fabulous with the sage-y greens and the purples. Your photos capture it so beautifully.
Tammie July 26, 2018 at 14:52
Lovely little painting. Beautiful photos. I don’t enjoy the prickly bit of the plants, but i love them all the same. Some are quite edible too, especially when young. I am joining you for my first time. Lovely theme.
Susan July 26, 2018 at 12:51
I never had looked at the beauty of a thistle before. Seeing the plants is making me homesick. When I was a child, I would go out on the hillside to gather the cows for milking. The thistle were to be avoided as I certainly did not want any encounter with one of them. Yes, I did like the lovely lilac color and not the thorniness of them. I have an image of the hillside with the cattle coming to the gate and some thistles admist the hillside. Your capture of the beauty of them is amazing. Thanks for conjuring a nice childhood memory.
Sheila Oxley July 26, 2018 at 12:41
I can see why you would want to paint them! I love the color and the texture!!! I think the prettiest ones are the ones you took in the mountain. It seems the tougher the climate the more beautiful they become.
BillieBee July 26, 2018 at 12:23
Just lovely, the painting and the photos.
Kim July 26, 2018 at 11:09
Beautiful painting, and I love the thistle as a symbol of my beloved and adopted country. We pass a particularly abundant patch on our way home, in front of hills covered in Heather, with the mountains of the Trossachs behind. Absolutely stunning!
Dixie July 26, 2018 at 06:17
What a lovely colour thistles wear. Your painting is very pretty!
So many different varieties in Scotland. Wonderful photos.
Janine @ Rainbow Hare July 26, 2018 at 00:55
Those Scottish thistles are beautiful and your photos are stunning. I love the way you’ve blurred the backgrounds and the thistles we see are really sharp and pop against it :)
Angie July 26, 2018 at 00:46
How interesting that you wrote about thistles … we just visited Berwick-on-Tweed earlier this week, and walked along the Coastal Path, which crosses into Scotland after 4 miles. Many thistles along the way. Like you, I admire the thistle for its strength and color. My post this week includes a thistle picture taken at the gardens at Belsay. Your artwork is wonderful. Thanks for hosting