Years ago, I was camping with another person in the Canadian wilderness by a small lake surrounded by forested bluffs. About a quarter of a mile around the lake, there was  a beaver lodge. They would make themselves known by swimming over to our campsite, staying a short distance offshore, and slapping their tails on the water, probably to scare us away. I decided to hike to that lodge to take pictures. This was easier said than done. As I tried to find a way through the thick vegetation, mostly climbing over or crawling under, I found myself climbing farther up the bluff instead of simply walking along the shoreline. As I got closer to the top, I was awestruck by what I saw! I'd never seen a pink lady's slipper, except in photos, but here there were several growing in the wilderness. I took several photos of them, before I continued on to the beaver lodge. They became subjects for several pieces of art.

I love pencil drawing, because it is so good for bringing out texture and detail, so my first piece was simply a pencil drawing. For the second piece I got the idea to combine pencil and color photography by replacing the sky area with a digital photo, using Adobe Photoshop. I then used Adobe Photoshop to add color to the drawing. I really like the contrast between the colored and the black and white media. Third, I made an acrylic painting, and fourth, I combined the drawing with a different digital photo, for a completely different effect. You can see all four of these pieces above. To me, finding these lady's slippers growing where nobody may have walked for decades was better than finding a box of gold coins. Treasure in the wilderness.