MRS. TROWBRIDGE PAINTS A CONCH SHELL.

Mrs. Trowbridge enjoyed painting the odd novelty, found items, trinkets, knickknacks and sea shells. This is a sea shell that she painted that was typical of shells that are found on the shores of Polynesian islands. She enjoyed honoring her ancestors through her paintings. Over ions of time, the Trowbridge shrew migrated from the Mongolian Steppes across the Polynesian islands to South America, then their migration path took them north to their present habitat in the Olympic Rain Forest .

Have you seen my other blog, Bron Smith's Flights of Fantasy?

VIOLET TROWBRIDGE'S RHODODENDRON PAINTING

One of my favorite of all of Mrs. Trowbridge's floral paintings that are contained in her journal is this lovely rhododendron painting. She was undeniably the Grand Dame of watercolor in the Quinault Rain Forest. The notes in her Trowbridge Chronicles journal revealed that she spent 93 hours on the above painting.

My Trowbridge shrew research expedition to Polynesia several years ago was most fascinating. We found tiny petroglyphic evidence among the boulders in the forest and along the shoreline of the Trowbridge Shrew's presence on the tiny island of Motu Taakoka in the Cook Island Group (above). We even found bone fragments, including an intact skull. Look for more of Mrs. T's floral paintings in upcoming posts.

Have you seen my other blog, Bron Smith's Flights of Fantasy? 

CAMELLIA FLOWER, by VIOLET TROWBRIDGE

If Shrew Khan was the King of Trowbridge Shrews, Violet Trowbridge was the queen. Her lovely watercolor paintings and hand-scribed journal became legendary throughout the Great Forest, today known as the Quinault Rain Forest. This camellia flower is part of her series of paintings commemorating her ancestors who lived in the Polynesian islands.

Have you seen my other blog, Bron Smith's Flights of Fantasy? 

MRS. TROWBRIDGE'S RED HIBISCUS PAINTING

Every opportunity that came Mrs. Trowbridge's way was a golden opportunity. She spent many hours at the Huckleberry Hollow library studying about her ancestry. She was fascinated with her ancestors that had lived, oh, so far away in the Mongolian Steppes. And their migration across the South Seas to South America. 

So she seized the opportunity and began a series of paintings of the flowers that occur in the South Pacific islands where her ancestors had lived. I saw many red hibiscus such as the one that Mrs. Trowbridge painted above on my last trek to the South Pacific islands. 

Stay tuned for more of Mrs. Trowbridge's lovely floral paintings in future posts on this blog. 

Have you seen my other blog, Bron Smith's Flights of Fantasy?

PLUMERA FLOWER, by VIOLET TROWBRIDGE

This is the second in a series of lovely paintings by Mrs. Trowbridge in honor of her ancestors in the Polynesian islands. This is a frangipani, or plumera flower. It is a common species in Polynesia. I have encountered this beautiful tropical flower on my trips to the South Pacific for my research in tracking the migration path of the Trowbridge shrew from Mongolia, across Polynesia to South America, to their current home in the Northwest United States.

Have you seen my other blog, Bron Smith's Flights of Fantasy?