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hgpennington.bsky.social
@hgpennington
@hgpennington.bsky.social
730 followers 990 following 590 posts
Plant pathogen paintings & photos
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hgpennington.bsky.social
In 2023 I challenged myself to complete one drawing each day whilst on holiday in Japan.

Cherry tree outline

hgpenningtonart.com/...
Cherry Tree Outline: the outline of a cherry tree, where the branches have been trained to all flow in one direction.
December 29, 2025 at 11:00 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
I drew the Sakurajima Ferry Terminal, using a photograph taken from the ferry.

I used a limited pallet of Derwent Inktense pencils (0230, 1730, 0900, with the accidental inclusion of 1210 when I forgot I was using 0900) on cream Mi-Teintes paper.

hgpenningtonart.com/...
December 28, 2025 at 11:00 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
In 2022 I painted poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) infected with poinsettia branch-inducing phytoplasma.

www.hgpenningtonart....
The painting shows a bushy poinsettia, with two red bract clusters (formed from modified leaves), green oval central flowers, and green leaves under the red bracts.
December 24, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
In 2023 painted European mistletoe on apple. The lack of berries indicates that either this is a male plant, or that it is the wrong season for berries.

www.hgpenningtonart....
The painting shows a cross-section of mistletoe infecting an apple branch. The mistletoe haustorium, twigs and leaves are shown in green. The branch has swollen where where the haustorium has grown.
December 23, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
In 2023 I challenged myself to complete one drawing each day whilst on holiday in Japan.

peach blossom

hgpenningtonart.com/...
a peach blossom in the sunshine, attached to a dark twig. The flower and twig are drawn in black biro on white watercolour paper
December 22, 2025 at 11:00 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
My Christmas plant disease illustration this year features Phytophthora ilicis, the oomycete responsible for holly leaf blight.
🎄🌿
hgpenningtonart.com/...
Illustration of a holly twig with several spiny green leaves showing brown blotches and pale, faded areas caused by Phytophthora ilicis infection. The stem is yellow-green and the background is plain white.
December 21, 2025 at 11:00 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
Cat!
A cat with a quizzical facial expression
December 18, 2025 at 11:00 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
In 2022 I painted Yam Mosaic Virus (YMV) symptoms on true yam (Dioscorea).

www.hgpenningtonart....
The painting shows a yam vine with eight mature leaves, and a side-shoot with two new leaves. The leaves show a yellow-green mosaic pattern, mostly between the veins or in the narrow green strips bordering the veins.
December 17, 2025 at 11:00 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
In 2023 I painted Cristulariella leaf spot, or bull’s eye spot, caused by the fungus Cristulariella depraedans.

www.hgpenningtonart....
The painting shows a palmate dark green maple leaf, with light green major veins and stem. The leaf is covered in brown-grey lesions with a dark grey edge.
December 16, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
In 2024 I did a watercolour painting of a tomato flower stem, featuring six green immature fruits of varying sizes, two yellow flowers, and four flower buds.

www.hgpenningtonart....
December 15, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
I drew a rose over three days using coloured pencils. From left to right:

Day 1 Cherry 0510 and Iron Green 1310 Derwent Inktense
Day 2 Cherry 0510 Derwent Inktense and a Yellow 916 Karisma
Day 3 Dark Red 225 Faber-Castell Polychromos

hgpenningtonart.com/...
Three images of a rose drawn using coloured pencils. From left to right: Day 1 Cherry 0510 and Iron Green 1310 Derwent Inktense Day 2 Cherry 0510 Derwent Inktense and a Yellow 916 Karisma Day 3 Dark Red 225 Faber-Castell Polychromos
December 14, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
I like the way close-up images of drawings reveal the texture of the paper catching individual flecks of pigment. Instead of smooth colour or hard outlines, you can see the varying density of coloured speckles.
A close up photograph of the edges of two petals and a leaf, drawn in green and red pencil. The image shows the texture of the paper, and individual fragments of pigment on the paper
December 11, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
In 2022 I painted tomato early blight, caused by the fungal pathogen Alternaria solani.

This is one of my favourite plant disease paintings. The composition & colours really worked!

www.hgpenningtonart....
The painting shows a compound tomato leaf, with four primary leaflets, six small intercalary leaflets and a terminal leaflet. There are brown distinctive 'bullseye' leaf spots on both the major and intercalary leaflets, surrounded by regions of yellow chlorosis. In some areas, they leaf spots have merged to form larger areas of necrosis.
December 10, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
In 2023 I painted European mistletoe on apple.

www.hgpenningtonart....
The painting shows a cross-section of mistletoe infecting an apple branch. The mistletoe haustorium, twigs and leaves are shown in green. The branch has swollen where where the haustorium has grown. I used the same general haustorium shape as for my painting of a younger mistletoe plant. You could consider this painting to be a later stage of infection/ development of the same plant.
December 9, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
In 2024 I did an acrylic painting of a beautiful purple flower on my Hibiscus syriacus, from earlier this year.

hgpenningtonart.com/...
The painting depicts a hibiscus flower, done using bold blocks of colour. The rich purple petals stand out against lush green leaves and a bright blue sky, emphasizing the flower’s striking presence.
December 8, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
I drew a sunset on Sakurajima using Derwent Inktense pencils on Canson Mi-Teintes paper. In the photo, there’s a tiny couple having wedding pictures taken by the bay.

I asked ChatGPT to write step-by-step drawing instructions. You can see more here: hgpenningtonart.com/...
A coloured pencil drawing of a sunset over water, with the sun low on the horizon casting golden light across the sea. Dark silhouetted rocks and vegetation frame the foreground, while dramatic clouds streak through a blue and orange sky
December 7, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
I ordered a pair of finger limes, and wasn't expecting them to be quite this tiny!
A pair of finger limes, with a 50p coin for scale
December 4, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
A lorry transporting brightly coloured beach huts for winter storage

hgpenningtonart.com/...
Five beach huts on a lorry trailer, painted in watercolour, viewed from behind the lorry. The beach huts are green, red, blue, blue and yellow.
December 3, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
In 2023 I painted maize tar spot, caused by the fungus Phyllachora maydis.

www.hgpenningtonart....
The painting shows a corn (maize) stem with one leaf, and one partial leaf. There are small black stromata (fruiting bodies) on the leaf, which resemble tar. The stromata can be seen on the adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces, occasionally coalescing into stripes.
December 2, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
I painted mistletoe for the December illustration of the
@BS_PP plant pathogens calendar.

bspp.org.uk/product/...

hgpenningtonart.com/...
The painting shows a mistletoe branch painted using inks, with eight berries and eight leaf pairs
December 1, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
An impressionist painting of the view from Mount Aso,

Painted from a photograph taken during a holiday in Japan in Nov/Dec 2024

hgpenningtonart.com/...
The view from Mount Aso, painted in acrylic paints in a fairly impressionistic style with a light blue sky, purple mountains in the distance and green/brown grassland in the foreground
November 30, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
Peekaboo!
A montage of three photographs of a bottle garden containing moss and many small orchids. A green slipper orchid flower has emerged from the neck of the bottle, as though it is peering over the rim
November 27, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
In 2022 I painted Arceuthobium pusillum on black spruce.

www.hgpenningtonart....
The painting shows eight dwarf mistletoe stems protruding from a spruce branch. There are mature fruit on bent pedicels attached to the four largest stems.
November 26, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
In 2023 I painted a burr (British English) or burl (American English), caused by the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

www.hgpenningtonart....
The painting shows an oak tree trunk, from the top of the roots to the base of the spreading branches. The lower third of the trunk is covered with a burr (or burl), shown as a rounded outgrowth.
November 25, 2025 at 11:59 AM
hgpennington.bsky.social
A battered seagull feather on the beach

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A photograph of a sketchbook page, with a watercolour painting of a grey seagull feather. The feather looks rather battered
November 24, 2025 at 11:59 AM