Painting Life Lessons from the Welwitschia Mirabilis Plant

I absolutely love painting the Welwitschia Mirabilis plant. I started painting it in the 1990’s during my classes at Penn State University. I love the leaves that intertwine and lay like a pile of ribbons to the vermillion flowers in the center that feel like the adornment in a braid. I think of the Welwitschia Mirabilis plant, and I am just in awe. This plant found in the Namib desert in Africa, has an average lifespan of about 400-1500 years. They’ve even found a few that were older than 2000 years old.

Talk about grit and determination, this plant knows how to survive. I’ve gleaned so many insights from this incredible plant. First, it has a stem, roots and 2 leaves, period. These 2 leaves continue to grow throughout the plant’s lifetime. The leaves never shed, they just continue to grow, curve and twist. They persevere in the desert getting tattered and torn by the elements but continue on. They use the slopes of their leaves to collect condensation from the fog and strategically direct it, rolling it down to their roots. Their roots have also grown down so deep that they’ve tapped into an underground water source. The nectar that their flowers produce, provide food for insects and their leaves provide moisture to larger animals. The leaves are able to repair themselves even after an animal has taken a bite.

“Welwitschia Mirabilis”, 36” x 24”, Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas, Painted by Amy Jane Whitney, 2020

Life Lessons from the Welwitschia Mirabilis

Wow! It’s incredible that God could use a plant like this to teach me to persevere in my own life. There have been many times in my own life that I thought that I was in a desert of my own. As a child, I moved from South Africa to the US and experienced such a culture shock that it brought the onset of panic attacks. As a teenager, I battled depression and self-medicated. Soon after in high school, I became a single mom and felt like an outcast. Nevertheless, I found my source of support and nourishment and was able to go on to college and graduate. Finally, getting married and raising more children, there were times that I was so exhausted that I didn’t know how I was going to function. I found strength in God’s Word and was able to make it through another day, one day at a time. Then, after 19 years of marriage, circumstances led to the end of that season, and I was definitely feeling like the Welwitschia Mirabilis, all tattered and blown by the wind. Again, I used my resources. I found condensation from the fog of my situation and dug my roots deep down into the faith that had given me a firm foundation.

The Season to Bloom and Flourish

Presently, I’m at half a century of growth. I had my doubts that I would actually make it this far in one piece. Like the Welwitschia Mirabilis, I’m still here and I’ve experienced an incredible growing season. I can only hope that through my life, I can provide nourishment and refreshment to those that I am currently in community with. I pray that they too would feel able to keep going and growing as well.