Botanist - Identifying a flower

Those are good suggestions... Hopefully I will find a picture that is similar. Otherwise I'll have to wing-it, which is ok, I was told I am a perfectionist in my work. I was curious to see if I could find the actual name. Maybe I should content my self with a flower comparable to the picture. Thank you all for your replies it was most helpful. If any of you have any more ideas, I would be glad to look into it.

It's a mallow. Sort of looks like Iliamna rivularis aka Mountain Hollyhock. Let me see if I can find a picture.

Flower clusters look different, but it's close.

I was looking at mallows too. Not picked one yet. Not positive though.

Iliamna Rivularis looks a lot like it.

Try this. the habitat fits and flower clusters seem somewhat similar although arborae seems to be a woodyer plant rather than herbaceous lie in the photo

Lavatera arborea
http://www.malvaceae.info/Genera/Lavatera/arborea.html

Hah, I was looking at lavatera too..

Not the right leaf and arborea would indicate it looks like a tree. I was also looking around Africa, New Zealand or the Mediterranean as indicated in your link. That coast does not look like America.

I found a picture that looks like the flower I am looking for but yet again... I cannot add the photo to this reply as your instructions... When I right click on the photo... I don't have the options to save the picture location. Here is the website http://www.windflowernativeplants.com/hollyhock.html

That's the plant I suggested, but I agree that it's not the right one. What's throwing me is how the flowers are clustered at the top of that stem. I don't think it's North American, but it could be west coast and just something I don't deal with much.

I don't know everything on the west coast u.s., so I just may not know it, but...

I have to go back and look at the pic again but that stem looks pretty sturdy to me.

Yes, thank you for the suggestion... Not sure myself but it does look like it. As I don't know anything about flowers... I may use this one for a good exemple for my painting

I agree.

I think unless we come up with a lucky hit on the internet it's not going to happen. I have access to a heck of botanical library and when I'm more awake I'll look around and see if I spot a match. Check back in a day or two and I might have something.

Laverate seems the most likley
I'm familiar with Laverate plebia indigenous to Australia. its not the plant you want but seems similar

Wild geranium

Thanks... I appreciate that.

That picture is great... really does look like it.

Okay I have an ID. Sidalcea is the genus which is in the botanical family Malvaceae. There several species of this flower known generally as checkerblooms or checkermallows. The photo was probably taken somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. To get botanically specific we are probably talking Sidalcea nelsoniana aka Nelson's checker-mallow which is on the US environmentally threatened list. There are few web photos and most of them are incorrect showing similar mallows but not Nelson's. Here's probably more than you would ever want or need to know with a correct photo:
http://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/Species/Data/NelsonsCheckerMallow/default.asp

I'm a little suspicious that someone did a Photoshop on your original image to intensify the red tones. I tried it myself with the picture I found and I could match the color seen in your photo exactly with very little tweaking. The flowers are really a deep pinky purple as seen in the government photo: