STORY BEHIND THE ART OF FIONA STRICKLAND

15th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at

The Horticultural Society of New York

Autumn Torwood

Aesculus hippocastanum 

What is your personal view of the artwork, for instance in terms of media, colors, composition?

The painting Autumn, Torwood, Asculus Hippocastanum, is a composition of leaves, casing and fruit from my favourite horse chestnut tree close to where I live in central Scotland in an area known as Torwood. I frequently pass this particular horse chestnut tree and on a crisp Autumn morning when the sun was low and shining through the leaves, the colours were particularly beautiful. Making this collection, reminded me of the inspirational work and compositions of Rory McEwan.

Why did you choose this subject to portray?

I chose this particular collection in the same way that I choose all my subjects, as a personal and emotive response to a visual stimulus, selected because I find the colour, texture, shape, movement or tone visually stimulating, interesting and compelling. In this case, the effect of the light shining through a leaf, the light falling on a leaf from above, the contrast created in the portrayal of the textures, soft and partially alive on the tree and lifeless and crisp on the ground, the way it curls, the colour on this particular day, the rough sharp texture of the protective casing revealing the richly coloured dark sheen of the fruit contained tightly within.

Did you face any unique challenges as you worked on this piece?

My main challenge in this work was to capture the wide range of changes in temperature of the autumnal browns and golds.

What would you hope people would notice or appreciate when viewing this work?

Although these are images we are all familiar with and enjoy, they are recorded, hopefully to encourage the viewer to look again, closer, learn, and enjoy.

How does this work relate to your body of work?

This composition is part of an Autumnal series, inspired initially by a leaf I had painted a few years ago and exhibited in the Hunt International exhibition. It was a topic I loved and wanted to return to at some point. All images in this series are from this particular tree and having completed a number of paintings from this particular season made me seriously consider a similar series from the same tree in other seasons. 

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