STORY BEHIND THE ART OF BOBBI ANGELL

16th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at The Horticultural Society of New York

Japanese Peony

Paeonia lactiflora

My garden is full of peonies of all sizes, colors, fragrances and bloom time. I have one particularly large bed with many deep pink, single peonies that came from my parents’ house that are the first to bloom and are striking with their deep yellow clusters of stamens. Peonies always bloom when I am too busy to draw them. As an avid gardener I feel conflicted - working in my garden - planting, weeding, staking and pruning - especially in the all too brief spring season in Vermont, leaves little time to draw the plants that are begging to be captured on paper. It took years to finally focus on my peonies for an etching. 

Peonies tend to flop over from the weight of their blossoms so I knew the design had to be horizontal to suggest that the flower could fall off the edge of the paper. I worked on sketches and a design when they were in bloom and took photos to continue the work later in the winter when I had time to do the actual etching and printing. I started my sketch with a particularly graceful, partially expanded bud, but as I worked on the drawing, the flower had opened fully and I became much more entranced with the pistils and stamens, so they became my focus and I had to go back and find a tighter bud to balance the drawing. The composition was very carefully considered as I laid out my sketches and photographs into an arrangement that felt just right. With etchings, the print is a reverse of the image I draw on the copper so I have to also consider that as I compose the drawing. 

The final print involved several 'states' of etching, going back into the plate to add more stipples and bolder lines til I felt the design was balanced and strong. I have been liking more 'plate tone' on some of my prints, and this particular piece of copper is old and slightly scratched, so the prints end up with a bit more background interest than many of my other prints. 

Having always worked as an illustrator, drawing specific plants that clients ask for within specific formats, I made the decision when I started working on copper etchings that I would draw only plants that held particular significance and appeal to me, and that I would select the copper plate size that best accommodated my design.

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