STORY BEHIND THE ART OF GEORGE OLSON

16th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and the Horticultural Society of New York

Wild Blackberry

Rubus allegheniensis

I selected Blackberry for a number of reasons. First of all, it’s readily available. Blackberries are fairly common in Henry County, Illinois, where I live, although the small wild places where they thrive are rapidly disappearing. This particular subject came from our own farm which still has a 5 acre woodlot in which blackberries compete with elderberries, gooseberries and black raspberries. It is one of the wildest of my subjects, growing in very remote areas of the woodlot, where walking (and berry picking) is very challenging.

Another reason for selecting blackberries as a subject is the sheer variety of colors and textures in one specimen – thorns, leaves, vines, berries, etc. In terms of color, the pale blue “bloom” which blackberry vines produce during the winter is sometimes the only color to be seen in the landscape at that time of year. The dark rich reds of the vines in summer have their own appeal but don’t stand out as visibly as the “blues” of winter. 

The subject is very intricate and a bit challenging because of the overlapping twigs and vines. But at the same time, the complexity of the vines gives the artist much freedom to “adjust” the composition as needed. Twigs and berries and leaves can be added without destroying the accuracy of the subject. The design or pattern created by blackberry vines is closely related to the intricate patterns which can be found in Scandinavian carvings (stave churches, wagons, sleds, etc) as well as Celtic manuscripts and other examples of floral decoration. In the hands of some artists, these complex patterns can become symbols of philosophical concepts or religious faith. Blackberry relates to my body of work because I’ve done quite a few versions of it, both summer and winter (see Plates 10 and 11 in The Elemental Prairie).

I didn’t have to face any unique challenges with Blackberry since, as plants go, they are quite willing to “pose” in the studio for extended periods. The primary challenge for most artists is to find to the time to stick with a subject until finished. Distractions are always a problem.

I would hope that the viewer would see this painting as one more example of a subject that I work with in the field as well as in the studio. I spend many hours in my prairie plots and berry patches and woodlots preserving and propagating the same “subjects” that turn up in my watercolors. I also spend a fair amount of time educating the public through slide talks about my own work and about the history of botanical illustration.

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Read more about this artist's work: 15th Annual