STORY BEHIND THE ART OF KAREN KLUGLEIN

18th Annual International

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

Pink Hollyhock

Alcea rosea

The texture of the bumpy leaves and petals are what drew me to paint this hollyhock that was in a friend’s garden. The intense lipstick pink (not a Windsor Newton color!) almost makes it seem unreal. It is definitely a showy plant. I knew I wanted to paint it on vellum but because the plant is so large it had to be a large piece of vellum. Since vellum this size is always rippled, the solution was to mount it on board. This is something I would not dare do myself so Pergamena recommended someone to mount it for me and I think it was done beautifully. This is one of my larger botanical paintings. The size was a challenge to paint on since you have to sit, stand, work sideways and upside down to be able to move around it. I had to be careful about damaging the corners of the board so I protected them with foam while I worked as well as covered all the white surface areas with paper. When the painting was complete all the covered white areas and edges of vellum were exposed and the completed painting revealed! 

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Read more about this artist's work: 17th Annual International