Dragon Arum
Dracunculus vulgaris
I am always on the lookout for interesting plants, and my students know that. One day a student brought a pot to my studio containing a plant from her garden, a tall, giant, spiky thing, two feet high. She was in a rush to leave and as she was leaving, she said “By the way, you should plant it at the back of your garden, away from your house.” I didn’t pay much attention to the comment and left the plant overnight in the studio (my studio is attached to my garage). Well, when I went into the studio the next day, the stench was unbelievable! It was like rotten flesh from a dead animal. Then I remembered her warning......
But I liked the plant’s look so much that I was determined to paint it. I drew very quickly and kept lots of candles burning around the studio! After that, I put the pot outside far away at night. Actually, the terrible odor really only lasted a day. I was fascinated by all the patterns on the spathe. It was so much fun to watch it grow, because I had no idea what it was going to do. I painted the flower in its various stages. When the flower wilted, I dissected it, then put the plant in the garden and forgot about it. A few weeks later, leaves appeared, enormous leaves, 18” wide. The composition was already done, but I wanted to include the leaf, so I painted it in the background and only did a few washes. A very cool plant.
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Read more about this artist's work: 17th Annual International