STORY BEHIND THE ART OF JANE HANCOCK

19th Annual International

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

Coneflower, Winter

Echinacea purpurea

I thought about this picture for more than a year before I began it. On winter walks around our Minneapolis neighborhood I observed the flower beds whose gardeners were less meticulous about clearing away their plant remnants in the fall. 

In the northern winter landscape, the stalks of coneflowers seem especially stalwart. Tough descendants of the prairie, their firm stems dry to reveal angular vascular ridges. Remaining leaves contract into a spiral formation, all pointing in the direction of the prevailing wind. The seed heads bristle with the potential for the next generation. 

Many such dried specimens “decorated” various rooms in my house over two winters, shedding their seeds and bits of leaves on the furniture. Numerous sketches ensued until I was finally ready to select the best and assemble them into the final image. I challenged myself to compose them in a way that suggested a clump persisting through bitter cold and wind. I hope the resulting image will evoke the season and the resilience of coneflowers for viewers too.

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