STORY BEHIND THE ART OF KAREN KLUGLEIN

19th Annual International

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

 Ferrari                  

Hippeastrum ‘Ferrari’

Bulbs are one of my favorite things to paint because their shape has lots of form and they have smooth, flaky and shiny textures to work with all at once. They have lots of detail and also can have lots of color. When I was looking for my subject to paint I went to my favorite shop to pick through their bins of crusty brown bulbs and spent an embarrassing amount of time carefully looking at each bulb trying to imagine how the shapes, textures, colors and imperfections would translate to a painting. Sometimes I feel I have to explain to the shop keepers that I am choosing the best one for a painting so they do not think I am completely nuts. I ultimately chose the amaryllis since the size and colors were the most impressive. With this particular bulb, I liked the combination of colors and textures, the feel of the under layer contrasting with the dried outer layer and new leaf growth. It had a lot going on. I photographed it and took notes on color and detail, then put it in water so that the green leaves would grow a bit more. I wanted to make the height of the new growth of leaves to be pleasing with the overall composition. Sometimes you just know when something will be pleasing in a painting and this was one of those subjects.

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Read more about this artist’s work: 18th Annual International