STORY BEHIND THE ART OF RAMIRO PRUDENCIO

21st Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at Wave Hill

Artichoke

Cynara cardunculus

There was no hesitation in my choice - perhaps it was capitulation at the first glimpse of its poise and authority. The artichoke I held in my hand was a perfect example of geometric design, graceful contours and harmonious proportions, and tendered a mischievous invitation to walk into the trickery of foreshortening.

It spoke to me in an ancient language that reflected hardships of soil and climate, yet its voice was serene, composed, maybe tempered by having escaped the customary decapitation of its species in the service of epicurean tastes. My artichoke had managed to reach florescence.

How to describe the artichoke bloom? I would invite one to imagine an emperor thistle dressed for coronation; its body covered by spiraling protective bracts like a coat of armor and topped by a resplendent crown of purple florets.

For me, painting represents a course where anxiety and expectations fuse. I stop at the gate of the unknown, collecting myself for a task already familiar yet perennially new. Then a latent feeling stirs within and the chromatic choreography comes to be. At my prompting, my colored pencils awaken. A vivid dialogue ensues between them, inviting surface and hand to join in. Then it is as if the artichoke issues a challenge: DARE!

My color palette consists of maturing greens at the base, transitioning into hues of grays and purples in the mid section where the drying scales adopt earthy, brownish beige that is carried to just below the top. There, at the crown, the bloom displays royal purple, various shades of blue and even a prankish pink.

The whole composition demanded a heightened sensitivity in its orchestration to achieve balance and truth to the subject’s character: maturity with a hint of senescence, combined with a note of youthful vigor at the crown.

In order to understand a subject I feel you have to begin understanding yourself . Painting is a sensual circle of intuition, sensitivity and passion where believing allows the impossible.

I trust in the human gift of creativity permitting the transformation of a single petal, a twig, a bark into a symphony of beauty by the magic of the spirit.

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Read more about this artist’s work: 19th Annual International