STORY BEHIND THE ART OF MARY DILLON
22nd Annual International
American Society of Botanical Artists at Marin Art & Garden Center
Black Parrot Tulip
Tulipa ‘Black Parrot’
This Black Parrot tulip took my breath away the moment I saw it. I was immediately compelled to paint. There was something about the relaxed pose of the fading tulip with its unfurled petals that said ‘look at me, I’m as happy as a kitten up a tree,”- what an invitation!
The timing was perfect. I had just completed the SBA Diploma in Botanical Art and Illustration. Following years of adhering to the understandable constraints of study, I was free. Free to be me, to paint as I chose, in any format, any subject, just because…. I took a master class with Fiona Strickland and Robert MacNeill. They encouraged me to follow my gut, to find my way of painting. Botanical art for me is about the truthful depiction of a plant in a moment during its life cycle. I’m intrigued by the notion of temporal change in relation to our concept of beauty and ‘unbeauty’. On reflection, it was this moment on the cusp between the sublime beauty of the open tulip and the ‘unbeauty’ of the fading petals that stopped me in my tracks. From that moment, my focus was on painting an accurate portrait of my subject and in the process being mindful of my emotive response to it.
In this moment during the life cycle of this Black Parrot tulip, it’s stem had curled back, the open flower, having moved through many changes in its unfurling, was now just at the point where one by one it’s petals were about to fall. It was resplendent with its rich array of transparent colours from the palest center through Indian yellow, pinks, blues, purples and darkest dark out to the fading tips of the petals. The green of the stem and the pistil at its center were a lovely counterpoint of freshness. The stem leads the eye through from the bottom left third around in a flowing sweep to the top right third of the composition creating a sense of movement and flow. This wasn’t difficult to achieve with my subject that already looked like a dancer before I even began to draw.
Having given myself some measured reference points taken from my subject and magnified by 5, I began by making some quick searching marks finding the form as I went along. I kept my initial drawing light and loose, gradually refining it until I was ready to transfer the outline. Using very large wet on wet washes to map out the colours on each petal, I particularly enjoyed immersing myself in the spontaneity of the process. Paint and water together were working through me holding the brush on paper, not because of me. This then became my guide. Each layer that followed added colour, depth and subtlety where required. Slowly, slowly, I worked through wet washes to damp to eventually finishing with dry brush techniques in many layers to portray the papery texture of the fading petals.
This painting marked a turning point for me, motivating me to push for excellence in my painting while at the same time following my instincts in pursuit of expressing the magic of that initial moment of inspiration.
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