STORY BEHIND THE ART OF JEAN EMMONS
22nd Annual International
American Society of Botanical Artists at Marin Art & Garden Center
Iris germanica
Iris germanica
As a child, I spent my summers playing in the Pennsylvania woods with a bunch of other kids. We spent our days looking for frogs, tadpoles and garter snakes while watching out for the dreaded water moccasin. Actually, I don’t think there were any water moccasins in Pennsylvania at the time, but we were being careful. Once In our travels, we came across an abandoned homestead. Hundreds of bearded irises were blooming around a crumbling foundation. I was short. The irises were tall. I was hooked.
Irises are resilient. It’s not uncommon to find them growing very well around limestone foundations, sidewalks and in old cemeteries.
The iris in this painting is an old “pavement iris” from I know not where. Yet, its beauty persists. It has grown in my garden a long time without much attention. One evening, I was weeding around it when the setting sun suddenly backlit it. Its heart was molten gold. I was hooked again.
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Read more about this artist’s work: 21st Annual