STORY BEHIND THE ART OF DICK RAUH

22nd Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at Marin Art & Garden Center

Portulaca capsules

Portulaca grandiflora

I am curious about the various ways the dry fruit type ‘capsule’ splits to release its seeds and have painted many variations over the years. The pyxis, where the split rings the circumference of the capsule, has eluded me. I know it happens in Plantain and in Portulaca, both of which are annuals on the small size, and I had never actually seen either plant in fruit.

I asked my daughter-in-law, a landscape gardener, to grab some Portulaca from one of the gardens she tended, after they had finished producing the vivid blossoms that are their primary horticultural asset. Using a loupe, I discovered the tiny, jewel-like fruit. I had to paint some, and true to my need, they had to be enlarged, in this case by 5 times, both for my sanity and the need to show the viewer the intricacies of the miniscule capsule. I think I can best describe them as jelly molds sitting on a plate, and when they are mature the jelly mold cap flies off leaving the saucer holding shiny black seeds, both stages of which are shown in the painting. Besides the surprising secret of the fruit, I got the challenge of depicting the succulent nature of the simple, pointed leaves.

Like much of my work I paint using a dry brush watercolor technique and the drawing is the result of carefully and accurately executed one-to-one renderings, enlarged using a grid technique, to a size with which I feel comfortable working. I hope that my efforts will give the viewer an insight into the ingenuity of nature, provided by this larger than life image. The glorification of this visually neglected stage of the life cycle of plants has become my theme and is echoed in the body of my work. After the brilliant waxy blooms of this low growing annual are gone, the work of seed disposal is the order of the day. It is this latter stage where my interest grows. My goal is to seduce you all into the appreciation of the beauties available near the end of the plant life cycle.

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Read more about this artist’s work: 21st Annual