STORY BEHIND THE ART OF FAYE VAN WERT

22nd Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at Marin Art & Garden Center

Pink Powderpuff with Horned Treehopper

Calliandra surinamensis, Umbonia crassicornis

Calliandra surinamensis, or Pink Powderpuff, caught me!

I caught umbonia Crassicornis, or Horned Treehopper!

While visiting the Naples Botanical Garden in Florida on a very hot day, I spied some shade along the path ahead, deep in the middle of the Brazilian Garden. And there, like a surprise gift popping directly out of a 6” trunk, was a perfect pink powderpuff flower. No stem to speak of. Just trunk and flower. I was so intrigued, I knew at once that it would be my next painting challenge. I was caught!

I’ve returned multiple times to visit and photograph “my” Powderpuff. Sadly, Hurricane Irma dealt a severe blow to Southwest Florida and the gardens in September 2017. Although the shrub survived, it clearly needs time to recover. But by then, I was well on my way to working out the layout, transfer (yes, each of the stamens and pistils were drawn in), color palette, and masking. Here is where I have to share a wonderful secret: Saral transfer paper comes in colors, red for red/pink flowers, blue or black for stems and leaves. No more confusion about complicated lines on posh paper.

But one detail in my reference photos completely baffled me. Was it a sepal? a mutant leaf? a growth on the stem? No, I had caught a tree-hopper hiding in plain sight in his magnificent camouflage. One of his favorite snacks is the leaf of the pink powderpuff shrub. Jagged edges on munched leaves were clearly visible. This unexpected visitor completely surprised me, and it added a lovely “story” to my painting. Can you find him?

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