STORY BEHIND THE ART OF GAYE GROSSMAN

23rd Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at Wave Hill

Morning Glory Frieze

Ipomoea nil x purpurea 'Chiaki', Ipomoea quamoclit, Ipomoea alba, Ipomoea nil, Ipomoea tricolor 'Heavenly Blue', Coccinella septempunctata

I have always loved vining plants, especially morning glories. To prepare for this project I planted several seed varieties from the genus Ipomoea. Most of them grew beautifully, and I knew it would be tough to decide which flowers to include in my composition. I was discussing the idea of a frieze with Robin Jess, and she told me about something called a “Yard of Roses,” a 36-inch-wide print of roses made by lithography companies around 1900. Prints of kittens and puppies by the yard were also popular. This frieze format struck me as an ideal way to explore multiple species of morning glories.

Two of the species shown here, Ipomoea nil x purpurea ‘Chiaki’ and I. alba ‘Moonflower’, were grown at Wave Hill. I. x multifada ‘Cardinal Climber’, I. nil ‘Kikyo-zaki’, and I. purpurea ‘Heavenly Blue’ were grown in my garden.

‘Chiaki’ is about 3.5 inches in diameter and has five sky blue petals with white spokes and a picotee edge. The stems are delightfully fuzzy, almost amber in color. The leaves are long and narrow with wide, graceful lobes. They were climbing a romantic, rustic arbor at Wave Hill. This is a soft, relatively subtle flower, especially in contrast to the next one in line.

‘Cardinal Climber’ has bright scarlet, one-inch-wide petals on a tubular base. The delicately cut leaves are almost tropical in feel and are much smaller than typical morning glory leaves. This flower was a favorite of the hummingbirds in my backyard.

As its name implies, ‘Moonflower’ opens in late afternoon and quickly closes in morning sun. On overcast mornings the flowers stay open for several extra hours, and I was able to squeeze in plenty of time for observation. The fragrant blossoms are five to six inches in diameter and the trumpets are about six inches long They are a positively luminous white when fully open, but even when completely closed, the buds stand out with their wild shape and a hint of magenta. The leaves are easily as dramatic as the flowers, with dark green embossed patterning.

‘Kikyo-zaki’ pops with color and vibrancy and a clean white edge. This type of morning glory can get to be about five inches across, and it has the more interesting leaf shape, much like ‘Chiaki’. Both flowers come from Japan.

‘Heavenly Blue’ is absolutely my favorite. The deep, bright yellow of the throat against a small rim of white, and then the glorious blue petals are just a perfect combination. I also love the lighter green, heart-shaped leaves. A big part of my affinity dates to childhood, when my parents gave me a beautiful, hand-painted desk covered with twining morning glories and various butterflies and ladybugs. While the painting was not overly realistic, I could see exactly what the artist, Charlotte Hartmann, intended with her ‘Heavenly Blue’ morning glories. They have certainly left a lasting impression on me after all this time.

I used watercolor and mostly drybrush to paint this piece. The paper was 156lb HP, and the brushes ranged in size from 3/0 to 2. My favorite brushes in the smaller sizes are synthetic.

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Read more about this artist’s work: 22nd Annual