STORY BEHIND THE ART OF BETSY ROGERS-KNOX
24th Annual International
American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art & Garden Center
Bursting Out II
Corylus avellana, Cephalanthus occidentalis, Lunaria annua, Koelreuteria paniculata, Phaseolus vulgaris, Physalis alkekengi, Asclepias syriaca, Echinocystis lobata, Castanea dentata
March in Connecticut can be a dreary, cold month and a great time to dig through boxes of collected nuts and pods for inspiration. That is how this painting came about! I chose this combination of subjects for their size, color compatibility and their fruit and seed dispersal.
These are all pods, nuts and seeds found here in Litchfield County, CT and include: Corylus avellana (hazelnut), Cephalanthus occidentalis (buttonbush), Lunaria annua (money plant), Koelreuteria paniculata (golden rain tree), Physalis alkekengi (Chinese lantern), Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed), Echinocystis lobata (wild cucumber), Castanea dentata (American Chestnut), Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean).
Plants disperse their fruit and seeds by gravity, wind, water, animals, or ballistically. One of the most interesting is the wild cucumber, sometimes referred to as the squirting cucumber. It is so-called because of its unusual form of seed dispersal. When ripe, the fruits pop off the end of their stems and then forcibly eject their mucilage-covered seeds in an explosive stream. This adaptation is thought to aid in seed dispersal. Common bean plants keep their seeds in a pod. When the seeds are ripe and the pod has dried, the pod bursts open and the beans are scattered. Wind and water disperse the seeds of the buttonbush, common milkweed, money plant, Chinese lantern and golden rain tree. Hazelnut and chestnut seeds are too big to be dispersed by wind and instead are dispersed from the parent tree by animals who collect them to eat during the autumn and winter.
Composition played a key role in this painting. First, I created individual line drawings on tracing paper of each subject, followed by a square template on tracing paper for accurate placement. Many hours were spent arranging, turning and redrawing in order to convey the sense of each pod releasing its seeds or nuts. This piece is an example of an approximate symmetrical composition where elements are placed in a symmetrical format but they are different from one another. Balancing the shapes of these pods was also a challenge and making sure that each piece had its own distinctive moment was necessary to keep the composition unified as a whole.
I paid special attention to color choice; it was important to balance and vary the color to keep the viewer engaged and revolving around the work. I used Daniel Smith and Winsor Newton watercolors and the palette included: Pyrrol Orange, Burnt Sienna, Quinacridone Gold, Yellow Ochre, Hansa Yellow Light, Indanthrone Blue, Ultramarine Blue and Transparent Brown Oxide.
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Read more about this artist's work: Wildly Exquisite