STORY BEHIND THE ART OF BETSY ROGERS-KNOX

Botanical Art Worldwide: America's Flora

Pitcher Plant

Sarracenia purpurea

The specimen for this painting was discovered while canoeing on Beckley Bog near Norfolk, Connecticut. This grouping of distinctive pouch-like leaves caught my eye with their striking variety of colors and forms. Their odd shapes created an interesting composition, which displays the leaves as they aged and decayed. Partially hidden in the sphagnum moss of the bog, the deep, rich maroon to translucent pink colors created a striking contrast to the brown and brackish moss, which surrounds and eventually covers the plant

Many layers of lightly applied transparent watercolor washes were utilized to create the wide variety of colors. The deeper veining was painted with the tip of a #0 brush while the area was wet so the paint would blur slightly to give the slightly fuzzy effect. A variety of watercolor techniques were required to illustrate the many peculiar components of this carnivorous plant.

The Sarracenia purpurea plays an important role in bog ecology and also, on a personal note, in a project that I’m developing: six paintings depicting Beckley Bog throughout the seasons. The plant species found in bogs truly reflects the wonderful diversity and unusual variety of nature’s bounty.

Woodland Wildflowers

Viola sororia, Saxifraga pensylvanica, Trillium grandiflorum, Erythronium americanum, Arisaema triphyllum

After a long, snowy winter here in northwest Connecticut, these early wildflowers appear as a prelude to the coming spring. Found along a dirt road and also in the forest of the Camp Columbia State Park/Forest in Morris, Connecticut, these fragile specimens all bloom at about the same time, inspiring a ready-made, eye-catching composition.

A variety of watercolor techniques were used to portray the underlying moss and ground litter. Masking, layers of transparent washes and dry brush were all incorporated to create the complex and velvety texture of the moss. The plants were drawn in a simple format and painted lightly to reflect their delicate attributes. Illustrating these plants in their environment hopefully allows the viewer to glimpse a moment in time when the forest floor springs to life once again with nature’s alluring beauty.

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Read more about this artist’s work: Out of the Woods