STORY BEHIND THE ART OF Jessica Daigle
25th Annual International
American Society of Botanical Artists and Wave Hill
Quick Fire Hydrangea
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Quick Fire’
Autumn in New England is one of my favorite times of the year. While I love a tasty apple pie, or a visit to the local fair, my favorite thing about fall is how nature’s palette dramatically signals the end of summer. Many people look forward to watching tree canopies change to brilliant reds and yellows, but there is one transition that many fail to notice. I love to watch what happens to the ‘Quick Fire’ hydrangea. The beautiful pearly white florets of the inflorescence gradually color to a range of gorgeous pink tones. As the days get cooler and shorter, I love watching pink tones wash down the panicle, complete transforming the look of this wonderful plant.
My parents have an enormous, mature ‘Quick Fire’ hydrangea that sits right outside the gates to their main gardens. This massive plant is one of my absolute favorite specimens for the beautiful show it puts on as a prelude to fall. One afternoon my mom gave me a bag of dried panicles that she harvested from that bush a few weeks earlier. One panicle really caught my attention. Its dried form had taken on an ombre effect that encapsulated all those new gorgeous pink tones, yet there were still glimpses of the buttery whites of summer. Falling in love with this bloom, I immediately set up my studio space to paint it!
The color and texture of the dried hydrangea led me to choose watercolor as my medium. As I was making my initial sketch, I noticed beautiful clusters of fertile florets that stood proudly among the larger sterile florets. Fertile florets are a feature that brings unique character to ‘Quick Fire’. That beautiful variation of floret texture is what makes these hydrangeas so interesting to look at and paint. However, when the panicles are dried, the delicate and diminutive features of the fertile florets present an enormous challenge to capture. For this painting I estimate I spent at least 50 percent of my time trying to resolve the features separating one floret from another. I wanted to make sure that the very detail that drew me to paint this flower was crisp and clear.
The technique I used to create depth and texture in my painting was a wet-to-drybrush technique. My brush is almost entirely dry when I apply the final layers of paint. I find that this progression of wet to dry really helps me go from blocking and loosely sketching in color, to tightening the final layers of detail that bring the painting to life.
This hydrangea, while one of my more challenging pieces, was also one of my favorites. It held my interest in color, form, and detail. More importantly, it is a nice tribute to a beautiful plant that easily competes with fall foliage in interest, beauty, and punch.
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Read more about this artist's work:24th Annual