STORY BEHIND THE ART OF Kaori Shimura

25th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and Wave Hill

Anemone

Anemone coronaria

I love Pierre Joseph Redoute's paintings of anemones and have always wanted to paint one, so when I found this beautiful burgundy anemone in a gardening store, I immediately decided to paint it.

The anemone, which has a deep connection with people, appearing in myths and legends, originates from southern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean region. It belongs to the buttercup family, the same family as Christmas roses, ranunculus, and clematis. The genus Anemone has about 100 species distributed from temperate to subarctic zones.

The flowers of Anemone coronaria bloom in spring, with six to eight petal-like sepals and numerous stamens surrounding the pistil. The plant has an irregular underground tuber, from which a 15-40 cm tall flower stalk emerges, with flowers at the tip. Deeply lobed basal leaves emerge from the roots and these are petiolate (they have a stalk). In addition, there is a cuff of small leaves under the flower and these are sessile (the leaf blades attach directly to the stem). The stems and leaves are covered with soft hairs.

The flower depicted here is a chocolate-colored variety called Anemone coronaria ‘Porto’.

The bud is dark reddish purple, but the flower turns bright reddish purple as it blooms. The inside of the sepals, which look like petals, change from reddish purple to pale light purple toward the center, highlighting the reddish purple filaments, indigo anthers, and indigo pistil. The stamens are gradually drawn to the fluffy pistil in the center, as if they are attracting each other.

In order to fully express the characteristics of this flower, I composed the image while considering which angle, which direction, and how much of the bloom would be most effective for the viewer. One of the pleasures of painting for me is to be able to express how I feel at the beautiful moment when I see my subject, which is different from taking a photograph.

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