STORY BEHIND THE ART OF Catherine Watters
25th Annual International
American Society of Botanical Artists and Wave Hill
Banana Flower
Musa acuminata
During a recent visit to the National Tropical Botanical Garden located in Hawaii, a friend picked a huge branch of bananas. Of course she picked it for the beautiful bananas but I immediately noticed the beautiful dried flower at the bottom of the branch. I have been intrigued with Musa acuminata, or wild banana, for quite some time and when I saw this amazing dried flower, it spoke to me, so I decided to paint it!
This subject relates well to my work as I have painted a number of dried specimens, including three Sacred Lotus seed pods that were featured in the 21st Annual International exhibition. I hope this painting inspires people to look at plants in every stage, especially the later stages, which are often quite beautiful.
Native to southern Asia, Musa acuminata is an evergreen perennial that has been cultivated by humans for millennia and is a crop of major economic importance worldwide. It is a hardy species that rapidly spreads in areas subjected to forest fires. A large variety of wildlife feeds on the fruits including bats, birds, rats, monkeys, and apes. They all serve an important role in dispersing the seeds.
This painting is a watercolor on calfskin vellum, a surface that I love to paint on because of the luminous quality that you can achieve. I chose a honey-colored piece of vellum with visible veins and worked with a simple palette of blues, browns, and a little white gouache. It is a sculptural composition due to the long stem that curves down from the fruit to the flower.
My biggest challenge was getting the specimen home from Hawaii as the Department of Agriculture is very strict about plants coming in and out of the state. I carefully wrapped it and showed it to the Plant Inspection Agent at the airport, held my breath, and thankfully was allowed to bring it home!
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Read more about this artist's work: Wildly Exquisite