Story behind the art of Damodar Lal Gurjar

26th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art and Garden Center

Pigeon Pea Plant

Cajanus cajan

In the month of November 2022, I visited my friend’s organic farm in search for my next botanical subject, one which I had never illustrated before. Finally, this pigeon pea (Arhar), commonly known as red gram or tur, caught my eye. It is a very old crop in my country, India. It is mainly eaten in the form of split pulse as ‘dal’. It has been painted before by many artists, but it was new for me to illustrate. I took a close look at the plant – I have to see my botanical subjects and feel them, their texture, smell, nature, color, before I can illustrate them. I started making compositions in my mind, like always. Then, I captured the image through different angles. I completed the final composition in two weeks in my studio. This botanical image depicts the foliage characteristics and differing pod and flower phenotypes.

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Read more about this artist’s work: 25th Annual