Story behind the art of Sally Petru

26th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art and Garden Center

Pink Coneflower

Echinacea purpurea 'Prairie Splendor'

My painting of Echinacea purpurea first appeared in the Northern California Society of Botanical Artists (NCalSBA) local exhibition at the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley. Each year, the NCalSBA exhibitions committee works with the garden staff to identify a theme, which is supported by garden programming throughout the year. In 2022 the theme was “Drought Resilience” to bring attention to species that do well in times of drought, for which California is known.

During my early career as a landscape architect, I worked for the California Department of Water Resources promoting low water use landscaping methods. This drought resilience theme, some 40 years later, remains pertinent. I was enthusiastic about selecting a specimen, but what? I went to a local nursery with a large selection of drought tolerant plants so that I could have a potted specimen to take to my studio.

I eventually decided on the pink coneflower, more commonly known by its scientific name, Echinacea. I’ve always loved its appearance in gardens, and it’s believed to have important health benefits. Studies suggest that Echinacea boosts immune function, relieves pain, reduces inflammation, and has hormonal, antiviral, and antioxidant effects. In addition to pill supplements, it is used in teas, juices, and creams. In its environment, Echinacea attracts pollinators as well as beneficial predatory insects.

As I began to study my specimen, I learned that the daisy-like flower head has two distinct parts. The inner domed part contains many spine-like disk florets or tiny flowers that eventually produce seeds. Numerous pink to purple droopy ray florets with forked ends surround the dome. The coneflower is in the Asteraceae family. The dome shaped center gave the coneflower the name Echinacea from the Greek word echinos for hedgehog or sea urchin. Given their striking features, I imagined the flowers would be my focal point. Ultimately, the leaves curling and poking this way and that captivated me. The color of the pink flowers and their chartreuse spiky buds against the many leaves made for a composition that was about both leaves and flowers.

I almost always work in watercolor on paper. My goal with this piece was to achieve a broader tonal range - something I’m trying to improve upon. I began with the cluster of leaves in the lower left, so I let that be my reference as I painted the remaining leaves to maintain the value range. I wanted to emphasize the brilliant pink flowers. I used masking fluid throughout to protect the detail of the orange central cones and the tiny green buds. I love the vibrancy of the tiny orange spikes against the intensely pink “skirt” of florets. To me this is an everyday kind of flower that lends informality to a garden bed – wild and interesting.

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Read more about this artist’s work: Abundant Future