Story behind the art of Denise Walser-Kolar

26th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art and Garden Center

My Dad's Garden

Rosa 'Morden Blush'

Morden Blush is a small pink rose developed in Canada, making it a good choice for my Minnesota garden. My dad loved this rose, so a few years after I planted one in my garden, I bought a Morden Blush rosebush for his garden. While the roses themselves are beautiful, and bloom on and off for the entire summer, I really love the bright, round rosehips that develop in the fall. 

A few years after my dad died, we were cleaning up his garden and found this branch of rosehips. The leaves were all chewed up and the rosehips were the most wonderful colors. I thought it would be fun to paint, so I brought it back to my studio and started the drawing. I didn’t notice right away, but I had also brought home a tiny caterpillar. I spent my days drawing the leaves and the caterpillar spent its days munching away at the leaves. It was so very tiny, yet it ate so much. I was fascinated by the caterpillar and decided he/she needed to be included in my painting. 

I had the perfect piece of vellum that I had been saving for just the right painting. I transferred my drawing to the vellum and started to paint. The hardest part was remembering not to paint the chewed-up areas. 

As I was painting, I thought a lot about my dad, how the rose bush was preparing to go to sleep for the winter, but its leaves were keeping the caterpillar alive, the circle of life. This is one of my favorite paintings I have ever done, and I am proud to have it included in this exhibition.

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Read more about this artist’s work: 20th Annual