STORY BEHIND THE ART OF WENDY HOLLENDER
15th Annual International
American Society of Botanical Artists at
The Horticultural Society of New York
Red Burgundy Okra
Abelmoschus esculentus
What is your personal view of the artwork, for instance in terms of media, colors, composition?
It is an okra, an edible member of the hibiscus family. I included the entire plant in bloom along with enlarged cross sections of the blossom and pod.
Why did you choose this subject to portray?
I walked out into my garden and this was there. This okra with the hibiscus blossom and this little grasshopper. I saw it and the world stopped. I said “I have to do this!”
Did you face any unique challenges as you worked on this piece?
It was a busy day and I was doing a million things. I cut it. I ran inside with it to the drawing board. I’m thinking “Am I going to do sketches or am I going right on to the finished work. What am I going to do?” I’m frantic. So I said “I’m just going right in there. It’s just a piece of paper!”
I started with the blossom of course because it would be the first thing to go. And then I got the leaves started but I could finish those later because I could get other leaves. The leaves wilt very quickly. I took a lot of photographs right away to capture the way they hung, not the wilting way they would look later!
What would you hope people would notice or appreciate when viewing this work?
The details…when I focused in and looked at that amazing flower, right away I knew I had to do the close-ups. I cut a pod to do the cross sections and then waited. After the pods dried, I added them.
How does this work relate to your body of work?
I work in a combination of colored pencil and watercolor pencil. I have done other hibiscus including a series of four species in Hawaii that were included in the Losing Paradise exhibition of threatened and endangered plants. Among other subjects, I often portray plants that grow on my farm in upstate New York. For a long time I was a Manhattener, until one day I realized, “Hey, I can go and live with the plants”.
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