STORY BEHIND THE ART OF ROSALIND ALLCHIN

17th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at The Horticultural Society of New York

European Larch Cones

Larix decidua

I've long been intrigued by the small cluster of larch trees in the park where I walk with my dog most mornings.

Unusual among conifers, winter larches are denuded of foliage and their cones are starkly revealed in a vertical tumble of twigs with the slightly sinister air of an Arthur Rackham illustration, a world away from the spring trees with their haze of soft, lime green needles and glimpses of ripening magenta cones. 

Over the years I've amassed shoe box collections of cones clinging to twigs. Old cones can remain on the tree for several years, growing gradually more and more desiccated. For this illustration I chose two of this year's growth as the main subject.

At first glance the winter tree looks uniformly dark and grey but a close look at the twigs and cones reveals a subtle variety of colour. I decided to use graphite for the background twigs to represent the overall impression of greyness the trees evoke. To capture the texture and colour of the cones, most of the foreground painting was dry brushed.

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Read more about this artist's work: 16th annual International