STORY BEHIND THE ART OF JOAN KEESEY

18th Annual International

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

Dutchman’s Pipe with Pipevine Swallowtails

Aristolochia californica, Battus philenor hirsuta

My son and grandchildren moved to Chico in Northern California three years ago. During our first visit we hiked in Bidwell Park, 2500 acres of riparian land donated to the city of Chico by Annie Bidwell in 1905. We were there in the spring and Dutchman’s Pipe was blooming everywhere; the Pipevine Swallowtail was also in abundance along with the wonderful Pipevine caterpillar which is black with orange spikes. The minute I saw the plant, the butterflies, and the caterpillars I wanted to do a painting of them.

I thought the Pipevine flower was wonderfully curious, and I also enjoy painting vines that twine around trees or other plants. The butterfly is beautiful. I would have like to have included the caterpillar, but wasn’t able to find any when I collected the plant material.

The picture shows several stems of a vine, the stems entwined around each other. The flower looks like the bowl of a Meerschaum Pipe. There are two Pipevine butterflies, one open and one closed. The butterflies are very dark, almost black. The lower inner wing is an iridescent blue while the outer lower wing has orange spots. I used a bit of silver gouache mixed with cerulean blue to capture the iridescence. It is difficult to give structure to an amorphous plant like Dutchman’s Pipe which sprawls over bushes and wraps itself around tree branches. I spent quite a lot of time deciding how best to convey this and still have a picture with a pleasing composition.

Dutchman‘s Pipe is the host plant for the butterfly. Like Milkweed, it is toxic. The caterpillar eats only Dutchman’s Pipe and is thereby protected from predators, a symbiotic relationship like the Monarch butterfly and Milkweed.

I am interested in California Native Plants. In the past I have concentrated on the plants in Sequoia National Park and in the Santa Monica Mountains. I recently moved to Chico. I am looking forward to learning more about the native plants in this area and to painting another picture of Dutchman’s Pipe, this time with the plant, the butterfly, the caterpillar, and the chrysalis. 

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Read more about this artist's work: 17th Annual International