STORY BEHIND THE ART OF KU-MIE KIM

18th Annual International

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

Southern Magnolia

Magnolia grandiflora

I have been interested in magnolia species in general for a long time and am a member of the International Magnolia Society (IMS). The most common magnolia in the Chicago area where I live is the saucer magnolia with pinkish petals. But I wanted to paint the southern magnolia with its elegant ivory flower, which is uncommon in the Midwest. When I visited my brothers in Southern California last October, I was so excited to see the southern magnolia was growing everywhere, even along the street. Unfortunately, the flowers were all gone by then, but its gorgeous seedpods were as beautiful as the flowers. I got some branches with the seedpods from my brothers for a painting and brought them home, hand-carried during the flight. In my paintings, I always try to depict the realistic beauty in any part of a plant, so this was a good subject for me.       

In my painting, a single, cone-shaped, heavy, seed-filled, pinkish pod is dangling down at the end of a branch. Some of the individual seed pockets are slightly open and reveal a deep orange-colored seed inside. There are several overlapping thick, shiny, leathery green leaves with soft, hairy, yellowish brown backs. Before the seed pockets open and release the seeds, the pod is heavy and pointing down. Once all the seeds are out, the empty pod becomes light and pointing upright. In my painting, in order to express the heavy weight of the seedpod, I composed the branch coming down from the right side and the pod pointing down.

I found the shiny light reflection on the thick leaves was challenging to paint with watercolor, but by applying dilute cobalt blue and letting the white paper show through, I was able to make the leaves look realistic. Another challenge was that the tightly closed seed pockets started opening while I was drawing, so I had to revise my pencil drawing a few times! 

I hope I will have an opportunity in the near future to paint the flower of the southern magnolia as well.

Next Story 

Back to List

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