STORY BEHIND THE ART OF CONNIE SCANLON
18th Annual International
American Society of Botanical Artists at The Horticultural Society of New York
Raspberries Past Prime
Rubus idaeus
About a year ago I began painting subjects much larger than life. The details that I had always found so amazing were now giving me the most joy as well. What I hope is that when someone sees this painting, they will be reminded of that best friend who is the last to leave the party, the one who has such joie de vivre that they do not want to go home early and call it a night, a 'Raspberry Past Prime'.
It was serendipity that I was invited into a neighborhood garden, a treasure trove hidden from the city streets and the rest of the world. I wandered in this impressionist canvas of color and when finally my heart rate slowed, I noticed the raspberry patch with a few berries remaining past their peak. Then I saw it- the lovely little curve of the stem, the exquisitely curled leaf that had dried perfectly in the summer sun. I knew that any extra breath or slight breeze would cause this over ripened berry to leave the party. Oh so gently I drew and camera clicked and kept my fingers crossed that it would hang on long enough.
My hope is that when people look at this painting they will appreciate the depth of textures in such a sweet, simple subject. Perhaps they will imagine the taste of the berry warmed by the sun, or sense the delicate crispness of the turned leaf. I would want them to feel the dried and twisted stem that has bent so lovingly from the pull of the crumbled, former berries that are beautiful in their prickly, gnarled complexity. I would want them to see that the large raspberry is weighted with the luscious hues of magenta and violet, layers of rose, and shadows of cerulean and indigo blue.
Perhaps it is the dancing sense of movement that I hope will make people smile, and that they will catch the smallest hint of red in the raspberry remnant far to the left, a trace reminder of a more glorious time, now past prime.
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Read more about this artist's work: 17th Annual International