STORY BEHIND THE ART OF ROSE MARIE JAMES

19th Annual International

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

Artichoke

Cynara scolymus

I have painted several artichokes in the past few years, mostly for the purpose of demonstrating to my students how to work with this particular subject. The majority of these demonstrations remain unfinished! In this case, I found myself intrigued by the number of color layers I saw and the surface textures that changed depending on how the light hit the subject. Consequently, this particular artichoke, which called to be painted on vellum, left no doubt that it would be completed. I happened to have a skin that was the perfect size, so I was off and running.

Artichokes are among those plants that demonstrate the Fibonacci sequence, an important pattern of growth that follows a mathematical formula, so it was the preliminary step in the drawing process. Once the drawing had been transferred onto the sheet, the next step had to do with defining the overall form of the specimen. Since it is basically a sphere it required the lighting of that basic shape. Working from light to dark to define the form, it included a highlight, shadow, core shadow and a secondary highlight along the right edge to define ambient light. It was only after the lighting for the form had been completed that I developed the secondary lighting/shading for each of the bracts.

The paint went down so easily on this piece that I enjoyed every minute devoted to the process. Sometimes things just go well! 

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