STORY BEHIND THE ART OF INGRID FINNAN

20th Annual International

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

Rose/green Parrot Tulip

Tulipa cv.

Although parrot tulips appeared as a rarity in France and the Netherlands in the 18th Century, they are now found in profusion everywhere in our gardens and parks. These aptly-named tulips put on quite a show each spring. I have already painted several specimens in prior years and but found myself drawn to this particular pink/green cultivar. I suspected it would present a challenge so I chose a larger than life format, focusing primarily on the flower head. What proved to be challenging involved the color mutations in each petal from cream to pink to deep maroon and pink to soft green to deep green and the ridiculous convolutions in the petal formations. Mother nature with the help of bulb viruses and breeding somehow managed to create this unusual specimen. This riot of colors, sizes and frills can seem to only exist in the imagination but I hope to have captured a very singular parrot tulip in this painting.

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Read more about this artist’s work: 19th Annual International