STORY BEHIND THE ART OF OLGA RYABTSOVA

21st Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at Wave Hill

Black pomegranate

Punica granatum

The painting shows a branch from a black pomegranate shrub that grows in a staff-only area of The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, located in San Marino, California.

As a member of the Botanical Artists Guild of Southern California (BAGSC), I had a chance to paint bonsai trees from the The Huntington’s historic Japanese Garden. One day I was painting a bonsai pomegranate. At the end of the day, a staff member who was assisting me with the collection access offered me a ride to the part of the gardens that was off-limits for the visitors.

At the end of a winding path there was a tall shrub. It was also a pomegranate. Yet it was completely different from the old gnarly bonsai. Its branches were young, slender and covered with fruits. Unlike the pomegranates from a grocery store, the fruits were much smaller and very dark, almost black.

I’m so thankful I was allowed to take a few cuttings. One of the branches was very special. It had three fruits next to each other, arranged in a beautiful composition. One of the fruits was smaller than others and had a yellow spot in an interesting contrast to its otherwise dark skin. I started painting that branch right away. The bonsai had to wait.

The fruits had an intricate velvety texture, but it would be hard to appreciate it in a painting if I made them as dark as they were. To give the fruits more light from all directions, I surrounded the branch with aluminum foil.

I also made the picture larger than the actual size to show the texture of the fruits. For that reason, this painting is better viewed from a distance in a large room.

As I was busy with the fruits, most of the leaves withered and fell off. The picture only shows the leaves that were strong enough to stay until the end.

Like many of my other works, this painting shows a cluster of fruits on a tree branch. This painting gave me an opportunity to explore combinations of warm and cold hues. Pomegranates are becoming my favorite subject. My bonsai pomegranate painting is exhibited at The Huntington. I also plan to paint another pomegranate branch, this time in the actual size and with a fruit that split open naturally.

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Read more about this artist’s work: Out of the Woods