STORY BEHIND THE ART OF LIZ SHIPPAM

21st Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at Wave Hill

Blueberries

Vaccinium corymbosum

I love blueberries for their subtle colours and soft powdery texture and have chosen to paint them many times. However, on this occasion the blueberries came to me; a lovely lady I’d met at my Open Studio the previous year appeared on my doorstep with them, having remembered how much I love the fruit while she was at a "pick your own" produce farm. She had chosen a few branches laden with blueberries and carefully transported them to my house. 

The bloom had rubbed off in places revealing a rich dark crimson beneath the powdery blue of the ripest fruit and some areas of the surface were quite shiny, very different to the untouched, perfect specimens I’d painted in the past. I put them in a jar on the window ledge and liked the way the more reflective surface looked against the light, so decided this was how I’d paint them. I used a very limited palette and with a dry brush I gradually built up the colour in layers, working from light to dark and adding all the little imperfections at the end. They were a real pleasure to paint.

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Read more about this artist's work: 20th Annual International