STORY BEHIND THE ART OF KAREN KLUGLEIN

22nd Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at Marin Art & Garden Center

Joie de Vivre

Vitis vinifera

This painting was requested as part of a “how to” botanical painting series. I had some parameters going into creating it, particularly the horizontal format, which I don’t usually choose. As most plants grow vertically, I usually present them in a vertical format. Compositionally this was a little tricky for me. I wanted to fill the space and still have a pleasing composition, while including grapes, leaves, stem and tendrils. Fortunately. when I was asked to do this it was summertime and the local vineyards were full of grapes in various stages of the maturation process. I couldn’t help but trim a few leaves and buds for research purposes. This enabled me to color match and take detailed notes directly from the subject. The painting had been completed for a while when I decided it needed a little something more. I chose a dragonfly for its shape and color to add a little more “Joie de Vivre.”

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Read more about this artist’s work: America's Flora