STORY BEHIND THE ART OF MARIA ALICE DE REZENDE

22nd Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at Marin Art & Garden Center

Elizabetha durissima

Elizabetha durissima

I was walking through the arboretum of Rio de Janeiro Botanic Garden when I found this tree. Its differentiated young leaves and beautiful flowers enchanted me. With permission from the curator of the living collection I gathered some twigs. I liked them so much that I abandoned everything I was doing to begin the illustration.

In this watercolor I painted three main elements: one mature branch with two brown fruits, behind it the young branch with differentiated green leaves, and finally a bouquet with its white and beautiful flowers and some buttons.

Elizabetha durissima is an evergreen tree with a dense, rounded crown; it can grow 6 - 10 meters tall. The cylindrical bole can be 20 - 30cm in diameter. It is native to Guiana and the Brazilian Amazon and sometimes harvested by the native people for use of its wood. A very ornamental tree with its delicate pinnate foliage and for its few, but very attractive flowers, it is now used in urban landscaping.

It can be observed in Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden where it was planted in 1937, after being harvested by Adolpho Ducke (1876 - 1959), a botanist, entomologist and Brazilian ethnologist, of Austro-Hungarian origin and taken to Manaus where it was acclimated. The plump trunk has a very hard wood that gives name to the species.

I hope people can appreciate in this work the impact of the vinaceous stamens in contrast to the delicate white of their petals and the pale green of their young leaves.

This piece relates to my body of work because it shows my preference for Brazilian native plants, especially from Amazonia.

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