STORY BEHIND THE ART OF DEBRA PINCIOTTI
23rd Annual International
American Society of Botanical Artists at Wave Hill
Champagne Currants
Ribes rubrum ‘Champagne Pink’
Several years ago, my husband and a few neighbors started a community garden. These beautiful pink champagne currants grow next to our neighbor’s black currants which are completely homely but which make the most delicious jam! These champagne currants are edible right from the bush but are not very delectable. However, the first time I saw them I was enchanted by their subtle beauty. The translucence, the stripes in the skin, which remind me of the gooseberries my great grandmother used to grow (the plants are related) and the variation in color between individual currants inspired me to paint them.
Many of my pieces are created with more than one medium. Given no outside constraints, I like to let the textures of the subject dictate which medium I use. I thought the veiny leaves and peeling bark would be best rendered in colored pencil, with light washes of watercolor over them to keep them integrated with the rest of the piece. The smooth currants would fare best with watercolor, a translucent medium to capture the same quality of the fruit. The lightest of lines drawn with colored pencil capture the lines of color on the surface of the fruit’s skin. I enjoyed conveying the translucence of the currants, which is the most remarkable quality of this subject.
For the sake of the composition, I simplified my drawing quite a bit from what was actually on the bush. Several currants were left out and others had to be moved; I was always mindful of how the move would affect the light on each currant. I like the shape of the finished painting, with the leaves like umbrellas over the clustered fruit.
This is one of a series of paintings on which I am working, which illustrates some of the unusual plants and flowers that my husband and I grow, with delight and enthusiasm, in the gardens at our home in southeastern Pennsylvania.
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