STORY BEHIND THE ART OF TAMMY MCENTEE

24th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art and Garden Center

A Bevy of Bumpy Beauties

Cucurbita pepo

I grew up with a mother who was an English teacher, and word games were an important part of my family life. My siblings and I spent hours playing Scrabble, hangman, and reciting alliterations. Peter Piper and wood-chucking woodchucks were eventually put aside for our own same-letter, same-sound sentences. We were always trying to outdo each other—or better still, Mom. It was a great deal of fun and silliness. So, last fall when I stood admiring my latest farm stand haul of gourds, I immediately thought, “Wow! What a bevy of bumpy beauties!” Catchy title—now I had to draw them.

Exactly how many gourds is a bevy? Merriam-Webster defines bevy as “a large group.” I started by laying out seven gourds, but visually it was too many. Each gourd seemed to want attention. Five was still far too busy. Therefore, I settled on three to be my bevy. This allowed me to spotlight the uniqueness of each one. Since the bumpy bodies of the gourds were my focus, I chose to render the tendrils, leaf, and vines in graphite and muted tones of colored pencil. It was important for me to show how the stems of the fruits changed from vibrant colors to dried browns near the desiccated vines. By doing this I feel the eye is drawn to the dried bits, yet the focus is still on the vibrant bodies of the gourds, where lies the weight and balance of the composition. I find that the varied shapes and colors of gourd warts or bumps are fascinating and a lot of fun to draw.

I always like to learn as much as possible about my subject. As this is far from my first gourd piece, I tried to do a deeper dive into gourds. Gourds, squash, and pumpkins are native to the New World and are thought to have been first cultivated 8,000 to 10,000 years ago in Oaxaca, Mexico. As a member of the American Gourd Society and the North Carolina Gourd Society (we don’t have a chapter here in New Jersey, yet!) I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Gourd Museum in Angier, North Carolina, as well as the many annual gourd festivals across the country. I feel a road trip in my future.

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Read more about this artist's work: Abundant Future