STORY BEHIND THE ART OF MITSUKO SCHULTZ

24th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art & Garden Center

Lilita Hibiscus

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis ‘Lilita’

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, commonly called Chinese or tropical hibiscus, but also known as China rose, is widely planted throughout the tropics and sub tropics. It is an evergreen shrub in the mallow family Malvaceae and native to tropical Asia. In Southern California, where I live, this hibiscus shrub is planted everywhere and can easily be seen in parks, public spaces, and private gardens.

There are numerous beautiful and unusual hibiscus hybrids created by plant breeders. This particular cultivar (cultivated variety) ‘Lilita’ was bred by master hybridizer Barry Schleuter. Lilita is the offspring of ‘Persian Rug’ and ‘Almost Heaven’. The Lilita hibiscus blooms large, 7-9” single flowers in changeable rings of lavender, pink and cream.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit the beautiful home and garden of the president of the Southern California Hibiscus Society. I found this incredible Lilita hibiscus in his outstanding hibiscus garden, and he allowed me to paint it.

This is now my fifth hibiscus painting and since I started painting them, I have refined my use of various drybrush, or almost drybrush, techniques, always applied with tiny brushes, from the beginning to the end. With this combination of technique and brush size I discovered that I can better control details, such as the folds and draping of the individual petals and the degree of color translucency. However, by painting this way it takes me much longer to finish a single painting! I usually paint by applying many thin layers of different single pigment watercolor paints, rather than mixing colors. I specifically like transparent single pigment paints, such as different magentas, purples, violets and oranges.

Over the course of painting this series of hibiscus flowers I’ve learned, and am still learning, that I must focus on the smallest details of how I paint in order for my flowers to appear lifelike. Even after painting my fifth, I find myself still attracted to painting more of them since there are so many amazing cultivars.

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Read more about this artist's work: Wildly Exquisite