STORY BEHIND THE ART OF LIZ SHIPPAM
24th Annual International
American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art & Garden Center
Wild Damsons
Prunus domestica ssp. insititia
Two things I've been able to continue enjoying during the months of lockdown are painting and walking. Shutting myself away with my watercolor paints and some good music is always a favorite way to spend time but over the last eighteen months I've made an effort to get out into the countryside every day, whatever the weather.
A walk taking me across fields and around a harbor soon became a lockdown regular: as well as the shifting of the seasons, the changes the tides bring to the landscape each morning make it special. The blackthorn trees I painted for the ASBA exhibition in 2020 are abundant in the hedgerows here. One day I noticed what I thought were enormous sloes (the fruit of the blackthorn) weighing down a branch across the footpath. On closer inspection I realised it wasn't blackthorn….the fruit really was too big and the leaves looked like plum leaves. I was confused!
A bit of googling and a few conversations later and I learnt that they were in fact wild damsons. I decided they were the ideal subject - I have painted plums and damsons many times, they are a favorite of mine, but this year the gardens I usually visit have been closed due to the pandemic. How perfect to discover a wild relative on one of my walks.
As always I began by matching the beautiful range of blues and purples I could see in the fruit, and gradually built up the paint in layers. I started with the pale areas of bloom and worked towards the more saturated colors, finally putting in the dark shadows between the fruit and the little markings where the rich hues beneath the waxy surface are revealed.
I love the way that memory ties these two things I enjoy: painting and walking in nature. Working on this piece my mind was in the place the fruit came from, and when I look at it, I am there.
Next Story
Back to List
Read more about this artist's work: Abundant Future