STORY BEHIND THE ART OF JOHN PASTORIZA PIÑOL

Weird, Wild, & Wonderful

Second New York Botanical Garden Triennial Exhibition

2014 - 2016

Brazilian Firetree Pod

Schizolobium parahybum

Whilst teaching a Masterclass at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mount Coot-tha, which are recognised as Queensland's premier subtropical botanic gardens, I stumbled across some very unusual pods. Initially I had found a single broken specimen and after much searching around the immediate area I discovered a complete second pod. I had no idea what the pod was or to which tree it belonged. It was only after I successfully completed the work that I identified it. With help from the director of the Gardens, Ross McKinnon AM, I was able to identify the pods as Schizolobium parahybum or Brazilian firetree, a tree species from tropical America. The numerous bright yellow nectar-producing flowers, about 3.5 cm in diameter, bloom after the leaves have fallen off, and the subsequent fruit is a tadpole-like pod about 10 cm long, containing a single oval seed, smooth and brown. 

Back at the studio, I set to work. The interiors of the seed pods are reminiscent of insect wings and are incredibly beautiful and intricate. I needed to use quite a large amount of masking fluid and at different times during the painting process to effectively capture the fine veins and cracks inside each of the pods. As I was doing the preliminary sketches, I was listening to a piece of music by a group called “She Wants Revenge”, an American musical duo, based in the San Fernando Valley, California. Their music is alternative/ gothic/ post-punk revival, quite different from the classical music I usually enjoy whilst painting. One of their songs was titled "Broken promises for broken hearts" and this seemed a perfect concept for the composition of the two pods that I had collected at Mt Coot-tha. The composition is a rather stylized heart shape where one half has been noticeably broken. The fact that there is no seed supports the narrative that you will never know true happiness until you have truly loved, and you will never understand what pain really is until you have lost it.

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Read more about this artist's work: 16th Annual International