STORY BEHIND THE ART OF wendy hollender

25th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and Wave Hill

The Onion Family

Allium oleraceum, A. schoenoprasum, A. tricoccum, A.cepa 'Forum', A. porrum 'King Richard', A. cepa 'Red Wing',A. cepa 'Patterson', A. cepa var. aggregatum, A. sativum

I started botanical drawing in 1998 and have been steadily following plants ever since, allowing them to lead me on a journey of discovery about plants through my artwork. The more I draw botanicals, the more I learn about plants. Years ago, I started to recognize patterns in plant structure and similarities among different flowers. I became aware of the significance of plant families and how plants are classified by their reproductive structures. I was excited when I discovered similarities in flowers and realized the plants were in the same family.

I also noticed similarities in qualities of edible plants in the same family in terms of taste and smell and leaf structure.

Over the years, I’ve practiced many individual plant portraits, starting simple with individual fruits and vegetables, and progressing to flowers and larger compositions of one plant in its various life cycle stages. I decided to start my newest venture – a series of larger paintings showcasing the similarities and differences between plants in the same families. 

My first large painting composition is of the onion or Allium family. I was inspired to start this painting after reading an article in The New York Times by Melissa Clark on May 17, 2021, entitled “Know Your Onions (Shallots and Leeks and Ramps).” I had just discovered my first large path of ramps growing nearby and started the painting with the ramps.

These family portraits are about connection, so I wanted to weave together some aspects of the plants to make the composition cohesive. Because alliums are monocots, they have long, strappy, parallel-veined leaves, so I utilized their elegant movement to connect the different species in the family.

All Allium species are edible, so I can eat all these plants as part of my plant research. Someone has to do it! It is exciting for me to search out the plants for a painting, combining cultivated and foraged plants. I am fortunate to live in a rural area and have a son who has an organic vegetable farm allowing me to track and study these plants as they grow. 

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Read more about this artist's work: Wildly Exquisite