Story behind the art of Liz Shippam

26th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art and Garden Center

Bluetta Blueberries

Vaccinium corymbosum 'Bluetta'

I have painted many, many blueberries over the years and they are a subject to which I can’t help returning. They are beautiful at every stage of the ripening process and this plant had a branch laden with berries showing all the various color changes the fruit undergoes: from the silvery green berries which start to swell after the white bell shaped flowers have died, through shades of pink and purple, and finally, the ripe blue fruit.

For a subject with soft, muted colors like these berries, I use a limited palette of three or four hues. For this painting, I used French Ultramarine, Transparent Yellow, Permanent Rose, and a little Cerulean, which I love for blueberries because of its chalky finish. I had fun playing around with these colors, capturing the subtle shifts I saw in the subject. 

I built up layers of paint with a small dry brush, using tiny brush strokes to introduce the slightly textured matt effect of the berries. It’s a slow process but one I enjoy and get lost in; painting these blueberries I hoped to capture something transient, a moment of beauty in a constantly shifting world. Their simple shapes and soft colors lend themselves to a sense of peace in stillness which I hope the viewer will feel.

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Read more about this artist’s work: Abundant Future