Story behind the art of Susan L. Mintun

27th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and the Society of Illustrators

Green Dragon

Arisaema dracontium

The first time I spied Arisaema dracontium (commonly called green dragon), I was standing on a deck looking down into a garden that was well below foot level. I was immediately intrigued by the form of the leaf. From that vantage point it was easy to see its distinctive shape and appreciate its very apt scientific and common names.

Green dragon grows from a corm, producing a single compound leaf with multiple leaflets that swirl and flare on either side of the central petiole, and I thought, (as many people probably do) “Why, yes! The wings of a dragon!” However, that’s not quite the whole story. The specific epithet, dracontium, from Latin, can variously be attributed to the plant’s resemblance to dragon wings, dragon claws, or to the phrase “tiny dragon”, depending on your source of information. In addition, in summer, after being pollinated by small flying insects, the hooded spadix develops a column of berries that turn bright orange and red as they ripen, and, well, yes, with a little imagination, look rather like a fire breathing… well, you get it.

So, shift from my aerial view on the deck, to the one I had while sitting on the ground next to my two-foot-high dragon. Looking up from under the umbrella of the leaf the sun shone through the leaflets revealing brilliant green on the underside that beautifully matched Schmincke May green, while the leaf’s top surface and the spathe were dead ringers for very dilute Winsor & Newton perylene green. Not to be missed were the delicious bloomy-purple stripes of the stem (Daniel Smith moonglow), and then later in the season the warm colors of the ripening fruits (Daniel Smith phthalo blue green shade, lemon yellow, isoindoline yellow, and pyrrol scarlet; Winsor & Newton indanthrene blue, and Winsor red deep). Each part was so wonderful I had no choice but to include them all.

The challenge then, was composition. It was imperative to show the scale and form of the leaf and spathe from a chipmunk’s perspective, and certainly the beautiful fruit could not be left out, but how to communicate the dragon-ness of the leaf when viewed from above? I decided that in order not to overwhelm the painting with green I would do the aerial leaf view in graphite.  But when the piece was complete it called out for something to balance the left side of the layout. What better way to give a little information about the anatomy of the spathe than by including a dissection? Unfortunately, the flowering season was long past. I had to put the painting away and wait until the following spring to collect a sample. As botanical artists know, patience and creative flexibility are often required, and I finally completed the painting well over a year after it was begun.

Other materials:

Winsor & Newton Professional hot press watercolor paper, 300gm

Staedtler Mars 4H graphite in a clutch holder, very sharp

Faber Castell pencils 2H and 4B

Many thanks to Jenkins Arboretum and Gardens in Berwyn, Pennsylvania for generously allowing me to collect cuttings whenever I needed them.

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Read more about this artist's work: 24th Annual