Story behind the art of Cheryl McCaffrey

27th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and the Society of Illustrators

Winter Twigs

Eurybia divaricata, Pteridium aquilinum, Rosa palustris, Poa pratensis, Chenopodium album, Betula lenta, Dichanthelium clandestinum

I feel very fortunate to live only three miles from the Arnold Arboretum, an incredible 281-acre nature preserve in Boston designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1872. When I started studying botanical art in 2017, I began taking regular walks there, eventually bringing my sketchbook. I drew everything from yellowroot buds in March to Canadian anemones in June to spotted Joe-Pye weed in August. It felt as if I was discovering botanical art and the awe-inspiring beauty of nature simultaneously.

Soon, I became fascinated by the dramatic changes in the landscape with each season. After a few years of sketching in the spring, summer, and fall, I decided to continue my walks through the Arboretum in winter. Despite it being my least favorite season, I found a special kind of magic there in winter – the crowds were gone, and the landscape was quiet and serene.

I often complain that the New England winter is gray and brown (and I despise the cold!). But on these winter walks, with all the lush greenery gone, the details of these remaining plants became more noticeable. Dried grasses had elegant curves, twists, and turns, and clumps of ferns had interesting textures. The ribbed pattern of the grass, the prickles on the rosehip stem, and the dried inflorescence of the white wood aster all appeared to be more prominent.

I felt inspired to capture this winter habitat in a watercolor painting. With kind permission from the Arboretum, I collected some dried specimens and brought them to my studio. I sketched each plant separately on tracing paper, arranging the composition until it felt just right. The plants are, left to right: Eurybia divaricata white wood-aster, Pteridium aquilinum bracken fern, Rosa palustris swamp rose, Poa pratensis Kentucky blue grass, Chenopodium album white goosefoot, Betula lenta cherry birch, and Phalaris arundinacea reed canary grass.

When I finally selected the plants to paint and began color studies, I was amazed by the subtle nuances of the neutral colors – from warm to cool tones, and dark to light shades. These weren’t just (boring) grays and browns; blues, yellows, and even reds influenced those neutral tones. I took my time mixing colors and layering paint, making sure that each brown was slightly different and was an accurate representation of what I was seeing. I added dried pine needles, falling leaves, and specks of dirt to help ground the taller plants, along with a single rosehip to convey that even in the depths of winter, color can still be found.

I’m not (quite) friends with winter yet but working on this painting helped me see the season in a new way and appreciate the understated beauty of the winter landscape.

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