Story behind the art of Jean Emmons
Botanical Art Worldwide 2025-A More Abundant Future:
Diversity in Garden, Farm, and Field
American Society of Botanical Artists at the Foundry Art Centre, St. Charles, MO
Cucurbita maxima 'Sweet Meat', Cucurbita moschata 'Chirimen', Cucurbita maxima 'Red Kuri'
I have admired two squash paintings over the years. Both served as inspiration for this painting.
The first, “Squash,” was painted in the late 1600s in Italy by Giovanna Garzoni. Working with gouache on vellum, her painting is of two large piebald pumpkins of gray-green and orange, one cut open. The leaves are starting to wilt, but still activate the composition. In The Flowering of Florence: Botanical Art for the Medici by Lucia T. Tomasi and Gretchen A. Hirschauer (pub. Lund Humphries, 2002), Tomasi writes of this painting, “In this striking composition the homely vegetable with its irregular, spotted rind is ennobled by the brush of the artist.”
The second painting I’ve admired is a lone pumpkin on a neutral background, “Pumpkin” by Marzio Tamer (b. 1964). Tamer has painted many beautiful squashes over the years, often in egg tempera. I’m guessing his squash was freshly harvested as a dark green Kabocha type, eventually aging to a dull buckskin. Lovingly and painstakingly painted, he must have stared at it for weeks as it aged and became desiccated. Tamer takes “ennobling” to new heights.
I wasn’t sure exactly which squash cultivar either artist painted, but I found something visually similar in Cucurbita moschata ‘Chirimen’, an appropriately speckled squash. What surprised me was how quickly ‘Chirimen’ started to turn from dark emerald green to buckskin on my drawing table. I could see changes within ten minutes.
Another squash I wanted to paint was Cucurbita maxima ‘Sweet Meat’. This squash has a long history in the Pacific northwest, where I live. It is well-adapted to our cool, cloudy days and cold nights. For me, it has been both mildew and wilt-resistant. Well-named, it keeps much longer than other cultivars and it sweetens with age. It’s a beautiful celadon blue and delicious. Yet, not many people seem to grow it.
For my composition, I needed a third squash, hopefully something orange. My ‘Red Kuri’ squashes had matured early for me. Bright vermilion and tear-drop shaped, they fit the visual requirements.
I prefer to work from live subjects. For this painting, I grew many squashes over two summers. This allowed me to harvest the flowers, leaves, stems, and fruits as I needed them. At one point, I abruptly changed my mind about the composition. I ended up sanding off large portions of the painting and starting over, yet still had fresh squash plants in the garden.
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Read more about this artist's work: 27th Annual