Story behind the art of Barbara Oozeerally

29th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and the Society of Illustrators

Stone Oak

Lithocarpus pachyphyllus

Lithocarpus pachyphyllus (common name stone oak) is native to the eastern Himalayas. It is a large evergreen tree that produces interesting clusters of acorns. The leaves are large and oblong in shape and don’t resemble the oak leaves with which we are all familiar.

Several years ago, I was at the Caerhays Castle garden in Cornwall, England collecting magnolia seedheads for my magnolia book, when my attention was drawn to a strange-looking object lying on the ground. As I am always looking for interesting subjects to paint, I collected a few clusters. One of them was still green in color so I painted it straight away when I got home. My painting of those green acorns was exhibited in the Third New York Botanical Garden Triennial Out of the Woods.

The original acorn clusters I collected that day are now displayed on the shelf above the fireplace in my home. They have become brown and hard, and each of them is very different in shape. The acorns are not only interesting to look at but also very intriguing to visitors. I pass by them several times a day, always thinking that one day I will paint one of them again.

That day arrived during this year’s cold and rainy winter. I found the subject not only challenging but also needing my full concentration because I chose the most complicated cluster of all. Even for complex subjects during nearly thirty years as a botanical artist, I have never enlarged any of my painted subjects, including my painting of the stone oak. I also don’t use any magnifying implements. I just enjoy painting very intricate objects. 

As the cluster of acorns is completely dry, the overall colors are rather dull and uninteresting, but placing the light on one side of my subject exposed the details of the structure and small variations in color. My palette in this case was very limited; all shades of brown like sepia, raw and burnt sienna, Indian red, VanDyke brown, yellow ochre and burnt umber. I went back to the supposedly “finished” painting several times to add more details, trying to expose the complex structures and give a 3D feeling to the subject.

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