STORY BEHIND THE ART OF OLGA GUDZERA

23rd Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at Wave Hill

Christmas star

Euphorbia pulcherrima

Among the plant symbols of Christmas (such as fir, mistletoe, holly), the brightest and most festive is poinsettia. It is rightly called the Christmas star: the red bracts are like the rays of a star; on the background of the leaves, it looks beautiful and solemn. Horticulturists have bred many varieties of poinsettias with white, pink, or motley bracts, but the plant with red bracts is undoubtedly the brightest and most memorable. By the way, in Old Russian the words “red” and “beautiful” are synonyms: red sun, red maiden, red square, means beautiful sun, beautiful maiden, beautiful square.

Every Christmas in my house there appears this magnificent plant, Euphorbia pulcherrima. Unfortunately, it rarely survives flowering during winter, due to dry air and lack of natural light. I wanted to preserve the image of this magical flower on paper, to depict the subtle shades of red bract and the noble cold of the green leaves. It was a challenge for me, and working on the painting was a great pleasure.

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Read more about this artist’s work: 21st Annual