Wild Ginger

“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” Pablo Picasso

When I read this quote, it resonated with me regarding my journey in botanical art. Each new project feels like it borders on the impossible because it is yet untried. There is risk involved. Perhaps all learning is like this to some degree, from bike riding to rocket science…but we tend to think of art as something different, something that either you can do or you can’t do. I beg to differ.

Throughout art history the masters went through long periods of apprenticeship and training before establishing themselves as artists. There is a craft that had to be learned before the art emerged. I am attempting to learn the craft of botanical art and hoping that the art will emerge along the way.

My latest painting that I cannot do…yet…is a portrait of Asarum caudatum or Wild Ginger. It is the quintessential plant that I am attracted to, obscure and unremarkable on first glance, yet wondrous in its own unique way upon closer inspection. I wanted to attempt it during the SBA course, but wasn’t quite brave enough. I thought it might be too odd, and this oddness added a challenge to composition that I wasn’t ready to tackle.

It grows in the shady forest understory amongst the ferns and other ground cover plants. The heart shaped leaves are attractive but nothing to grab one’s attention. It’s when you peer down under the leaves that you see the other-worldly flowers close to the ground. They are either purple or lime green, with long tapering lobes, that curl around flamboyantly.


I plan on doing a larger study of the plant later, including the seed pods and buds, but for now I pared down my composition to express what I see as the essential ‘personality’ of the plant. I included the rhizome and roots because they convey the plants growth habit, and the velvety heart shaped leaves with the odd hairy flowers hiding down underneath tell at least the basics of the rest of the story.

I plan on painting this on vellum, so wanted to try out the colors and textures on a similar surface before moving on to the ‘real thing’. Here is my trial painting on 500 series 4-ply Bristol paper with a vellum finish. I was tempted to continue on because I am happy with how it was going, but I’ll stick with my original plan to paint it on vellum. Of course I’ll go deeper with the colors on the flower and add more detail, but this was my initial experiment. Hopefully I’ll make enough progress to give you an update next week.

Do you know the feeling of doing that which you cannot do?