Cornus capitata Fruit

This strange fruit brightened up the dreary winter day as I walked through my neighborhood and spied it on a small tree. Who can resist the cheery red fruit with the bright evergreen leaves?

In photos I have seen, the Cornus capitata fruits seem to vary a lot as far as the bumpiness of the skin goes but the fruits from this tree were relatively smooth so I drew them as I saw them. I submitted this painting for Assignment 7 in the SBA course I am taking, which was to be a study of fruit.

I am continuing on with my approach of using a limited palette of pigments to mix the shades of green and the shadow colors.  I used a wash of yellow under the red of the fruit to give them a glow and a slightly peachy-tint.

Cornus capitata or Evergreen Dogwood, is not native to the area where I live but is grown in cultivation here.  It is not very common at all, in fact I have not ever even noticed one before.

The Road Map

I find it helpful, even essential, to make a road map of where I am going with a botanical painting.  This is where I try out my composition ideas and do a tonal study. Here I can freely erase and rearrange without the fear of damaging the delicate surface of my watercolor paper.  Once I am happy with the composition, I use my light box to transfer the main lines of the drawing to my watercolor paper.  I refer back to my 'road map' drawing often as I paint the forms and shadows of my botanical painting.

I used to think of plants as being quite inert and stationary, but as I have studied specimens closely over time while doing my drawings, I realize that they are constantly in motion.  The leaves and flowers continually make small adjustments according to the light and moisture in the environment, and as they develop and fade. At first I was confused and wondered how I could continually get my drawing so wrong, but it slowly dawned on me that the plant was moving so I needed to choose a spot for a given leaf and leave it there in the drawing even if the plant had moved on to a new position!

 I find myself doing a lot of primping and even propping of my 'live model' to keep her happy and healthy for as long as possible, and roughly in position.  She goes on breaks outside when she is not posing for me, and when she is posing, she gets spritzed and watered regularly. For this drawing I used a cut branch and affixed a florists vial filled with water to the end to keep it moisturized.  I can understand why some botanical artists give their specimens nicknames--they become like well-known actors on a stage, even prima donnas, to be carefully tended to get the optimum performance. I have also found that reference photos are indispensable for when my model has passed her prime and is nearing retirement!

This drawing is of Cornus capitata for Assignment 8 in the SBA course I am taking. We are to depict a fruit.  I wanted to include the twig and leaves not only because they say so much about the fruit but because the forms and colors complement one another so well.  I'll give you an update on my progress before too long.