The Artichoke

Cynara scolymus © Shevaun Doherty 2012

Once upon a time, on a tiny island in the Aegean sea, lived a beautiful girl by the name of Cynara. So fair and lovely was she, that the Greek god Zeus, emerging from the sea after a visit to his brother Poseidon, fell for her charms the moment he laid eyes on her. He persuaded her to return with him to Mount Olympus, to live as a goddess and keep him entertained whilst his wife, Hera, was busy. However Cynara grew homesick for her family, and disobeying Zeus, returned once more to the mortal world. Enraged at her betrayal, Zeus cast her back to earth, transforming her into the artichoke, Cynara cardunculus. 

There is a lot of debate as to the true origins of the artichoke, although I quite like the fanciful tale above. It certainly grows in abundance throughout North Africa and the Mediterranean, and was much favoured as a delicacy by the early Greeks and Romans. The cultivated form of the plant lacks the spiny bracts of it’s wild cousin, the cardoon, and is called Cynara scolymus. 

Sketchbook studies of Cynara scolymus

It was first described by Theophratus, (371-287 BC) considered the “father of botany”, in his treatise 'Enquiry into Plants'. Later the artichoke became one of the illustrated medicinal plants that featured in Dioscorides’ Greek Herbal in the first century AD. 

Unfinished sketch of a dying flowerhead

As well as being a tasty dish, the Greeks and Romans considered the artichoke a digestive aid and an aphrodisiac. In fact, such was it’s reputation as a powerful aphrodisiac, that by the 16^th century, women were actually forbidden from eating it! It was Catherine de Medici, wife of King Henry II who broke with that tradition, when she introduced it to France from Italy. She is said to have once eaten so many at a banquet, that the guests watched in horror, convinced that she was going to burst.

I can totally understand Catherine de Medici’s great fondness for the artichoke, as it is one of my favourite vegetable dishes too. My Egyptian mother-in-law always makes “al-kharshuf mashi” for me whenever I visit, a delicious dish of baked artichoke hearts stuffed with minced lamb. You can find that recipe here.

Placing a white board behind the plant is a great way to isolate it from it's surroundings for painting

 It’s also a great plant to paint, having a wonderful sculptural shape, with elegant arching silver leaves and round flower head, topped by mass of purple florets, known as the “choke”. I’ve painted it a few times now and it's not as difficult as you would think.

Follow the lines of the spiral. The bracts fit into those little shapes. A simple line drawing on tracing paper is a handy guideline to refer back to when painting

I begin by drawing out my plant in pencil first. This is one of the plants where the Fibonacci Spiral is quite evident, so getting the drawing right is very important.  I’ve found that it’s best to draw the basic shape of the flower head first (round in this case), and then to carefully observe the direction of the spirals within that shape, keeping in mind that they curve around the shape and aren’t just straight lines. Count the bracts on each line to make sure that you have the right amount. It’s a good idea to trace out this initial drawing and to keep this as a reference to one side, because once the paint goes on, it’s quite easy to lose your way.

I paint over the pencil lines in watercolour, using mixes of naples, raw sienna and quinacridone violet. I then erase my pencil lines. Once that is done, I started to slowly build up the colour, bract by bract. The green is a mix of lemon, cobalt and indigo. In places I switched to winsor yellow.

I also used raw umber, manganese brown, caput mortuum, perylene green and winsor violet here.

**This was painted last year and if I was doing it again, I’d probably replace the manganese brown and the caput mortuum with more transparent colours such as burnt sienna mixed with winsor orange or winsor orange-red, and perylene violet.**

I've added masking fluid to the little florets at the front of the artichoke and a few suggestions of the tips of ones behind

To tackle the choke, I've picked out a few of the front florets with masking fluid. I apply it with a thin brush (a cheap one, not a sable!!)  Sometimes I put it on with a toothpick. It's important to let it dry before you apply any paint, but also don't leave it on the paper for more than 48 hours as it can be hard to get off. 

The choke was done using Cobalt violet and helio blue. I painted this mix loosely over the masking fluid, dropping more paint into the wet wash and allowing it to blend and mix on the page. Once that was completely  dry, I carefully rubbed off the masking fluid, and began to paint the little florets using pale mixes of the blues and purples. I used purple lake (quin violet would also work), Egyptian violet (Lefranc & Bourgeois), permanent blue violet (Rembrandt), winsor violet and perylene maroon. 

You have to slowly build up the shapes within... at first painting the florets, and then once you have achieved the right colour and tone for them, switch to painting the shadows and negative shapes between. I did have to lift a few florets out as I went too dark... it's just trial and error. Try to keep the florets that had been masked off  quite pale.

It will look a real mess at first, but persevere. It takes time and patience.  All of a sudden it takes shape and becomes believable.

Getting the dark shadowy bits at the top of the bracts and just below the choke made a real difference, and pulled the painting together I used winsor violet mixed with perylene green to make a nice dark colour.

Artichoke flower head, Cynara scolymus © Shevaun Doherty 2013

I've yet to paint an artichoke flower this year, but only because I haven't come across one yet. Any offers would be gratefully received! My botanical artist friend Jarnie has been growing one in her garden and has been taking gorgeous photographs of it on her blog, so I'll be watching with interest to see just how she goes about painting it. 

"The artichoke with a tender heart

Dressed up like a warrior, standing to attention,

It built a small helmet under its scales,

It remained 

Unshakeable"

Pablo Neruda, Ode To The Artichoke

Note: although the story of Zeus and Cynara is widely found on the internet, I can’t find a verification of it being a genuine tale from the Classics, but I like it anyway

Finding your mojo

Every artist hits a creative slump once in a while. 

You want to paint but you don’t know what to paint, or even where to start. When you do finally put brush to paper, it’s a disaster. The drawing is wrong, the colours are muddy , the paper misbehaves and the flowers wilt before you finish.

Instead of painting, you’ll clean the windows or hoover the house … anything but settle down at that desk. Does this sound familiar?

I often find this happens to me after a break. Even a short break can interfere with the creative process. Whilst the last few weeks have been tremendous fun, I’m yearning once more to settle back into a painting routine, but it’s a struggle.

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working” 

Pablo Picasso

So, how can you recover that inspiration and enthusiasm?

1.      Get organised-  Clean that desk and sort out those paints. Spring-cleaning is a simple, effective ‘pick-me-up’ for the soul. A clean desk is like a blank canvas inviting you to come and make a mess.

2.      Treat yourself! Nothing says “Get painting” more than new art materials. Who can resist the swish of a brand new brush, the lusciousness of a new colour, or the lure of a brand new sketchbook? 

Look what arrived in the post today!!

 I was delighted to discover that Jackson’s Art are giving away their Daniel Smith ‘palette tester’ dot cards at the moment… yes, free paint! Does it get any better than that? Click here

3.      Play! Colour charts are a great place to start and so useful too. My lovely friend Claire sent me a beautiful wooden box with a selection of Daniel Smith earth colour paints. This is the perfect time to try them out and compare them to my other earth colours.

Yummy earth colours! The biggest surprise was to see the difference between Winsor and Newton Raw Umber and the Daniel Smith's Raw Umber

4.      Inspiration is everywhere. Find a subject that appeals to you, something that has caught your eye. I am forever picking up things on walks- seeds, sticks, shells, leaves, berries- all tiny treasures waiting to be painted.

I came back from a walk with some oak marble galls and a cedar rose- which I think is the remains of a cone from a Deodar cedar tree. My new colour chart proved very useful!

5.      Paint with no expectations- it doesn’t really matter if you finish it or not. What is more important is that you enjoy the process. If you do end up with something good, then that’s an added bonus. A good place to start is to grab some cheap A4 paper and a pencil and just start to draw.

Lots of scribblings, no expectations, just fun!

6.      Be organised. Decide what you want to do the night before, that way you hit the ground running when you go into the studio.

7.      Set aside time to paint. You will never find that spare moment to paint, you have to allocate a certain amount of time each day to satisfy your creative whims. Even if you allow yourself half an hour a day to do something, you will achieve something in the end.

Set yourself the challenge of painting just one leaf a day (or two).  Even half an hour of sketching and painting every day can get you back into the routine of painting.

8.      Keep motivated! I love my botanical artist friends- they are hugely supportive and really encouraging. It’s always very inspiring to see their work- just look at any one of the blogs on the right here. Their enthusiasm keeps me motivated.

Galls and Roses, Shevaun Doherty 2014.
 I was very inspired by Sarah Morrish's beautiful painting of galls and was delighted to find my own on a walk.

9.      Try an audiobook I discovered audiobooks last year and have since become hooked! What a fantastic way to spend a day, listening to a great story and painting to your heart’s content! You really won’t want to leave the studio. I get my all audiobooks from www.audible.com They have a huge range to choose from and there’s a month’s free trial for new customers (yes, more free stuff).  The BBC Radio 4 is also great company in the studio- they have some great dramas to listen to.

10.   Plan ahead. Make a list of all the things that you want or need to do. It could be preparing work for an exhibition, or starting a commission, or even just finishing the painting that you started over a year ago for your brother. It’s a great way to keep you focused and on track.

“You have to keep your bottom to the chair and stick it out. Otherwise, if you start getting in the habit of walking away, you’ll never get it done.”

 Roald Dahl