Story behind the art of Crystal Driedger

28th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art & Garden Center

Tropea Onions

Allium cepa

Last year, I was gifted Tropea onion seeds, and for the first time in my life, I gingerly began to grow onions from seed. They started out as fragile wisps in my planting trays, but eventually and to my relief, they soon took on a more robust appearance and managed to thrive in my garden beds under another unusually hot summer. When fall came and I harvested them, I knew I wanted to capture their character on paper, so I set them aside, letting them cure in a little decorative cardboard box in the studio until I was ready to begin.

When I finally pulled my onions out of storage many weeks later, I was delighted to see what had happened to the stems – they had dried. Some had hints of lingering green, some faded to an elegant warm tan, and a few were sprouting with life again. I also fell in love with the onions whose shiny outer skins had split down the middle, exposing the rich translucent purples and reds of the layers below.

After creating many thumbnails to find my favorite composition (and arranging piles of my favorite specimens over and over), I picked up my colored pencils and began the slow process of rendering. I love painting subjects that can sit out for long periods without fading — ones I can shift in the light, examine closely, and return to again and again – and without having to remember to pop them into a fridge! For this piece, I wanted to capture the subtle color shifts and reflected light, but also the interesting sweep of the stems – the beautiful way they start to curl and fray as they dry.

The Tropea onion is an heirloom vegetable, which makes this piece one in a larger series I’ve been working on over several years in collaboration with gardening professional Paul Pollaro, who focuses on historical research and genetic preservation of ancient/heirloom food crops. This onion has been grown for over 4,000 years in Italy, particularly on the cliffs of Monte Poro in Calabria, where it is a celebrated culinary ingredient. There are two distinct varieties: the Rossa Tonda (round) and the Rossa Lunga (long & tapered). My piece features the round-bottomed Rossa Tonda. 

It’s said that some Tropea onions are so sweet you can bite into fresh ones like an apple — but I wasn’t quite brave enough to test the theory! I can attest, however, that even the smaller bulbs I grew were delicate and subtly flavored as cooked additions to many recipes this year, and I’ll gladly grow them again. 

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Read more about this artist's work: 27th Annual