Story behind the art of Connie Scanlon

28th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art & Garden Center

Masting Acorns

Quercus rubra

After living in Minnesota for over forty years, I have become rather adept with the cadence and lilt of snow shoveling. What came as a complete surprise, however, was the need for that same useful shovel in August of 2023 during what came to be known as a “mast year.”

It started as a few soft clicks and plops on our roof and walkways. Slowly the drop of acorns from the 100-year old oak trees gathered momentum. Thousands of acorns were falling, and a shovel was needed to pitch them into the trash. It was both a surreal and comical sight.

There amongst the plethora of acorns was this sweet little oak branch. One nut had already taken leave. The nut that remained attached to the branch seemed to beckon a well-deserved second look. After gently removing it from the mound, I noticed what seemed to be a baby acorn nestled on the shoulder of the remaining acorn. I was charmed once again by nature. The shovel fell to the ground and the beautiful branch was gently airlifted to safety inside the house.

This small branch of just three inches made me wonder about the monumental episode in nature referred to as masting. I learned that plants of the same species like oak trees, across vast geographic areas - often across many states - drop large quantities of seeds during one year. Masting is cyclic: a few years of low seed production will follow a year of amazing abundance. It has been called a reproductive act that an entire population does together! Scientists know that masting is due to many factors, but it definitely maintains a certain mystery about it. One thought is it is due to environmental cues, or possibly that a year of predator satiation will mean too much food for squirrels to eat and will allow many leftover acorns to grow into mighty oak trees themselves.

When painting this branch with watercolor on vellum, I wanted to use light to highlight the luminosity of the acorn itself. One of my favorite areas of this painting is the right side of the acorn with its sweet layers of caramel, undertones of blue, and the reflected light of pale purple. The light on the branch allows one to notice highlights of pale lavender and hints of cerulean in an otherwise brown specimen. Painting the branch was an adventure through ridges, bumps, and knots of varied depths. Lastly, one must not leave without seeing the baby holding on for dear life atop the acorn cap, delicately attached to the branch. One false move, and the great spectator position it holds on the cap will be past tense. It is almost miraculous that the intricate beauty found in the details of this branch were luckily saved from a mountain of masting acorns and a shovel.

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Read more about this artist's work: BAWW 2025