Story behind the art of Carol Woodin

28th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art & Garden Center

Beauty and the Beast

Sarracenia psitticina, Calapogon tuberosus

North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill stewards over 1,200 acres of land and is dedicated to conserving the southeast’s rich native flora and safeguarding rare and endangered plants. Their carnivorous plants collection is remarkable! In several raised beds in a sunny area of the garden, numerous species of carnivorous plants grow in profusion alongside some of the other companion plants to be found in the bogs of North Carolina. Mixed in with the Sarracenia, Drosera, and Dionaea is a robust population of native orchid species. Over ten years ago when ASBA’s exhibition Following in the Bartrams’ Footsteps appeared there, I had made studies of some of the white-topped sarracenias. Those beautiful gardens have remained in my mind since then, so I was especially excited when I was invited to teach a workshop in painting orchids there a couple of years ago in June.

Artists in the class were enthusiastic and devoted, spending hours in the hot sun making meticulous studies of the orchids, often in compositions that included some of the companion plants as well. We worked on vellum back in the studio, trying our best to capture that brilliant fuchsia of the Calopogon tuberosus. It was such a rare experience to be able to paint these unusual species and to be able to walk out to the gardens to make further studies whenever we needed.

When I travel to teach, I try to stay an extra day, as there are always things that are asking to be painted wherever I go! In this case, I spent an extra day working on studies of the sarracenias and the orchids. Even with the heat it was paradise! I worked out the composition of the sarracenias mostly on site, first with graphite drawings, then with color studies in select areas. With studies of three different orchid plants on a separate sheet of paper, I combined them together at home. I stretched a piece of vellum over board, and with many layers of drybrush watercolor gradually built up the color to what you see in the painting. I also brushed some brownish tones into the lower part of the vellum as a background to add weight to the bottom of the composition.

Both of these plants are found in secluded, specialized habitats and you have to go looking for them in nature. They aren’t found everywhere, just in specific types of wetlands – prairies, swamps, bogs and fens. Calopogon is listed as endangered in several states but is considered overall as globally ‘secure.’ Commonly called grass pink because of their slender leaves, these orchids range from Texas easterly across to Florida, and northerly throughout the eastern US and into eastern Canada. Sarracenia psittacina is limited to the southeastern states of Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Louisiana, mainly in coastal wetlands. Its populations are fragmented and declining mainly due to habitat destruction and degradation.

Next Story

Back to List

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