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Just a few of a weird and wonderful assortment of bizarre plants captured in this scientist’s oil paintings that are far stranger than any in science fiction, and that exemplify the incredible strategies that plants need to survive
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Oil painting of the corpse flower or giant padma (Rafflesia arnoldii), the world’s largest flower. … [+]
With kind permission of the artist, Chris Thorogood.
Most people don’t give plants a second thought. We walk past them — and on them — as if they don’t exist at all. This phenomenon is described as “plant blindness,” a term coined 20 years ago to denote the inability of a person to notice plants or appreciate their importance in our lives (ref).
But not everyone is like this. Botanist and botanical artist Chris Thorogood, who is Deputy Director and Head of Science at Oxford Botanic Garden and Harcourt Arboretum, and a lecturer in plant biology at the University of Oxford’s Department of Plant Sciences, is one of those rare people who has devoted his entire life to noticing plants.
“When I was a kid, my bedroom windowsill was a jungle of succulents, Venus flytraps and other botanical curiosities that jammed curtain poles and hung down from the ceiling. I would document them carefully, scribbling and drawing them on my bedroom floor.”
I first ran across Dr Thorogood and his spectacular art one bleak and snowy morning in December, when this exquisite painting of a parasitic flowering plant popped up on Twitter:
Intrigued by his passion for peculiar plants that rarely are seen and bedazzled by the beauty of the painting itself, I simply had to learn more about this person and his work. I did a little research and ended up contacting him.
“I’m a botanist, first and foremost”, Dr Thorogood explained to me in email. “I’ve always been fascinated by how things work — drawing helps me make sense of that — to deconstruct something, to put it back together, to see it at the finest possible level of detail. To me, science and art go hand in hand for this reason.”
Dr Thorogood’s scientific research focuses on exploring the fundamental processes in plant evolutionary ecology using molecular tools. Most of his time is spent investigating host specificity in parasitic plants and how this can drive speciation, and examining the novel ecological processes that drive speciation in carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plants.
Oil painting of the carnivorous fanged pitcher plant (Nepenthes bicalcarata). This is a tropical … [+]
With kind permission of the artist, Chris Thorogood / ©RBG Kew
Did Dr Thorogood receive any formal art training?
“No, not as such”, Dr Thorogood replied in email. “My father painted and it runs in my family. I guess being a scientist helps provide the rigour that training might also have offered.”
Dr Thorogood works both from photographs and from life, with a particular preference for working from life.
“Just this Christmas, I’ve been fortunate enough to illustrate plants from living material in the Canary Islands. From life, you can really peer at a plant, get to know its intricacies”, Dr Thorogood wrote in email.
Botanical water colours of wild flowers of the Canary Islands. This painting is destined to be an … [+]
With kind permission of the artist, Chris Thorogood.
“But this isn’t always possible”, Dr Thorogood continued in email. “I often paint tropical things, and using oil paints, which take weeks to dry — these have to be done in a studio. In this case, I take dozens of photos, sketches and notes on the plants I see around the world, and refer to scientific papers when I need to, to bring the plants back to life on the page later in my studio.”
But sometimes, not even Dr Thorogood is able to see these plants in the field.
Part of convincing the viewer that these plants are real is to depict them realistically, rather than painting a plant that is absolutely perfect.
“I like painting them to get the character of them. I like the dead bits, the blemishes on the plants, all of that. And I think the reader — if you will, the audience, the interpreter of your painting — I think you help them and do them a favor by doing that, because you help guide them into the picture and help them believe that that what they’re seeing is real. And that’s harder if you strive to make everything perfect, which is not how it is in nature. It’s chaotic.”
How does he decide whether to paint using oils or watercolors?
“I paint in campaigns – if I am doing a series that need strong backgrounds, I prefer oils. These bring plants to life in way that cannot be done in watercolours”, Dr Thorogood replied in email.
“If, however, I really need to get into the detail of a plant, or paint several in a plate, I prefer watercolours. And importantly, if I plan to paint in the field, I can only do this with watercolours – my oil paintings take weeks to dry!”
An oil painting of a Gold of Kinabalu orchid or Rothschild’s slipper orchid (Paphiopedilum … [+]
With kind permission of the artist, Chris Thorogood.
Does Dr Thorogood’s art make him a better scientist? Does his science make him a better artist?
“Science and art are both lenses through which I make sense of the natural world, even if they seem very different”, Dr Thorogood replied. “Science asks questions and tests hypotheses. These might be, for example, Where does this species end and another begin? Why is this pitcher plant larger than that one? My research probes deeper into the lives of plants in addressing questions such as these. These are the questions that keep me awake at night!”
But art and illustration complement science.
“Although we live in an era of digital photography, illustration has always been important for preserving knowledge about living things. The archives of museums and herbaria hold millions of artworks from illustrators and natural historians, including original illustrations used in descriptions of new species, which has intrinsic historic and scientific value as well as artistic value.”
What is the most important aspect of Dr Thorogood’s work — both artistic and scientific?
“We share our planet with many beautiful species that existed long before we did”, Dr Thorogood replied.
“We have a duty of care to conserve them — not just for future generations of people to enjoy — but because of their own intrinsic value and worth. As a botanist and artist, if I can help foster a greater care and attention for plants and their plight, even in some small way, then I am happy.”
The king pitcher plant (Nepenthes rajah) is endemic to Mount Kinabalu and neighbouring Mount … [+]
with kind permission from the artist, Chris Thorogood
Chris has published a number of books, mostly field guides, but he also published one book that I’m especially determined to get my hands on, and that you may also enjoy: Weird Plants (Kew Publishing; 2018: Amazon US / Amazon UK).
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