PAINTINGS PLANT
fresh ideas Botanical artist, Jennifer Duval-Smith says the plants she studies for her unique paintings soon feel like old friends so, it is little wonder that Friends of the Auckland Botanic Gardens, warmed to her empathy and were keen for her to be artist-inresident at the Manurewa site this summer. Subsequently, Jennifer could be seen painting at the gardens during January and February, her time there having culminated in a month-long exhibition running from February 14 to March 14 in the Huakaiwaka Gallery – so still time to see her extraordinary art works. During her residency, Jennifer has focused on her forté – edible plants, the type people regularly slice, peel, steam, boil, and roast; plants which are descendants of the world’s oldest gardens, and plants society depends on in various ways but often fails to examine properly. It is her attention to minute detail which generally leaves observers gasping. Suddenly, they see the form and beauty of plants in a fresh light, Jennifer’s scrutiny of beets and radishes, cabbage leaves, and flowers revealing nature’s wonder. “I might sketch a plant four or five times and each time I see something different, something new. This will prompt me to question why does this plant have a small pointy crown, what is this insect doing, or why have I never noticed the growing tips of these leaves are actually magenta?”
years before she really explored her own talent. “Like many people I was ‘art shamed’ at school and I had to overcome that block before I had the confidence to express myself artistically. However, now I am evidence that anybody can be an artist if they really want to although I consider my true calling to be a mentor for others to express themselves artistically in whatever way they want.” As for Jennifer, she overcame her fear of publicly exhibiting her work after following artist Emma Rogan’s 100 Days Project. Followers of the project agree to perform (and record) one simple creative exercise everyday for 100 days, a discipline which encourages experimentation. “It worked so well for me I now encourage others with similar fears, or lack of confidence to try the same.”
Although she comes from a line of both gardeners and painters (her grandmother, Ruth Duval-Smith was known for her landscape paintings), Jennifer says it took some
42 | south | march 2021
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