Drawing Magnolias

The allure of the Southern Magnolia flower is undeniable. I have walked my neighborhood relentlessly, scouring the street for the heady smell of Magnolia flowers.

The southern magnolia tree, Magnolia grandiflora, is unfolding her petals across the southeast United States this month as they have for millennia. Magnolias are ancient plants and a recurring motif in botanical art across time for textiles, wallpaper, illustration, and embroidery.

I grew up climbing magnolia trees and their scent is burned into my memory. In the book, How Flowers Made our World, author David George Haskell aptly describes their scent as, “a blend of rose and citrus, with a darker undertone of cloves.”

The glowing cream of their petals against the dark lush foliage is a constellation of light within a jungly green leaf mass. I love to study this constellation and the slender curvature of their petals through drawing and illustration.

I am currently working on an architectural glass public art commission for a new hospital and my magnolia drawings feature prominently in my artwork. They are endlessly fun to draw. Below is an image I love of a historic magnolia illustration, I believe it was made with watercolors and pencil.

Botanical illustration of Magnolia campbelli, courtesy of NYPL image database.