Rainbow in palm tree by Margot van den Berg

About "Rainbow in palm tree"

by Margot van den Berg

About the artwork

Years back, I saw this tree for the first time. A beautiful palm tree with leaves forming a fan. A beautiful, elegant palm. Almost more beautiful to me was the heart of the palm, where the leaves meet: a beautiful pattern of interlocking stems that together form the base of that fan. In that first traveller's tree (Ravenala madagascariensis), this heart was green. Later, I saw specimens with this colour gradient from green through yellow to orange. Since then, I have been a bit in love with this tree.

The tree is called madagascariensis, or 'originally from Madagascar'. But meanwhile, it stands in the (sub)tropics in many parks looking beautiful. And although it looks like a palm, it is not.

It took years until I was able to photograph this heart. A few traveller trees stood next to each other and I picked the best one: the prettiest pattern, the most beautiful colours, the least damage. A kind of perfection emanates from the plant. The subtle colour gradient what even within a leaf stalk. The way the stems are folded together, as if someone had neatly woven it together. The slowly thickening stems. And even the brown of the dying leaves fits the colour palette. How beautiful it can be!

Now looking for a new tree, one that is positioned so that I can photograph the fan properly. Without buildings in the background and with enough space around it to be able to stand in front of it properly. To be continued.