| ABOUT THE ARTIST | EXHIBITS
| CV
I was born and raised in the Bay Area. My
pursuit of botanical illustration didn’t come until
well after I was married and had 3 children, although the
foundation was probably being laid far earlier than that.
In the early 70’s I found myself attracted to the work
of Henry Evans, a local botanical artist whose work employed
linocuts. Over the years my affinity for botanical art has
been reflected in my home, as well as in the art I collect
and create.
My initiation into the study of art began
at Principia College in Illinois. After 2 years I transferred
to UC Davis where I was able to combine my love of art and
design with an interest in the environment, for a more “career
oriented” degree. I graduated with a BS in Environmental
Planning & Management, with an emphasis in Landscape Architecture.
After a 10-year career came motherhood, at which time professional
notions were put on hold and volunteerism and home management
filled their place. While involved in my children’s
school, I became acquainted with Catherine Watters, a local
botanical illustrator, who was also my daughter’s French
teacher. In 1999 I asked if she was willing to give classes.
Thus began MY career as a botanical illustrator. I have gone
on to take masters classes with teachers from England, Scotland,
and Australia.
My work represents a contemporary approach
to a nearly lost art. The foundation of botanical illustration
originated in Greece in the early 500 ADs to visually document
the properties of plants. We can track the influences on its
evolution through the advent of printmaking, floriculture,
Linnaeus’s system of nomenclature, and the period of
enlightenment that saw the surge in gardening in England alongside
the use of watercolor by artists such as Pierre Redouté.
Despite the invention of the camera, digital art notwithstanding,
botanical illustration still functions as a way to marry art
with science so that the viewer can understand the physiology
of a plant in a way that is aesthetically pleasing.
For me, it begins with stopping to enjoy
and appreciate the natural beauty of a flower, fruit, or vegetable.
When I find a pleasing subject the task becomes how to artistically
describe a specimen so that is not only clear to the viewer
but a pleasure to view. The process inherently challenges
me to understand this subject from many vantage points but
the joy is also in the doing of it, as it creates a contemplative
or meditative opportunity. Although I do paint on my own,
painting alongside my peers gives me the added pleasure of
shared understanding and camaraderie. |
