Plant Life By Valerie Easton
Botany Beautiful
The new art is science, too, in vivid detail
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 COCHLIODA NOEZLIANABY KATHY J. IMEL
"Cochlioda noezliana"
By Kathy J. Imel, watercolor, 2006.
Imel celebrated her 50th birthday with a trip to Machu Picchu, where she became enchanted with Peruvian orchids. She measured and photographed this beauty thoroughly, including its roots, because she had to leave it behind in Peru. Five months later when she finished the painting, she had the perfect souvenir of her birthday trip.
PENSTEMON GRANDIFLORUS BY TIM TROST
"Penstemon grandiflorus"
By Tim Trost, colored pencil, 2005.
Trost grew up in Minnesota exploring the prairies, woodlands, lakes and ponds of his home state. His enthusiasm for natural history shines from his drawings of rare and endangered Minnesota natives; this large-flowered penstemon is a prairie wild flower.
VITIS BY RHONA NASS
"Vitis"
By Rhona Nass, acrylic on canvas, 2006.
Wisconsin resident Nass was told by her high-school art teacher that she'd never be an artist, a comment she describes as "just the impetus a stubborn German girl needed to launch a profession I've been at for 30 years."
QUERCUS VIRGINIANA AND TILLANDSIA USNEOIDES BY HILLARY PARKER
"Quercus virginiana and Tillandsia usneoides"
By Hillary Parker, watercolor, 2006.
Parker, who lives in Maine, was vacationing in Miami when she became fascinated with the symbiotic relationship between live oaks and Spanish moss. She found this branch blown down by hurricane Wilma and shipped it home to keep in a terrarium while she painted it. It took 40 layers of paint to capture the look of the bark; creating the lace-like contrast of the moss tested her sanity.
SEED PODS OF IPOMOEA PURPUREA BY KAREN BELL-BRUGGER
"Seed pods of Ipomoea purpurea"
By Karen Bell-Brugger, graphite, 2005.
Bell-Brugger teaches at the Minnesota School of Botanical Art. She writes, "I spent months getting down the color and tiniest details of the morning glory flower . . . but as I started the composition, something went awry. I became more and more fascinated by its twining vines and sculptural seed pods."
QUERCUS COCCINEA BY LIZZIE SANDERS
"Quercus coccinea"
By Lizzie Sanders, watercolor, 2006.
A Scottish gardener and graphic designer well known for her pristine watercolors, Sanders loves to depict plants with strange shapes and unusual structures. She writes, "I found this twig with a couple of leaves on the ground at the Botanical Gardens (in Edinburgh)." It's a dry brush painting executed on smooth paper to show detail clearly.
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MODERN BOTANICAL art isn't necessarily pretty. Grandmotherly flower paintings are a thing of the past. Realism holds sway, and artists around the globe are painting what they actually see in their gardens and in the natural world around them. The best botanical art is a sophisticated blend of art and science, astonishing in its clarity and composition.
This autumn, Seattle is in for an artistic treat when the Pacific Science Center hosts a juried exhibition of paintings and drawings by botanical artists from Europe, Australia and the United States. Three local judges faced the difficult task of winnowing down 214 original works to the 45 chosen for the exhibit. Most of these pieces took at least a month to complete, precisely rendered with tiny brushes or the sharpest of pencils, and most are life-sized. Six Northwest artists are featured in the show, including Louise Smith, with paintings of native plants and their pollinators, and Vashon Island's award-winning Jean Emmons.
Sponsored by the American Society of Botanical Artists, "Beauty of Botany" runs Oct. 13 through Nov. 26 at the Science Center. For more information, call 206-443-2001, or www.pacificsciencecenter.org.
Valerie Easton is a Seattle freelance writer. Her e-mail address is valeaston@comcast.net.
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