Carolyn working in her studio

Botanical Interests: Tell us a little about yourself.

Carolyn Crawford: I received a bachelor of fine arts degree in education from Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma. My preferred medium is watercolor pencil, although I do occasional scientific illustrations for botanical journals in pen-and-ink. I also love field botany and plant taxonomy. My specialty is the Milkweed Family (Apocynaceae) and I have taught several classes on this topic for the Colorado Native Plant Society. I also led two field trips to the U.S Army Pinon Canyon Tank Maneuver Site in Las Animas County, to search for the rare Dwarf Milkweed (Asclepias uncialis) in 1997 and 1998.

Primula specuicola

BI: Your work has received national and international attention. What were some of your most memorable exhibits?

CC: I was honored to be included in The Royal Horticultural Society’s Westminster Fortnightly Show where I received the Grenfell Silver Medal (1988); The Hunt Institute’s Sixth International Exhibition (1988); The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators’ Picturing Natural History held at the Smithsonian (1996); and The Eccentric Artists’ Gardens shows at the Boulder Public Library (2006 and 2011).

Papaver rhoeas

Cleome serrulata

BI: How did you become interested in botanical illustration?

CC: My interest in botany began over thirty-five years ago when I subconsciously became interested in plant taxonomy. Then in 1981, I ventured into botanical illustration. In early 1982, a seminal exhibit of the botanical paintings of the late Ida Hrubesky Pemberton went-up in a small museum gallery in Lakewood, Colorado. To this day, I consider Ida to be my “mentor” even though we never met. The greatest honor was the chance to prepare a biography and co-curate the 2003 retrospective exhibition for Ida Hrubesky Pemberton at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation in Pittsburgh. In a manner of speaking, this was my opportunity to thank my mentor for all the years of inspiration she’s given me.

CC: I have worked as a contract illustrator for Botanical Interests since 1996, and have created over 180 seed packet designs. The seed packet for the Mesclun Lettuces “Gourmet Baby Greens” presented the greatest challenge. The complexity of the various colors and textures, plus the fact I was doing the painting in February of 2011 when it was negative 17 degrees outside! The large packet assortment of morning glories “Something Old, Something New” was the most fun. I love painting morning glories!

Carolyn has produced more than 180 botanical illustrations for Botanical Interests seed packets!  As a tribute to her prolific artistry, we are offering two prints for the month of December. Click here to purchase.

Botanical Interests: Tell us a little about yourself.

Donna Clement: I was born in Staten Island, but was raised in New Jersey. I’m proud to be a Jersey Girl, however I prefer the west; it is more laid back and casual as well as the people being more open-minded. I earned my BFA at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. My art has been shown in galleries and shows across the country since the ‘70s. I worked 18 years as a set designer/scenic artist. I also had a successful small business as a muralist. Unfortunately, my health got in the way of climbing ladders, so I was forced to adapt. I accomplished this by recently finishing my MA in visual arts with a specialization in art education from the University of Northern Colorado, with a thesis titled: “Teaching Adult Students Who Are Apprehensive About Making Art.” I now continue to do freelance illustration work and teach art to adults in Longmont  & Loveland.

In the studio, works in progress

BI: What are some of your current artistic and creative endeavors?

DC: My personal art at this time is silk painting. I paint on stretched white silk with silk dyes. The finished paintings are steamed to set the colors and then stitched onto driftwood with hemp cord. I like people to walk around my paintings so that the air currents make the silk move. I was tired of flat oil paintings, my silk paintings do not hang flat, they form to the shape of the twisted driftwood. I also love doing nature photography, I’ve always used my own photos for subject matter in my artwork – I’m now taking it to the next level. Another interest I have is drumming; I am a member of the 15-piece Djembe Orchestra or DJO. I play djembe and djun djuns. Drumming is healing and meditative music while creating art – so, what a great combination for me!

Painting on silk

BI: How did you become interested in botanical illustration?

DC: I became interested in botanical illustration after Curtis approached me in 1994 at the very start of Botanical Interests. I took six months off from my set design job because of burnout; at this point I pursued becoming a master gardener. Soon after, Curtis and I met and we hit it off quickly (we are both Trekkies!) We discussed the idea for his business using artwork on seed packages, and I thought it was a fabulous idea for selling seeds and for employing artists. I discovered that I really enjoyed drawing and painting plants; I found it a perfect counterpoint to painting 20 X 40 ft backdrops. I am amazed at the synchronicity that had to happen for me to enjoy this employment opportunity. If I wasn’t burned-out from theater work, I might never have had this opportunity! I am very lucky to have been with Botanical Interests since the beginning.

BI: What is your favorite illustration you have done for Botanical Interests?

DC: My favorite illustrations for Botanical interests have been the gourds. I did quit a few varieties.

There is that saying, be careful what you get good at, because then you’ll have to keep doing it… This happened to me; I was the only artist in the beginning that could see the nuances of the color green in each plant, especially lettuces. I wanted to paint the colorful flowers, but since I was good at greens I received all the lettuces to paint. I was so tired of painting green. I was ecstatic when I was given a red lettuce or even speckled lettuce just so I didn’t have to paint green one more time!

Click here to purchase this limited edition, signed print of Cinderella Pumpkin online.

Libby in her studio

BI: Tell us a little about yourself

Libby: I work in many media, including colored pencil (my favorite), carbon, and ink to create my botanical illustrations. I admit that I am a “control freak,” and therefore I love the scientific and detailed nature of this art form. I am a member of the American Society of Botanical Artists, an editor for the ASBA Journal The Botanical Artist, as well as an instructor for 11 years at the Denver Botanic Gardens’ Certificate Program in Botanical Art and Illustration. My artworks are in public, corporate, and private collections including the permanent collection of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, The Packard Foundation, and The Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. I have illustrated articles for magazines, catalogs, scientists, and authors. My award-winning works have been included in many national and international juried exhibits, including Botanica Spectaculum, The Shirley Sherwood Gallery, and The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation.

In 2008, with co-author Cora Marcus, I created Today’s Botanical Artists (Schiffer Publishing), a compendium of the works of 65 contemporary North American botanical artists. I have also begun work on a second volume of artworks from around the world by contemporary botanical artists.

Cucurbita Summer

My blog gallery can be found at http://rmsbagallerylk.blogspot.com

BI: How did you become interested in Botanical Illustration?  Did you have any prior artistic interests?

Libby: I have always drawn, and expanded my love of art into my college major. Financial reality raised its head my junior year, and I had to find a job, which led me to medical management. Eventually, a bout with a chronic illness led me to botanical art. I wanted to draw and paint, but traditional paint techniques didn’t work well in bed. So, I started working with colored pencils. When I felt better, I thought the Denver Botanic Gardens Botanical Art and Illustration Program would make a great place to have a refresher course in media. One drawing class later and I was hooked!

Tulipa sketch

BI: As one of the illustrators for Botanical Interests, you must have a few favorite or memorable plants that painted for the seed packets. Which one(s) come to mind?

Libby: Two images come to mind. The first, Little Gem Lettuce, practically painted itself. The specimens are so beguiling: little single serving-size lettuce heads. The smooth creamy whites at the base of the heads blend into lovely soft greens through each leaf to the tips. I enjoyed finding the right colors, and I also loved the atmospheric perspective that was possible with this little specimen.

The second I recently completed, and it’s a broccoli Romanesque, a pyramidal broccoli plant that boggles the mind. I had first seen them a few years ago at a farmer’s fair at the Gardens. So when I was asked if I’d like to illustrate them for a packet, I jumped at the chance!

BI: What classes do you teach at the Denver Botanic Gardens?

Libby: I teach Level I and II classes (http://libby-classes.blogspot.com) in drawing, colored pencil and ink. I teach a lot of classes in electives, especially in mixed media, colored pencil and modeling. In each class, I live for the “epiphany moment” to happen in each student. That moment when the light bulb goes off over one’s head as the concepts become real in a personal way.

BI: What gallery shows and publications have you been featured in?

Libby: In 2006, ASBA member Cora Marcus came to me with a project for a book. She had contacts with Schiffer Publishing in Pennsylvania, and they had asked her if she could do a book on contemporary botanical art. She asked me if I’d like to create a book. I resisted for a long time, knowing I was committing to at least 1500 hours of work, and then decided it was foolhardy to resist doing a book that served our genre. In 2008, our book Today’s Botanical Artist published in February. It has double-page spreads for each of 65 North American artists, as well as bios and resumes, and a forward by Cora. I recruited the artists (reviewed the work of about 600 artists, selected 130 to invite, and selected 65 artists), designed the book, managed the layout and color (as far as possible – a press check was not possible, as the work was printed in China) and set all the text.

I have exhibited regularly in the past at international juried shows. I was honored to have my work included in the juried ASBA/New York Horticulture Society annual exhibit in NYC, as well as in the permanent collection of The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation in Pittsburgh, PA, following their 12^th International Exhibit. I also had the thrill recently of having an artwork included in an exhibit in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery in Kew Gardens, England for 5 months last year. I am a member of the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens Florigium Society, an invited group of professional artists who document the Gardens’ collection. Those images were submitted to Dr. Sherwood for jurying into the “Portraits of a Garden” exhibit. Approximately 80 artists of the group submitted over 140 images. Thirty-five images were chosen for exhibit, including my portrait of Pseudolarix amabilis.

Anemone

Pansy Panel

Sand Painting Sunflower

Libby’s painting, Hummingbird Haven is shown below. The ready to frame print and seed packet is available to purchase online for a limited time only.

]]> http://bicreativeinspirations.com/featuredartist/featured-artist-libby-kyer/feed/ 0 http://bicreativeinspirations.com/featuredartist/featured-artist-connie-sayas/ http://bicreativeinspirations.com/featuredartist/featured-artist-connie-sayas/#comments Tue, 06 Sep 2011 17:23:59 +0000 Susan http://bicreativeinspirations.com/?p=2982

Constance Sayas grew up in the Midwest, drawing from nature and creating shoebox museum dioramas for fun. It was no surprise she pursued a career that combined her love of both art and science. An exhibition designer for the Milwaukee Public Museum and later for the Denver Art Museum, Constance also worked as a scientific illustrator and art director for Encyclopaedia Britannica in Chicago.

Constance’s formal training includes a degree in Fine Arts from UW–Milwaukee, studies in scientific illustration at the Art Institute of Chicago, and a certificate from the Denver Botanic Garden’s Botanical Illustration program where she currently teaches. Her award-winning botanical watercolor paintings are shown in national and international exhibitions, and her work is represented in numerous private collections.

Left: Cecropia leaf / Right: Longhorn Beetle (watercolor)

Q & A with Constance

How did you become interested in Botanical Illustration?  What were your prior artistic interests?
I feel fortunate to always have been employed as an artist. I discovered botanical illustration when I moved to Denver. Prior to that I had been illustrating for Encyclopedia Britannica in Chicago. I was assigned every subject from A-Z ,but I especially loved doing medical illustrations. I became passionate about gardening at the same time I discovered Denver Botanic Garden’s Botanical Illustration Program, so botanical painting was a natural progression for me. Still, there are times when the “artist” side of me longs to create the large, expressive figure paintings that I produced in my post-college years.

You’ve been teaching watercolor for 8 years in the Botanical Illustration Program at the Denver Botanic Gardens. What advice would you give the budding artist who would like to try this medium?
I tell beginning watercolor students to relax. It is normal for a paint brush to feel awkward. We grew up with pencils and crayons in our hands, not a flexing, wet brush. Students need to learn how to use water to their advantage, to guide the paint and resist the urge to control it too much. Contrary to popular belief, watercolor is a very forgiving medium. (For a listing of her current class offerings click HERE.)

Left: Rosa gallica 'Versicolor' / Right: Geum triflorum (watercolor)

As one of the illustrators for Botanical Interests, you must have a few favorite or memorable plants that you painted for their seed packets. Which one(s) come to mind?
My favorite illustration was the Charentais melon. We were growing melons in our garden that year and I was able to use the leaves for my drawing references. Denver was in a major drought and squirrels were seen running from the melon patch with devoured melons on their heads, wearing them like helmets.

Your exquisite watercolor paintings have been featured in many publications and gallery shows over the years. You were chosen this year to be included in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium exhibit in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Royal Botanic Gardens, KEW. Can you talk a little about the painting that was included?
I had an opportunity to meet fellow Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium artists in London and to view our exhibit in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery. We also went to Shirley’s country estate outside of Oxford and toured her splendid home, gardens, and art collections. Shirley Sherwood is a major collector of contemporary botanical art so it was exciting to be able to view all of the original paintings that I have studied in her books for years. The piece that KEW selected for the exhibition was Iris ensata from Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s collections. The flower cuttings were sent to me overnight, so I had to act quickly before they faded.

Iris ensata (watercolor)

Constance’s painting, Melon Charentais is the Botanical Print of the Month. The ready to frame print and seed packet is available for a limited time only.

Susan DiMarchi is a visual artist with a diverse background in painting, glass design, botanical illustration and plant landscapes. Her work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the U.S. and Canada, and featured in many publications. Susan’s glass is in the permanent collection of Contemporary Glass at the Corning Museum in New York.  She received her certificate in Botanical Illustration from the Denver Botanic Gardens and has since joined the core instructors in the Botanical Art and Illustration Program teaching Colored Pencil and Pen and Ink. Susan’s plant illustrations also grace the front of many Botanical Interests seed packets.

So, enough about me for now—what I really want to talk about today is Botanical Interests commitment to art and artist development.

During a recent podcast Radio Garden’s Andrew Keys talked to a few Botanical Interests artist about botanical illustration and the role this very old art form plays in contemporary art. One of the things we agreed on was the notion that botanical illustration gives the viewer information that may not be captured in a photograph. Illustrators draw from a personal perspective, creating a nuance of color, form and context that, while striving to be true to the plant’s anatomical detail, is filtered through the style and experience of the artists. This “plant portrait” produces emotions, memories or curiosity in the viewer, much like experiencing a painting in a museum.

What Botanical Interests does every day is take botanical art off the walls and put it into the hands of gardeners everywhere, giving it a fresh look and purpose.

Judy and Curtis not only promote and support the botanical art community by displaying our work on over 500 seed packets, but they endow scholarships at the Botanical Art and Illustration Certificate Program at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Each year they pick new artists graduating from this program, and give them the chance to publish their art nationally through commissions for seed packets. Their passion for plants has created this amazing seed company, as well as nurturing botanical illustration and the artist who create it.

As one of the artists illustrating for BI, I am excited that we have this venue to show others just how beautiful the plant world can be. Growing up in the Midwest, I watched my grandfather create amazing seasonal garden displays with flowers and vegetables. His influence inspires the natural motifs in my glass, my paintings and illustrations and, of course, in my own gardens. Here is some of my work.

Typha latifolia (pen and ink)

Raspberries (pen and ink)

Artichoke (watercolor)

In recent years I have worked mainly on paper, but my glass work involved sandblasted designs (many floral) and hot glass attachments.

blown glass sculpture

blown glass stoppered bottle

Susan’s Echinacea ‘Purple Coneflower’ is the Botanical Print of the month.  The ready to frame print and seed packet is available for a limited time only.

Susie Hyer painting at an overlook on Deer Ridge loop

Susie Hyer is a full time artist living in the mountains west of Denver.  Her love of  the outdoors is evident in her beautiful plein air paintings that have won many awards over the years.  Recent painting trips have  included exotic locations such as Tahiti, Mexico, Corsica, France and Portugal.  Her work can be found in many publications, including the celebrated book,”Landscapes of Colorado”, Southwest Art Magazine, and a featured artist article in the Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine.  Over the years, she has participated in numerous workshops and classes, receiving her certificate in 2001 from the Botanical Illustration Program at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

Although landscapes dominate her subjects, Susie also paints still life, figures and in her own words, ” anything that seems fair game and won’t move”.

Bridal Veil Falls, Morning

Mountain View Geranium

Summer's Last Sunflowers

Chili Pepper Overcast

Forty Nine Stroke Tomato

Susie’s work for Botanical Interests Seed Packets are executed in exquisite detail showcasing her training as a botanical illustrator. Among the illustrations of plants and vegetables she has produced, her favorite is the Daikon Radish.

Susie’s Tomato ’Red & Yellow Pear’ is the  Botanical Print of the month.  The ready to frame print and seed packet is available for a limited time only. Enjoy collecting the botanical art  of our talented illustrators to enjoy in your own home.

For more information on Susie’s work, show schedule, and workshops, visit :

www.susiehyerstudio.com

Carol Till drawing a young Owlet in Arizona

Carol Till grew up in a large family on a Dairy farm in Minnesota where she spent countless hours drawing the natural world around her, including the resident horses and dogs. Her artistic inclinations led her to more formal training and she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Masters in Digital Media Studies. She also completed a certificate in Botanical Illustration at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Over the years Carol has worked as a freelance graphic designer/illustrator/artist, drawing from a diverse palette to achieve her artistic vision.

Anemonesm (colored pencil)

As a botanical illustrator and conservationist, Carol spearheaded an exhibit and book , Rare, Imperiled Plants of Colorado, beautifully illustrated by members of the Rocky Mountain Society of Botanical Artists. Working with botanists and conservation groups, the “Rare” program is planning to illustrate over a hundred more globally imperiled plants in the next 3 years to increase public awareness of endangered plants in Colorado and around the world.

Some of Carol’s most charming plant portraits can be seen on our very own Botanical Interests seed packets. Check out her careful renderings of flowers, vegetables and herbs to inspire your own artistic growing projects. Plant her favorite flower, Helenium or Helen’s Flower, as she does in her own garden. Carol’s painting of Nasturtiums (tall, single blend) is the botanical print of the month, available for purchase on our website.

New work involving printmaking is her current focus. Printmaking has a long history as botanical illustration medium, and Carol has been experimenting with extension of this medium to create contemporary etchings of plants and plant materials. The images below are part of a series using bird nests that her sisters have collected. This synergy of the plant  and animal kingdoms brings her full circle to her family and her childhood on that Minnesota farm.

RobinWasp nest

Hummingbird nest

Sinitasm etching

To see more of Carol’s colored pencil botanicals and etchings of plants and animals, visit  www.caroltill.com

Sunflower etching

Susan Rubin, a Colorado native, grew up amid the beauty of the Rocky Mountains, where she studied Art and Art History at Colorado College. She also studied abroad at the University of Exeter, England. Her love of the arts have included work as a chamber orchestra musician, an art teacher, a children’s product designer, interior and set designer for the Discovery Channel and HGTV and for her own design companies.

After receiving her certificate of Merit in Botanical Art and illustration at the Denver Botanic Gardens, Susan has gone on to exhibit in numerous solo and group shows, both nationally and locally, and her work is held in many private collections. Her illustrations grace many gardening books, field guides, catalogs, product labels, coloring books, and of course, the Botanical Interests seed packets. She in an instructor in the Botanical Illustration program at the Botanic Gardens in Denver, which she especially enjoys.

Susan’s studio

How did you become interested in the field of Botanical Illustration?

In a college botany class, I wanted to bump up my grade. The professor asked me to do three pen and ink botanical illustrations over a weekend. I wasn’t really clear on exactly what a botanical illustration was, so I referenced a history book and used an illumination from a medieval Book of  Hours, as a guide. My illustrations, drawn with a flair pen, won my professor over, and later showed up in a book!

I enrolled in the Botanical Illustration Program at the Denver Botanic Gardens in 1990. I received my Certificate of Merit in 1991, then continued taking classes in 1992, finishing with the honor of ” Student of the Year.”

You have been involved in the Botanical Illustration program, first as a student, and for the past several years, a member of the faculty. What classes do you teach? Any other fun workshops in the next months?

I teach all levels of Graphite and Colored Pencil, from how to put the first mark on the page, to working in the styles of the Old Masters using modern materials, such as colored pencils. I also teach classes in Light on Form, Drawing from Photos, Giclee’ Prints and Framing. ( classes at www.botanicgardens.org)  I am teaching a summer workshop with Marj Leggitt that is designed to help students refine and advance their drawing skills. ( You can find out more about this class in August by emailing susan@susanrubinstudio.com)

Suculento

As one of the illustrators for Botanical Interests, what favorite plants have you enjoyed painting for the seed packets?

My favorite packet was the Fleabane, Erigeron speciosus, for the most prosaic of reasons. This plant blooms in abundance outside my mountain cabin. On a perfect summer day, I sat outdoors and drew the plant in the fresh air. It was just a lovely moment, and one I remember when I see the packet. I also loved doing the Evening Sun Sunflower, Helianthus annus. I had the opportunity to push out from the usual composition with one big bold bloom. Fun stuff!

You have always pushed the traditional boundaries in your botanical paintings. What are some examples of  your creative approaches to this traditional art form?

I love a challenge. I am always reaching for new ways to express a view of plants. Using technology and new media combined with traditional methods, I create themes that attempt to convey a story, using anything to help push the boundaries of botanical art. I experiment often with Polaroid transfer, maps and other collage materials, and enjoy working the subject up close and edge-to-edge on the paper for an unusual point of view. Maybe finding irony without losing beauty is the challenge I find most compelling. I bounce back and forth between traditional work and experimentation, depending on the purpose of the pieces.

Papaver somniferu

flamenco

Visit susanrubinstudio.com to see more of Susan’s beautiful botanicals!

Castilleja sulphurea

Surface Tension

Marjorie Leggitt, a professional scientific illustrator, started her career at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History dissecting and illustrating Australian land snails. Freelancing fulltime since 1985, she illustrates text and trade books, professional journals, museum exhibits, and, of course, seed packets for Botanical Interests. Much of Marjorie’s work is botanically based. Illustrating both extinct and extant floras, she often “constructs” her drawings from impression fossils and herbarium specimens. http://www.science-art.com/leggitt

Marj's studio

As a scientific illustrator, what would you say was the most interesting subject you were commissioned to illustrate?

It would have to be the reconstruction of the Upper Cretaceous aquatic plant, Cobbania corrugata, that accompanied a paper for the American Journal of Botany.

Working with 3 paleobotanists, it was my job to create pen and ink illustrations of the plant then combine it with an Ornithomimus dinosaur. Having little more than written descriptions and impression fossils as reference, I call this kind of work, “the rejuvenation of 66 million year old road kill”.

Researching and developing sketches: Cobbania corrugata and Ornithomimus

 Final illustration of Cobbania corrugata and Ornithomimus

Final line art reconstruction of Cobbania corrugata

You have been teaching in the Botanical Illustration Program at the Denver Botanic Gardens for many years. What are the classes you teach, along with other workshops you offer?

I’ve taught in the Denver Botanical Art & Illustration Certificate Program for 21 years. Beginning as the pen and ink and transparent acrylic instructor, today I teach Composition, Perspective, Pen and Ink I-III, Pencil I-III, The Business of Art, and many of the elective level 3 classes. I also teach my own field sketching and painting workshops. This year is the fifth year for my POSTCARDS FROM…plein air series; Leon Loughridge (http://www.dcartpress.com/) and I will offer a 4-day watercolor landscape workshop in Crested Butte September  14-17. 

 

Marj teaching field sketching

We all have had a favorite plants that we painted for Botanical Interests, what ones comes to mind?

One of the great things about working with Botanical Interests is how supportive they are of us, the artists. When time and season allows, we are given seeds and encouraged to grow out the plants we will be illustrating. I’ve populated my garden with and drawn numerous flowers but the plants I have most enjoyed painting are the vegetables – radishes, onions, peas, edamames…– partially because of the added benefit of introducing new exotic flavors and edibles to my herbivore cuisine! Photos of these illustrations that I enjoyed drawing, as well as growing can be seen on the banner head.

Any current work you would like to talk about ?

I am especially proud of the work I’ve done for the Flora of North America project. Starting as a contributing artist I am now the lead illustrator for several volumes. Not only am I able to work in my favorite medium, pen and ink, but I have the added pleasure of working from herbarium specimens. It takes a certain peculiarity to say I most enjoy working from dry, flat specimens, but so it is. The beauty of the herbarium? It’s a perennial botanical “library”.

Illustration by Marjorie Leggitt. Crataegus schuettei .  ©Flora of North America

Annie Reiser uses her art and language background to develop education and outreach materials for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Boulder. She is a graduate of the Denver Botanic Gardens Illustration Program, and an active member of the Rocky Mountain Society of Botanical Artists. While residing in Germany, she taught English as a second language, and displayed  her  artwork and pottery in local galleries. Upon returning to Colorado, Annie taught German at the University of Colorado  and currently teaches art classes at the Denver Botanic Gardens.  Annie feeds her love for nature’s details by hiking, horseback riding, gardening, and sketching her beautiful Rocky Mountain surroundings.

How did you get interested in the field of Botanical Illustration?

My interest in illustrating botanicals was re-sparked when a friend at work saw some of my drawings and commented that the Denver Botanical Gardens had classes in this type of illustration. I was attracted to this detailed art discipline, so the program was a perfect fit. I received my certificate in 2008.

Most people are unaware of the amount of research that a botanical artist must do before a final rendering is produced. What would you consider your most challenging specimen?

My most challenging illustration was the Dudley Bluffs Bladderpod. The minuscule wildflower was part of the Rare Plant project in Colorado. Though not my favorite plant, this assignment was a difficult task. I went from start to finish on a plate that required me to research the plant and hunt it down in the herbarium as well as in its natural surroundings. After completing many field sketches of various stages of its growth, I then had to portray this tiny specimen in a piece that was pleasing to the eye but still keeping the proportions scientifically accurate.

The botanical illustrations that Annie has done for Botanical Interests, highlight her exquisite eye for designing an accurate yet interesting composition. An example of  this would be the Cucumber Straight Eight, Cucumis sativus.

What classes at the Denver Botanical Gardens are you teaching this Spring?

I will be teaching a Colored Pencil 1 class for beginners, Ukrainian batik egg painting, using the wax resist process, and a class called ” Hot Botanicals”. This class will allow the artist to venture beyond the traditional limits of botanical illustration by learning skills to create more stylized, contemporary plant images suitable for applying to fabrics and other products.