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.