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.