Alexander (Sasha) Viazmensky – “The Mushroom Man”

Alexander (Sasha) Viazmensky – “The Mushroom Man”

It was at an exhibition in 1998 at London’s Tryon Gallery that I first saw Alexander (Sasha) Viazmensky’s mushroom paintings. Aside from the overall quality of the renderings, two things struck me—the less-than-perfect specimens and the seemingly random placement of...
Amanita muscaria

Amanita muscaria

It’s a question that could be mistaken for the beginning of a bad joke . . .  What do an Australian botanical artist, a Welsh botanical artist, a Russian botanical artist, an American botanical artist, and a Canadian botanical artist have in common? The answer is,...
Descriptive geometry in botanical art

Descriptive geometry in botanical art

Giovanni Cera’s geometric drawing of a quince bud. Giovanni Cera of Florence is a retired architect and botanical artist who sometimes goes by the English moniker he has adopted, Johnny Wax—a direct translation of his Italian name. I first made contact with...
A fascination for fungi

A fascination for fungi

The banner on the land-on page of my botanical art educational website is my painting of Armillaria mushrooms. Placing it there was a conscious decision and, inevitably, has prompted questions. “Are you aware, Margaret, that fungi are not classified as plants?” and...
Green categories — do you have all five in your world?

Green categories — do you have all five in your world?

  I delight in sharing special botanical art pieces by special botanical artists as a source of inspiration and pleasure. On this occasion the spotlight is on coloured pencil artist, Christiane Fashek of New York. The release of my two latest e-booklets, Going...