The green irony

The green irony

Isn’t it ironic that the prevalent colour in the plant world is also the toughest for many botanical artists to capture accurately in their paintings? As more and more artists rely on digital devices nowadays, this struggle for a natural-looking interpretation of...
Botanical art colours and controversy

Botanical art colours and controversy

Matching colours accurately is a key component of botanical art, so why is it controversial? For decades I’ve taught accurate colour matching, first in an industrial setting to the staff of printing companies and, more recently in the past almost twenty years,...
Resurrecting a pre-pandemic 2019 new year message.

Resurrecting a pre-pandemic 2019 new year message.

A New Year message I was recently reminded of an email I sent as a New Year message for botanical artists in 2019. The person who mentioned it said that she had come across it in her files and found it to be as inspiring now as it was then. This made me dig into my...
Karen Hooper explores composition concepts with Schöner aus Herrnhut

Karen Hooper explores composition concepts with Schöner aus Herrnhut

Schöner aus Herrnhut recently helped Karen Hooper explore composition in botanical art. Schöner aus Herrnhut is a German heirloom apple dating back to 1880. Apparently, someone found a single seedling in the Saxony town of Herrnhut. So explains former ER doctor and...
Why the source of the plant’s colour matters

Why the source of the plant’s colour matters

Different colour interpretations. The source of the plant’s colour matters. There are many reasons why contemporary botanical artists like me do not paint from digital images or photographs. We paint from live specimens. We respect the traditions and the history...