Color: Challenges and Rewards By Susan Fulton

Looking out my window at the snow covered subdued outdoor palette of winter, it is hard to believe that in a short time spring will arrive with its glorious bulbs, flowering trees, and emerging buds. There is something uplifting and joyous about being outside enjoying the riotous colors of spring. Clear bright color has long attracted observers to art—Titian was known as a “colorist” of great renown and the Impressionists, who used bright colors on a white canvas, continue to draw large crowds of observers. Modern botanical artists are pushing the boundaries of traditional plant portraits by presenting larger and more lush interpretations of plants in a wider variety of mediums. Deciding how to illustrate a plant and what colors to use are some of the biggest challenges facing us as botanical artists. Realistic color applied in a way that mimics a plant is one of the objectives, but how to achieve this in a painting?

A wonderful thing about living in New England is the annual seasonal changes that come almost like clockwork. Spring, summer, and fall bring the natural world to life. Green becomes a dominant landscape color. Garden perennials and native wildflowers begin to grow. Bulbs pop through the soil after a long-needed rest. Trees and woody shrubs blossom. Summer brings blooms of glorious colors from gardens to hills, and valleys, and even the seashore. Then comes fall, with it’s stunning foliage in every shade of red, orange and gold. The days get cooler and shorter until one can’t ignore what’s coming : winter, the season of grays and browns.

Inspiration

By Anne Brownlee-Fisher

Spotlight on: Wave Hill

In 2018 and again in 2020 Wave Hill hosted the 21st and 23rd Annual International respectively, a juried exhibition of American Society of Botanical Artists, hosting works from May thru December 6th, 2020. Described as an 'oasis in the Bronx' by the New York Times, Wave Hill is an unconventional museum comprised of a nature sanctuary, performance venues, along with indoor and outdoor art exhibition areas. According to its website, "Wave Hill is a museum without walls with a living collection of more than 4,000 varieties of trees, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous plants.' Its 28 acre site hosts formal gardens, an 8 acre woodland, greenhouses, a conservatory, and multi-use indoor spaces.

Frederick Law Olmsted: Plans and Views of Communities and Private Estates

Full of original plans and historic photographs, this beautifully illustrated collection is the first comprehensive presentation of Olmsted's design concepts for communities and private estates.

Yes, You Can Learn to Speak the Language of Plants

Latin might seem like an obscure, inscrutable language for naming plants. But it can open up the botanical world in ways you can’t imagine. (Continued…)