a recent fascination with botanical illustrations

One of the folks I follow on Twitter has an annual Bracket of Disparate things that features random ideas, concepts and other miscellania in a bracket using the polling function on Twitter.

A couple of weekends back, L and I perused Powell’s for a while, as I hunted for a good book of botanical illustrations – I was looking just as much for aesthetic and form as I was for an introductory collection to the art. Managed to find this delightful volume, which I have been perusing with patience and care over the last few weeks. It seems, so far, like the focus of this book is general plant families, so after I finish it I will likely seek a collection that focuses on the Pacific Northwest.

In my browsing at Powell’s, it seemed like most books of botanical illustrations in the art section are more instructional – collections may exist shelved by artist, but that would take more browsing (or knowing who the famous botanical illustrators are).

The section of Powell’s I found this book in was more focused on plant and wildlife identification. The section included some volumes on identification, which also seems like a useful avenue to pursue.

I have long imagined future-me taking up gardening and birdwatching – without much guidance, I have self-selected into exploring these things on my own terms. It feels almost relaxing to explore an art form that is based on the natural and existing rather than the imagined.

I have a handful of tabs open with links to explore on botanical illustrations – even in my google searches, it appears that most of the botanical illustration information is based around creating such, rather than viewing such. Open tabs include the Oregon Botanical Artists, word and the recommended books of the American Society of Botanical Artists (who, as a sidenote, seem to have a monthly journel).

What are some new curiosities you have been exploring? Or is botanical illustration interesting to you? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter.