The intricate study of plants and the illustrations botanists have used for centuries to identify different genera and species has fascinated me since I was a child when I remember copying drawings from my mother’s gardening books. As a young adult I began collecting old hand coloured lithographs and was fascinated by the detail and accuracy of colour, form and texture the artists employed.
Once I began studying botanic art some years ago this art form b my over-riding passion, interest and obsession. I now see the world in a completely different way. Varying degrees of blue in every leaf, pinks in the wings of insects, white petals can have yellow, blue, pink within them and nothing is truly black. Light reflects from where I used to see only colour.
I feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to work in such a wonderful art form and one that explores the detail and beauty of the natural world that surrounds us.
Craig Lidgerwood