COMPASS ROSE BOTANICALS

The tradition of botanical illustration was the perfect blending of science and art.

 As mentioned yesterday, one of the muses for our Compass Rose Collection was a botanical illustrator and photographer.  When doing research I found that women played a major role in the field of botanical drawing, and that the majority of British Botanical magazines were illustrated primarily by women.

The morning glory happens to be my favorite flower.  Did you know that many people actually consider this beautiful flower a weed?  They really don't know what they're missing.

 "The primary goal of the botanical illustration is not art, but scientific accuracy.  It must portray a plant with the precision and level of detail for it to be recognised and distinguished from other species."  University of Delaware Special Collections exhibit

Have you seen a copy of The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady?  Again, a huge inspiration for compass rose.  I imagined our heroine would have had handwriting this beautiful.

 Deliberate illustrations of plants have been found as far back as ancient Egypt.

Of all the botanical drawings I found, this is my favorite.  It's by Australian painter Margaret Stones, whose work is frequently exhibited in art galleries around the world.

 Obviously, the advent of the digital world means a loss of relevance of traditional watercolor botanical illustrations to science.  Thankfully the art world has always embraced the botanical artist.

The following are photographs I have taken over the years of my favorite subject.....the flower.  Are we seeing a trend here?


No, I didn't photoshop this, in fact I don't even have photoshop.  Are you beginning to appreciate the magic of morning glorys?




An azalea after the rain.




A dogwood petal that fell onto the brick walk.  The moisture really shows off the veining of the petal.





It thrills me to no end whenever I am able to capture a bug or a bee.



Did you know that red geraniums are a sign of a good witch?




Obviously, a very good day!



The following are two examples I found to illustrate how classic botanical prints are still relevant today, adorable!

Have a beautiful day.
yancey