These days my creative work is divided between Botanical Portraits and the Botanical Journal.
Drawing portraits of plants is mostly about beauty and art. Using old masters techniques and translating them into what I think I can call already my own handwriting, I try to capture the essence, the graceful movement, the perfection I see in plants. It’s a work of love.
The botanical journal is more about satisfying my curiosity, discovering and learning about the botanical world, the passing of the seasons, being present. What can I see if I look at this seedpod with a magnifying glass or what will I discover if I cut this fruit in half? What if I count and measure these distances, what pattern will I identify? With every new subject, I also explore drawing various forms and textures, practice with different painting mediums, mainly watercolor, and I train the eye in imagining complex compositions.

This year I’ve illustrated more than 500 plants, so I can definitely call it a year of discovery. That can be done, it seems, even when you are isolated, having as a playground just a small backyard and a patch of forest. But of course, anyone who has read a little art history knows that, although difficult, isolation is the perfect environment for the creative process. The idea is that the seclusion does not last too long.
I hope that next year will be just as prolific, but also to start to return to normal and to get to know each other in person, not only online. I have felt over this demanding year your generous support, continuous friendship and warmth, it really meant a lot to me and would like to meet some of you face to face, not just online!
May the year 2021 bring you joy, peace and inspiration!
Happy New Year!