September 29- December 4, 2015
FLORA is a group of Contemporary Botanical Artists. Flora was formed by local artists from Long Island who met while studying under the mentoring of world renowned botanical artist, Rose Pellicano in May of 2005. As a group, they have exhibited their botanical artwork at many venues on Long Island. Individual members have also participated in juried shows in New York City, Long island, Pennsylvania and other locations.
Their artwork can be rendered in various media such as watercolor, ink, colored pencil, graphite and silverpoint among others. The members of FLORA are also members of the American Society of Botanical Artists, founded by Diane Boucher in 1994 which has been instrumental in making the public aware of the tradition of botanical painting and how the beauty of this art form inspired the conservation of plants around the world. The ASBA has grown from 200 to 1300 individual members and from 5 to 20 institutional members around the world.
“Botanical Art and illustration is a living art form which has had a long tradition in both the arts and sciences and is enjoying resurgence in popularity with artists and collectors. There is scientific accuracy in color, scale and in the details of the plant structure while allowing the artist to portray it in an aesthetically pleasing way. Drawings and paintings of plants have been found thousands of years ago in the earliest civilizations and in ancient manuscripts. The most practical uses were for identifying plants for their medicinal properties as was done in the Middle Ages when the collections of herbals became valuable. During the ages of discovery and exploration, European explorers returned from their voyages with thousands of plant and seed samples. Most expeditions took along artists to record plants in their natural habitats which would not have survived their long voyages.
Botanical Art is timeless and global. It has documented horticultural materials and plants throughout the ages. This art form allows us to leave behind a documented record of the plants of our time for future generations.”
The American Society of Botanical Artists
Members of FLORA are:
Marcia Galletti
Mary Beth Hansen
Mary Ann Kane
Patricia Luppino
Irene Messina
D. Record
Bruna Schuss
Masako Stampf
Susan Strauss