Rain in an Oak Forest by Ivan Shishkin, 1891 Trees hold a special power over the human psyche, perhaps because we identify with their individuality and perhaps because, like us, they link earth to the heavens, reaching skyward even as they root to the ground. Our respect for the knowledge and sublimity of trees invests …
Ten new engaging plant inspired photographic artworks from artists via Saatchi Art. Stefanie Schneider, Palm Trees at Wilcox, 2015 Pedro Abreu, Blue skies with white clouds, 2015 Ysabel LeMay, Meet Me There, 2015 Nadia Attura, Cactus bloom, 2015 Ogi Soedja, Beach 2, 2015 Ula Wiznerowicz, From the series “Behind The Curtain”, 2015 Karen Iglehart, Green …
Daffodils are out in London. Let’s celebrate. Daffodils are the common name for plants in the genus Narcissus in the amaryllis (Amaryllidaceae) family. These two names are often used interchangeably, but in the UK we usually use daffodil to mean the completely yellow variety with the extended trumpet flower head. If you want to buy …
Artwork by Ingrid Cole who recently moved to the steampunk town of Oamaru.
Seeing a painting first-hand is the best, but if you don’t have that luxury, online viewing is a wonderful alternative. With so many museums and galleries digitising old artworks over the last fifteen or so years, the masses are being exposed to images of well-known art on an unprecedented scale. Public institutions benefit, because digital attachment …
Do you know the difference between hay and straw? Or what species are used to create both? Have you wondered how haystacks are made, or know that if hay is not dried properly it can spontaneously combust? Is a hay meadow the same as a grassland meadow? Did you know that when grassland is improved …
I am a large format film photographer combining the use of 4×5″ transparency film with botanical specimen. I use a 1960’s Tachihara camera made of cherry wood. The camera, much like my collection of plants, is all deliberate, a slow and contemplative process, but in the end a rewarding and tangible result. I am creating …
A garden can help with relaxation and inner peace, but if you don’t have a garden to hand, or the garden you do have is too cold and wet right now, then a good alternative is a garden to colour-in. The book Secret Garden by Johanna Basford has sold over a million copies worldwide and …
Italian painter Nicola Simbari (1927-2012) translated the energy, vitality and brilliance of plants onto canvas with a palette knife. Grasses, trees, bouquets, fruit – plants as the main subject or as decorative appendage to equally colourful women or landscapes – both draw the eye and steal the show. These artworks are a tonic for a …
Stevie Wonder became blind just after birth, so he never saw a plant or a flower, yet in 1979 he recorded Journey Through “The Secret Life of Plants”, a whole album that explored human connection to them. The subject of that connection was not just your average, everyday relations with plants, but instead the idea …