Jo Ewing is the featured Botanical Artist for August.
Jo says:
"My first five years were spent by the sea on the East Coast of the North Island before we moved to Lake Taupo. My parents instilled in me their great love for the natural world in all its forms and they also encouraged my creative bent. I studied at the Wellington Design School after which I worked for a number of years in the landscape design field. On a trip to the UK in 1987, a short course in Botanical Illustration set me off in a new direction. I was competent using pencil but taught myself how to handle watercolour with lots of practice. I found my design training invaluable for composing a work on the page and for presentation.
My aim as a Botanical Artist has been to serve both art and science - to study the subject and ensure botanical accuracy while also capturing the essence, the 'spirit', of the plant on the page. I wish to share with the viewer the endless, ephemeral beauty of plants and hopefully help foster an application of the minutiae of the natural world. I see myself becoming more involved in painting for conservation to help encourage people to treasure and save our unique and delicate natural environment and species."
