Archives for posts with tag: botanical art

A Kitchy Vase of Flowers for Mom

April 24, 2013 //

I loved making this vase which could have come straight out of a coloring book. It is simply constructed as a word document using overlapping ovals, squares and triangles with wide black borders. To erase the parts of the borders that needed to be invisible, I used more borderless circles and squares. In all, the simple little vase is probably constructed of about 10 or 12 superimposed shapes.

I filled my vase with dill and made the flower with dried petals from my Andromeda that I treated with floral preservative then dusted with shavings from blue pastel chalk. I think I’ll make another one in just black and white so the foliage will pop even more.

To see the whole collection, go to my Etsy shop.

Tags abstract art, abstract botanical, botanical, botanical art, computer graphics, floral art, floral crafts, lois lawrence, pressed botanicals, pressed flowers, stonington

Categories art, botanical, collage, Garden art, Gardening, mixed media, Uncategorized

The Challenge of Creating Backgrounds for My Botanical Art

April 14, 2013 //

I create all of my graphic backgrounds with Microsoft Word. For me, at least, this is never as easy as I expect. It’s taken me a long time to master the intricacies of adding shapes, erasing lines, modifying color, superimposing images, embedding text, and — today’s lesson — modulating color. For this swirl of Azalea leaves, I wanted a background that started light and deepened as it descended the page. I started by trying to wing it.Highlight a few lines, Click on “format” click on “shading” select a color for a stripe. Click on the same color, then click on more colors, then click on “custom”, then move the arrow…and so on. It didn’t go smoothly. Then it occurred to me to look at the luminosity numbers next to the color scale gauge. Eureka. Check out my other backgrounds in my Etsy shop.

I have other ideas that seem like they will be easy to execute, like creating a color block “vase” with nothing but lines and shapes. We’ll see. It never turns out to be as easy as I expect when I envision it at 5:OO AM.

Tags abstract art, azalea, botanical, botanical art, interior design, lois lawrence, mixed-media, my stonington garden, original art, pressed botanicals, pressed flowers

Categories art, botanical, collage, Garden art, Gardening, mixed media, multi media, Uncategorized, wall

Experimenting with Flowers in My Botanical Art

April 14, 2013 //

Last season, my botanical art was strictly about pressed foliage. Going forward, I plan to continue to exand my exploration of the design possibilities my shade garden plants present. Lately, though, I succumbed to the temptation to begin incorporating some flowers as well. I think it all started when I became impassioned about saving my blizzard-damaged Andromeda. Following the advice of a master gardener, we waited until Spring to see if our listing tree would upright itself naturally. That didn’t happen, so we’ve moved to plan B — removing about 1/3 of the plant to lighten the load and make it possible for us to force the tree into an upright position. In the midst of all of this our Andromeda went on as if nothing had happened. By the time we pruned, we were removing brances laden with snowy clusters in full bloom as well as some still in bud stages. I chose a sampling to process in order to make my latest pressed botanical.

Tags abstract art, botanical, botanical art, collage, framed art, lois lawrence, mixed-media, my stonington garden, original art, pressed botanicals, pressed flowers, pressing botanicals

Categories art, botanical, collage, Garden art, Gardening, mixed media, multi media, wall

Pretty Little Ivy and Winter Azalea

April 9, 2013 //

I had, and still have a small cache of ready graphics just waiting to be paired with small pressed botanicals. Today, I sorted much of it out. I left the tiny ivy in its natural state and added some color to my azalia in order to compliment the backgrounds. Everything in the garden is starting to come to life so I guess I’m feeling pressure to finish the business of the last growing season.

Sadly, our URI horticultural expert was overly optimistic in thinking our Andromeda might spring back upright after it was bent over by a blizzard so we’ve moved on to plan B which was a drastic pruning designed to lighten the plant by a ton or so. I have so many healthy branches I’m hoping neighbors will take cuttings to root or just to display. That will leave plenty for me to press.

Tags abstract, azalea, botanical, botanical art, colorful, etsy, eunomyus, garden gifts, interior design, mixed-media, my stonington garden

Categories art, botanical, collage, Garden art, Gardening, mixed media, multi media, Uncategorized, wall

My Garden Art – Can You Organize the Sweetness out of Roses? I think Not!

April 3, 2013 //

As I said in my last post, I’m thinking of incorporating flowers into my botanical art for the first time. There’s so much beauty in foliage that I never saw the need, but I couldn’t resist using these roses this week.

So yesterday I went in one direction and today in another with a different look but an equally nostalgic result. Next we’ll go to a black background and see what feels different. Manwhile, my fallen but not uprooted Andromeda is in full bloom so I have some drupes of flowers in process. They should be ready soon.

Tags botanical art, Dried flowers, ferns, floral art, floral craft, lois lawrence, mystic ct, pressed ferns, stonington garden

Categories art, botanical, collage, Garden art, Gardening, mixed media, multi media, Uncategorized, wall

The Romance of Roses

April 1, 2013 //

I always use my own plants to make my botanical art — well, almost always. I received these lovely little roses as a hostess gift a few weeks ago. Rather than waiting for them to fade, I dried some in silica gel and arranged them in a lovely little vase. I disassembled the rest and pressed them. When the time came to design a background for the first of them, I couldn’t resist my natural sentimentality. It is spring. These are roses. Love is in the air. Why not? Since I tend to go back and forth between my traditional and modern compositions the next rose collage you see may not be as sweet but it will still be as rosy. Did I really write that?

Anyway, you can find this and dozens more in my Etsy shop.

Tags botanical art, floral crafts, gardening, lois lawrence, natural art, original art, pressed botanicals, pressed florals, pressed flowers, roses, stonington garden

Categories art, botanical, collage, Garden art, Gardening, mixed media, multi media, Uncategorized, wall

The Last Blizzard- Surviving Fern of 2012?

March 27, 2013 //

I finally got a chance to create a graphic for the vibrant fern I found still growing in my Stonington Garden. I’ve lost count of the number of snowstorms we’ve had this year, but the fact that this was still plump and green in March — and with a double tip to boot — was quite a happy surprise. I kept it simple with a little miniature ivy ‘bow’ at the base and a faux mat fashioned with graphics alone. (The outer mat is real of course)

Tags botanical art, drying flower, floral art, foliage, lois lawrence, my stonington garden, original art, plants, preserving flowers, pressed botanicals, pressing botanicals, shade garden, stonington connecticut

Categories Uncategorized

A Companion Piece for my Fern Forest

March 26, 2013 //

I put my botanicals into three general categories — abstract, representational, and traditional. I’ve spent a lot of time on the first two lately. Time to move on to some more traditional pieces — with a twist I hope.

Tags abstract art, botanical art, collage, etsy, ferns, framed art, garden gifts, garden. gardening, graphic art, interior design, mixed-media, scrapbooking, stonington

Categories art, botanical, collage, Garden art, Gardening, mixed media, Uncategorized

Fern Forest By Night

March 25, 2013 //

Just when I thought my supply of pressed ferns from last year’s garden was finally depleted, I was walking the perimeter of my little property and found these brave winter survivors hiding under a hydragea. They were thriving there and none the worse for wear despite all the snow that fell in Stonington this winter. I could hardly wait the two weeks it took to get them prepared for a botanical collage. I have more waiting in the wings so watch for more in the coming days. In order to enhance their visibility against the ‘night’ sky, I mounted three of them with the lighter back of the frond showing. To see more of this growing body of pressed botanical work, click here.

Tags botanical art, collage, etsy, ferns, floral art, floral crafts, flower crafts, garden gifts, gardening, graphic art, horticulture, interior design, lois lawrence, mixed-media, my stonington garden, pressed botanicals, stonington connecticut, stonington ct

Categories art, botanical, collage, mixed media, multi media, wall

Fern Forest by Night

March 25, 2013 //

Just when I thought the supply of pressed ferns from last year’s garden had been depleted, I was walking the perimiter of my (1/4 acre) property and found these great green ferns which had actually thrived all winter, snow and all. They were growing under my hydrangea where I never remember seeing ferns in the past. I could hardly wait to process them and get to work. Here is the first result. I have one double-headed one that will eventually make it into a larger composition. You can see I used the lighter back side of three of the fronds better to show up against the night sky. I’ve already completed the graphic for a companion piece that will have a wintery aspect. Maybe tomorrow. See the rest of this growing collection here.

Tags affordable original art, art on etsy, botanical art, crafting with plants, ferns, flower craft, framed botanicals, garden art. framed art, mixed media art, mixed-media, nature art, pressed botanicals, pressing botanicals, pressing flowers

Categories art, botanical, collage, mixed media, multi media, Uncategorized, wall