Taste This Art

Smell the flowers of Monika de Vries-Gohlke’s black locust tree or the orange-fleshed papaya.

Ms. de Vries-Gohlke, painter and print-maker, is a member of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators - Greater New York Chapter. She paints botanical subjects in mostly watercolors, but also with acrylic and oil. Her botanical etchings are sometimes hand-colored “the way they did in the olden days” in acrylic and water colors. Although botanical art is her passion, she also paints landscapes and portraits of people.

“I was always drawn to the art of the past starting in the 16th century, particularly the German artist Albrecht Durer, ” she says. “I’ve been in awe of his beautiful detailed work.” The detailed studies of plants and animals that Durer incorporated into his larger works impassioned Ms. De Vries-Gohlke. “It just took me a long time to go in the direction of botanical art.”

While her interest in florals took 20 years to develop into scientifically-correct paintings, the discipline was growing. There weren’t many artists who specialized in painting plants in scientifically-correct detail then. “We really just found each other because we were drawn to the gardens.”

She feels botanical artists have it all over photographers in the world of plant portraits, for they are able to dissect and enlarge at will better than any macro lens.

Ms. De Vries-Gohlke is a member of Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Florilegium Society, a group of artists who have dedicated themselves to painting all the plants growing at the Garden. So far she’s done seven or eight and they are now part of the permanent collection of the Garden. Most of her own art stems from plants growing there.

For beautiful holiday gifts, Ms. De Vries-Gohlke has original botanical paintings, etchings, prints and postcards for sale. The etchings are original one of a kind. “Each print is hand-inked, hand-wiped and hand-pulled off the press. Then I hand-color them.”

Monika de Vries-Gohlke
30 Prospect Place
Brooklyn, NY 11217
718- 636-0189
www.gnsi.org www.bbg.org

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published December 06, 2004