Watercolor Habitats

Kathie K. Miranda, president of the Greater New York Chapter of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators, works predominantly in watercolor, and occasionally in silver point. Some paintings are done on the pebbled coquille board, such as “American Holly," to which she added colored pencil that deposits color on the “hills."¯ It's supplemented with pastel dust. “When you see it, it's very sparkly and very rich in color and depth."

“Flower of an Hour" is just that. It grew in three places in her yard, which enabled her to watch it for hours and hours.

“Where I am it's very rural with a lot of farms, abandoned fields and roadsides - a wide range of habitats. I walk all the time through the seasons. I decided to illustrate what I saw. I go around and photograph, collect and press, make field notes. Right now I have about 75 plants in various stages that I'm working on."¯

All the plants she could be interested in are right under her nose. "There's so much within a three-mile radius around my home."¯ But if she doesn't have it growing in her Shelton, Connecticut, yard or nearby farm field, one of the 82 artists in the New York chapter does. “We're always going through each other's gardens."

Ms. Miranda has been interested in natural science topics ever since she was a little kid. She finally took a certificate program on botanical illustration at New York Botanical Garden. In working with silver point, the friction of a silver rod on paper causes the silver to be deposited on the paper. Over time, oxygen tarnishes the silver to a “nice, warm brown glow. It's got a beautiful mellow tone to it."¯

Ms. Miranda has been involved with the Guild for eight years now. The Guild often gets calls for entries with a theme from arboretums and other venues. Artists in the Guild illustrate a wide range of things, so if a venue is interested in a particular topic, they can do it. “The Connecticut show on Invasives created such interest, people kept asking for the show."¯

She has original works, prints and groups of cards for sale.

Kathie Miranda
203-268-5101 Kathie1@snet.net
www.gnsi.org
www.science-art.com/

All images courtesy Kathie Miranda.

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published December 06, 2004