KATHARINE AMIES

Katharine's vision is to express the intricate nature of plants showing that even humble vegetables are masterpieces of design and beauty. Her work seeks to capture the intimate essence of plants in a manner that a photograph, in spite of its detail, fails to convey. Katharine trained at the Chelsea Physic Garden following on from the forefathers of botanical art whose purpose had originally been to accurately document with precision the plants discovered in voyages of exploration into the new world. Ships returned up the Thames to the quayside at the Physic garden with specimens to be nurtured, cultivated and painted. This painting tradition developed as wealthy patrons having built exotic gardens with newly discovered plants wanted to have them painted in great books or "Flora Legia" - Botanical Art had arrived. There has been a renaissance of the art form in recent years throughout the world encouraged by such bodies as the Hunt Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh who have a triennial exhibition of the finest contemporary botanical art from around the world. Katharine's "Turnip" found a place in their most recent touring exhibition and the painting has now also been acquired by the Institute for their permanent collection - the largest and finest in existence. We hope you enjoy the following pages and please do get in touch with Katharine if you would like to commission her.