Sprecher
Beschreibung
I am a retired plant scientist with a strong personal interest in paleobotany and the evolution of plants. I want to contribute to the understanding of how ancient plants lived by using digital media and oil paintings to set life restorations of fossil taxa within realistic interpretations of deep time landscapes. My artwork is deliberately designed to be attractive to the non-specialist and encourage a greater interest in the evolution and importance of plants.
Illustrations of ancient environments normally focus on the fauna and when plants are represented then it is typically the odd cycad or a giant clubmoss. I try to produce more ‘realistic’ interpretations of the plants set within ancient landscapes. I work with paleobotany colleagues in the UK and elsewhere to select the best and most recent life restorations of fossil plant taxa. I then set these restorations within landscapes based, where appropriate, on our understanding of modern ecosystems. My paleoart makes use of both digital and traditional media, including digital print and cut technology, modelling in clay and 3D computer modelling and printing. I then bring the individual plants together in landscapes using digital drawing, photographic composites and large- scale oil paintings.