The Gallery

Lilac by Pierre-Joseph Redoute' 1759-1840

After posting Rachel's wonderful drawing of her bright red poppy on Saturday, I thought about how most of us spend a great deal of our childhood practicing the art of "botanical illustration" and then, for some reason at a certain age, give it up. Remember all those drawings of trees, grass and big, bright-faced daisies you did as a kid? What better way to bring us closer to nature and teach us the intricacies of the plant world!  I seem to be reverting to childhood in more ways than one these days and so I am now vowing to dust off my watercolors, buy a new brush or two, and have at it once again!  Care to join me?

Luckily for us, one person who never gave up on the fine art of botanical illustration was Pierre-Joseph Redoute'.  Although Redoute' was famous for his detailed illustrations of roses, I chose his illustration of a lilac as an example of his work. Lilacs are one of my favorite spring flowers and we try to extend their season as long as possible here at Juniper Hill as you'll see in an upcoming post. For more detail on Pierre-Joseph Redoute', please read on.