dear ada

irene suchocki

I'm really liking the colors and blurry warmth of these photographs by irene suchocki. Moody and veiled they have a nostalgic reverence about them that happily steers clear of preciousness. Plus they remind me that summer is coming (supposedly) and I'm always up for a little hope expressed beautifully!

kareem iliya.

I love the simplicity and elegance of these illustrations by kareem iliya. Their skillful mastery of the watercolor medium, fresh compositions and amazing color make the heart skip a beat or two. I'm of course loving these botanical studies especially but the rest of his mostly fashion focused portfolio is a sight to behold in it's own right. Fabulous definitely abounds here!

pamela dimauro.

I love these etching and aquatint prints from pamela dimauro. Their line work and the soft burnished feel are so indicative of this wonderful medium. The drawing skill it takes to create such beautiful depictions of flowers and plant forms is remarkable, especially using traditional printmaking techniques. And the warm, rich color palettes are as lovely as the already beautiful compositions. I love, love, love these.

Thanks to cherry coloured for the original happy link!

benjamin long.

I'm really liking these paintings by benjamin long.  Rich and colorful, layered and patterned the story they tell is at once hidden and revealed.  And of course I love the botanical subject matter, realistic and not, all at the same time.  There's a great energy derived from all these tensions, bright, bouyant and strong.  Lovely, lovely indeed.

ngoc minh ngo.

I'm such a sucker for a beautiful rose so not surprisingly I'm also a sucker for a beautiful photograph of a rose. Like these stunning images taken by photographer ngoc minh ngo. They are perfection pure and simple. It's no easy feat to capture the image of a flower in it's natural garden surroundings. There's always something odd in the background or the lighting is wrong or the wind blows just at the moment you take the picture. So the amazing photograph above impresses both technically and aesthetically. And then the one below, of a bouquet, freshly cut and a part of the clutter of everyday life captures the sentimental and pleasing reason one grows roses in the first place. I mean come on, is there anything more lovely than that?

PS. I seem to have lost who I found this lovely link through so apologies to the original source.
Postscript: Mystery solved, original link via the lovely all things bright and beautiful.

kim carney.

I had to catch my breath when I saw these stunning photographs of a magnolia blossom from kim carney. I love her work, her particular viewpoint on flowers and photography. Crisp and strong and reverential, her photographs never cease to delight and surprise. As in the case of these beauties. Oh my, the color, the clarity, the compositions all make my heart sing. Absolutely lovely, indeed!

cherry blossoms in brooklyn.

This time lapse video of the cherry blossoms at the brooklyn botanical garden just makes happy, pure and simple. Life is good.

dirk mueggenburg.

Wow are these botanical photographs on black by dirk mueggenburg ever magnificent. Isolated from their natural surroundings these plants become sculptures, stunning forms, works of art. Which of course they are regardless of the setting. But presented this way, we're that much more certain of the fact. Love!

albina macphail.

I'm really liking these lovely paintings by albina mcphail. Botanical forms, painted and drawn, veiled in some pieces, presented straightforwardly in others. I'd love to see a wall of 6 or 9 of these pieces, happily talking to each other. And how about that color palette, relatively narrow in scope but so rich and fresh nonetheless. Good morning spring!

real botanical love.

I'm a total sucker for botanical formatting. I mean the real stuff, tucked away in some some obscure vault or drawer in some ancient museum. I know that this is science but it makes my heart skip a beat from a artistic composition point of view. I love the real plant material, dried and fragile, stuck to the aging paper with paper tape. And how about the typed text that details the pertinent information, juxtaposed with the letter pressed text and then of course the lovely, fluid hand written information? These are as breathtaking as any collage or assemblage as far as I'm concerned. I could just go on and on but I thankfully won't. If you want to see more of these particular beauties go here. Oh, be still my heart!