Name: Artist Christine Drake Florilegium: Observation & Painting to Understand a Local Ecosystem
Start: 2020-05-01T00:00:00-04:00
End: 2020-06-21T23:59:59-04:00

Christine Drake’s Florilegium
Observation and Painting to Understand a Local Ecosystem

Christine Drake uses the visual arts to explore the interaction between human beings and the natural world. She has been a curious gardener since 1974 and continues to study the environments around her. After 20 years as a painter/printmaker, she was inspired to try botanical illustration. She received a certificate in botanical illustration from Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden where she teaches. Christine Drake has a master’s degree in studio art from New York University. Her work has been exhibited at museums and galleries across the US and overseas. Collections include the Museum of Modern Art’s Artist File Archive in New York and the Beijing Natural Culture Center in China.

Christine Drake Artist Statement:

The portfolio, Drake’s Florilegium, I submitted to earn a certificate in botanical illustration from Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Va., exemplifies the wildflowers found on the 20-acre property in the Shenandoah Valley my husband and I call home. We live in a remarkable ecology—the web of plants and animals a constant source of fascination. Symbiotic relationships help each partner survive and grow. The wildflower is a residence, a source of food, and protection from predators. In return an insect pollinates, a spider’s web strengthens, and a bird eats insects.

Twelve paintings from Drake’s Florilegium will be exhibited at The Lora Robins Library at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in May and June 2020.

Library hours:
Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Christine Drake’s Florilegium Observation and Painting to Understand a Local Ecosystem

Event Details

Christine Drake Artist Statement:

Christine Drake’s Florilegium
Observation and Painting to Understand a Local Ecosystem