DANA CROMIE

Dianthus superbus

Dana just sent me this scan of his finished painting. The colour accuracy on my camera isn't the same as his scanner... the imperfections of technology... but the painting is wonderful. I'm going to try and get a photo of it before it gets framed to try and capture more of the details in the centre of the flower and the enlarged details at the centre of the painting.

If you're going to the Eastside Culture Crawl you can catch more of Dana's work including a series of hand-coloured etchings. Check Dana's website for details since he falls just short of the Crawl map.

DANA CROMIE

Dianthus superbus

Dana's most recent work-in-progress... deep, deep colour... exquisite detail... glowing with promise...

DANA CROMIE

Clematis - betty corning

Dana spent a long time painting this delicate flower. Layers of very small brushstrokes and translucent washes came together to create this papery beauty. 

Dana said, "I never thought I'd have the patience to do this!" I hear this more and more from the painters that persist and get more refined in their techniques to achieve the likenesses they're after. It always makes me smile.

Here's the whole sweeping, graceful composition.

MARY FROST

Iris

Mary's iris bloomed again this year, and so did this painting of the two bookend stages of the life cycle.

Mary's painting skills have progressed marvelously these past 12 months, and with her new found love of the #000 brush, so has her ability to render the fine, papery details of this specimen.

This is the beginning of a painting of the emerging flower from the image above.

Iris last about 3 days from start to finish. The morning after painting this bloom the flower was crumpled and on it's way out of this world. I can't wait until next year...

Orchid

This highly detailed and fully rendered drawing on hot-pressed paper took Mary about 14 weeks of careful work to realize. The result was worth the effort and patience, even if my photo doesn't do it justice. She succeeded in her goal of wanting to show the flowers in all their different angles, creating a wonderful sense of perspective and drama.

Mary Frost was recently accepted into the American Society of Botanical Artists. She was interviewed last week for the September issue of their members' magazine. Congratulations Mary!

Colleague Dana Cromie is also a member of the ASBA. You can view examples of both of their works on the ASBA website, and I'll post the article when it comes out.

DANA 

Fuchsia regia

Dana did this painting in my first level class at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. 
A dedicated amateur botanist and volunteer at the UBC Botanical Garden, Dana spends as much time as he can learning his craft. You can find out more about Dana and view his work at danacromie.ca


Fritillaria severtzovii

This painting was done this spring under a fair amount of duresse.

Dana has a wonderful collection of delicate plants that don't seem to enjoy being hauled into a warm room to be painted. This plant quickly faded so he had to rely on photographs and colour samples taken while the plant was still fresh. It's very hard to paint this way and Dana did an admirable job under such stressful circumstances. It's hard to fathom what the great plant hunter/painters had to contend with in the 17th century.

Cyclamen pseudoibericum

This cyclamen was so delicate and transparent it almost wasn't there. Dana did a wonderful job of expressing the character of this plant, all legs and wings, like a flock of elegant long-legged birds in a shallow pool. I look forward to seeing what he brings back from his plant-hunting/painting trip to the mountains along the Turkish and Georgian border.

(detail)