News

Below are news and events that I hope will be of interest to you.

If you would like any more information please Contact Ellen.

Posted: 5th December 2020

"Revisiting the taxonomy of the Neotropical Haemodoraceae"

Collaborative research between  Marco Pellegrini, (Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil), Jorge Guttiérrez (Universidad de La Habana, Cuba), Rhian Smith (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK), Stephen Hopper (University of Western Australia), and myself has resulted in the publication today of our paper titled "Revisiting the taxonomy of the Neotropical Haemodoraceae Commelinales" in the scientific journal PhytoKeys.

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Based on extensive herbarium, field, botanical illustration, and molecular phylogenetic research, five genera and eight species are recognised for the Neotropical Haemodoraceae. New taxa include Cubanicula xanthorrhizon, Schiekia silvestris, Schiekia timida and Xiphidium pontederiifolium. We present an updated identification key, descriptions and comments, maps, photo plates for all species, and high-quality illustrations for most of the recognised species and their diagnostic characters.

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Click here to view the  full manuscript  online, or download a pdf for free. These images show photos from my field trips to Cuba, Brazil and Guyana, to collect and draw the species illustrated in the paper.

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Jorge Guttiérrez and myself collecting Cubanicula xanthorrhiza, near Sandino, Pinar del Rio region of Cuba.

Posted: 7th November 2020

Drawing Haemodorum brevisepalum

Here is a drawing progression of a pair of flowers of Haemodorum brevisepalum that I completed today.

 

It shows the initial line drawing. Then I made a copy by tracing this original drawing onto tracing paper, turning the tracing paper over, to re-trace the reverse image, which is burnished onto my watercolour paper, so I can start to add colour to the flowers using aquarelle pencils, without losing the integrity of the original drawing. The last slide is the completed illustration.

 

This is my first attempt at doing botanical illustration since all my eye issues started in March 2019. I am very grateful to God that my eyes are now on the mend, and I can draw again.

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Posted: 22nd October 2020

Article from Albany Advertiser, Thursday 22nd October 2020.

Posted: 13th October 2020

Second-Sight Exhibition

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

13th-30th October 2020

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Now Open

Come and meet the artist

Sunday 18th October 2020

10 am - 3 pm

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Posted: 6th October 2020

Article from Southerly Magazine, Issue 23, October 2020

Posted: 4th October 2020

Second-Sight Exhibition

 

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

13th-30th October 2020

After two retina detachments (March 2019, July 2019) and subsequence cataracts forming, my cataract operations were cancelled a week before surgery (March/April 2020) due to COVID-19 shut-down. As my eyes deteriorated and I could do less and less, particularly my artwork, I began to feel useless. One morning I decided to ignore my predicament, and go for walks into the surrounding bush to do impressionist landscape paintings.

 

This small exhibition is the resulting paintings and the story behind them.

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I would love to see you there, but if you can't make it, and would like more information on the story behind the exhibition and paintings, please Contact Ellen