Natalia Alatortseva
In artworks I want to precisely convey the features and details, I want the drawing to reflect a living plant. As a botanist, I have been studying some plants’ ontogeny and population structure. Certain plant's morphology can tell a story of its life and surrounding and it is my interest to see and tell such stories. My interest in plants covers different groups of them, mostly biologically unusual or plants which have impressed me. Mostly I draw wild species at different nature conditions or botanical gardens.
The portraits of plants are like portals to the world where they are alive even in winter, they are soothing and endless; one tree can be a reflection of the whole world and whole life. Art Nouveau was a period of impressive attention and reforming of plant character and now it is interesting for me to dive into it and to seek its forms in my beloved plants.
The traditional way of using white paper and various colouring agents - watercolour, ink, graphite, their lightness and mobility seems to me more corresponding to plants nature than other materials.