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 Nature is a perfectionist when it comes to the arrangement of color and pattern. In my work, I attempt to capture nature's perfection in meticulously detailed botanical drawings and paintings. By examining plants under a microscope, the intricacies of their structure and design are revealed to me on a most personal level. I know that neither my own work, nor anyone else's, could ever fully render the wondrous beauty of the most humble flower which fills me with awe (in the true meaning of the word). This certainly helps to put our place on earth in the proper perspective.
Riverside Park has been my neighborhood Park for over 25 years has been a source of inspiration in my work. Initially I painted landscapes in the Park, but for the past eight years I have focused exclusively on botanical illustration and have found tremendous variety and beauty at every turn in the Park.
My goal is to attempt to communicate my personal experience in a work of art so that others can see as I do the uncommon beauty of a common plant.
About the Artist
Wendy Hollender is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design and holds a certificate of botanical illustration from the New York Botanical Garden. She teaches Botanical Illustration at the New York Botanical Garden, Cooper Union and in workshops across the United States. Actively involved in exhibitions of her work, she was recently featured in a solo exhibition at the Horticultural Society of New York and participated in "Focus on Nature" at the New York State Museum. In 2005 her work was included in "Botanical Treasures of the Northeastern Seaboard" at the South Shore Art center in Cohasset, Massachusetts. She is also part of the GNSI - GNY traveling exhibition called "Alive in New York: A Growing Invasion".
The artist became intrigued with the complex beauty of plants when she designed textiles for more than 20 years for clients such as Wedgwood China and Westpoint Stevens. She has also painted the walls of New York City's Cesca restaurant on 166 West 75th Street with ancient frescos, vegetables and architectural details of Italy. In May of 2004 she painted botanical frescos at a villa in Tuscany, Italy called Villa Il Sogno.
She lives in New York City and continues inviting commissions and working on her botanical drawings. Riverside Park Fund recently published their 2006 calendar with her illustrations. Her website is www.whartdesign.com.
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