ArtistJill Parisi
Botanical Illustrations III
Date2012
MediumHand-colored lithograph
DimensionsPaper Size: 16 1/2 × 11 1/2 in. (41.9 × 29.2 cm)
Framed Size: 20 3/4 × 41 in. (52.7 × 104.1 cm)
Credit LineDC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Art Bank Collection
Object numberDCCAH2015.037.3
ClassificationsPrints
Locations
- Committee on Public Works and Operations (1350 Penn Ave NW, 112)
DescriptionThis piece was inspired by various flora and fauna. It is a botanical study of the world unknown to us, a colorful flight of fancy that pays homage to botanical illustrations from history.
The image was drawn on the smooth yet toothy surface of a ball-grained aluminum lithographic plate with lithographic pencils sharpened to a fine point and then toner washes were applied to create the delicately mottled effects of the outer “leaves”. After the drawing was processed it was inked and printed on very fine tissue weight handmade gampi paper from Japan, twelve grams to be exact. Hand-color was carefully applied to the reverse side of the paper, so the effect on the printed surface appears softly glowing.
This image took shape from my reflections of various botanical species, including poppies, wild raspberries, horsetail, hickories and the gills of mushrooms. The small rounded shaded aspects on the leaves mimic the spots of zoological species, or of various leaves molding, beautiful in their decay as they transition to their next phase of being, or as they complete their cycle and allow another plant to come to life.
