Museum’s Nature Art Gallery depicts
the ephemeral beauty of botanical watercolors

March 25, 2003
For Immediate Release
For arts editors
Contacts: Karen Kemp (919) 733-7450, ext. 304 or Marjorie Terry (919) 733-7450, ext. 358

(RALEIGH)—The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences features the watercolors of botanical artist Juliet Kirby, April 4 through May 11, in the Museum’s Nature Art Gallery. An opening reception will take place April 4 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Her carefully detailed paintings and pen and ink drawings capture the fleeting beauty of living flowering plants. “Drawing a flower that tracks the sun—opens and closes and even grows as you watch—creates a tension and excitement which comes through on the paper,” said Kirby.

Kirby has exhibited at the International Juried Botanical Art Exhibition of the Horticultural Society of New York, the Royal Horticultural Society of England, the New York State Museum in Albany and the ASBA “Flora 2000” Show at Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania. In spring 2001, her watercolors were the subject of a one-woman show at New Jersey’s Frelinghuysen Arboretum. The exhibit traveled to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Va. Kirby organized and directed the Eastern Orchids Congress’ 2000 Art Show in Williamsburg, Va.

“Watercolor lends itself to the depiction of light moving petals and yet can be heavily layered to depict the opacity of leaves. Botanical drawing and painting takes many hours and many subtle washes, but the final result should be fully alive, growing and ready to pick off the page.”

Kirby recently studied with Anne-Marie Evans of England and Jenny Phillips of Australia, two internationally acclaimed artists. She trained at the Byam Shaw School of Art and the Central School of Art in London, and graduated from the Botanical Illustration Program at the New York Botanical Garden. Kirby currently teaches botanical watercolor techniques at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center in Newport News, Va.

The Nature Art Gallery, inside the Museum Store, hosts new exhibitions by Southern artists every six weeks. All exhibited art is for sale. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 4:45 p.m.; and the first Friday of each month until 7 p.m. Admission is free. For a complete schedule of Nature Art Gallery exhibits, please visit www.naturalsciences.org or call the Museum Store at 919/733-7450, ext. 361.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in downtown Raleigh, documents and interprets the natural history of the state of North Carolina through exhibits, research, collections, publications, and educational programming. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sun., noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Visit the Museum on the web at www.naturalsciences.org. The Museum is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr., Secretary.

Home	What's New?	Visitor Info	Calendar	Exhibits
	Education	Research	Museum Store	Join Us!
Search	Fun Stuff	Site Map	Staff Directory	Links