Artist Statement

Laura Vulgaris paints and draws moody portraits of natural subjects on repeat, mostly plants, in a palette of black, white and greys. Taking inspiration from traditional botanical art and folk art, she leans into the expressionistic and idiosyncratic. Working from photos she has taken, she seeks out instances where plants arrange themselves into pleasing tableaux. Her paintings balance thick, textural, spontaneous wet-in-wet acrylic paint application with attention to detail. In contrast, her black ink drawings recall the singular forms and linework of early botanical illustration. Through incorporating these different media and techniques, she explores different ways of seeing nature filtered through aesthetics and personal experience.