Art & Design
‘I don’t paint nature. I am nature.’ – Jackson Pollock
The natural world has inspired artists and designers since the beginning of time. Here we share the work of talented painters, landscape designers, architects, photographers, sculptors and more who design, make and create work inspired by plants and the natural world.
151 Results
Rousseau in the Jungle
Art & Design, CultureHenri Rousseau painted exotic jungles, but he was really the ultimate city dweller.
Oh, van Gogh!
Art & Design, CultureVincent van Gogh painted sunflowers, olive orchards and lemons – and he's up next in our artist series.
Camille Pissarro: The Impressionist Gardener
Art & Design, CultureWe're exploring artists who depict nature this month - first up is Camille Pissarro.
The Garden: Art, Dalliance, or Both?
Art & Design, GardensAn exploration of the idea of gardens as art, and the implications of the title.
Roberto Burle Marx: The Modernist Gardener
Art & Design, GardensRoberto Burle Marx was an artist, landscape architect, plant hunter and passionate environmentalist.
Ritual & Nature: The Art of Tamara Dean
Art & DesignTamara Dean's breathtaking art explores the relationship between humans and the natural world.
Natural Desires: The Olmsted Brothers & the Greening of Seattle
Art & DesignAn exploration of the lasting legacy of landscape architects the Olmstead Brothers in greening the city of Seattle.
Shona Wilson: Collaborations with Nature
Art & DesignArtist Shona Wilson's chief collaborator is nature. They're a match made in heaven!
Brooke Holm: Canada
Art & DesignGorgeous landscape photography of the Canadian Rocky Mountains in winter.
(Botanical) Tattoos: Art or Craft?
Art & Design, CultureA musing on the question of tattoos as art. And a whole bunch of botanical tattoos. Just because.
Samorn Saxinay Dyes with Compost!
Art & Design, CultureSamorn Saxinay is a weaver and designer who stumbled across the the idea of dyeing with food scraps, thanks to a hug from her grubby daughter.
Death, Decay & Flowers
Art & DesignWhat could be truer than death? Writer and photographer Annabelle Hickson explores the beauty and truth found in decay.
Emerging, Decaying
Art & DesignA photographic exploration of the temporal nature of existence by Peter Whyte.
True Indigo Dyeing: The Fermented Vat
Art & Design, CultureAboubakar Fofana is a master natural indigo dyer dedicated to sharing his passion for ancestral growing, weaving and dyeing skills throughout the world.
Botanical Inquiry: An Exhibition by Daniel Shipp
Art & DesignA hauntingly beautiful body of work exploring the dialogue between humans and plants. And a video!
Studio Profile: Taylor Cullity Lethlean
Art & DesignAn interview with Kate Cullity, director of award winning Australian landscape architecture firm, Taylor Cullity Lethlean.
Saffron: The Priciest Spice
Art & Design, BotanicaDid you know saffron is more expensive than gold? Check out these stunning images (and a time-lapse video) by Peter Whyte of the most precious spice.
Weed Life: The Paintings of Matilda Julian
Art & DesignArtist Matilda Julian loves weeds. So much so, that she has produced a body of work featuring them. It's beautiful.
Luis Barragán’s Universal Garden
Art & Design, GardensSally Wilson visits the garden of famed Mexican modernist architect Luis Barragán.
The Cool Conundrum
Art & DesignGarden designer Michael McCoy ponders the perils of designing a garden for himself.
Design is not the Answer
Art & DesignA musing on the limited (but important) role of design in the creation of a garden.
Studio Profile: Terremoto
Art & DesignAn interview with David Godshall, principal of Terremoto, a landscape architecture studio in California, USA.
Plant Geometry: A Design Study
Art & DesignA series of images exploring the transient nature of plants (and humans) through the momentary recording of plant geometry. Images and words by Karina Sharpe.
Alchemy & Lego: Connecting to the Unknown
Art & DesignPhillippa Carnemolla explores the interconnectedness between plant, animal and celestial worlds.
‘As if Dropped From Another Planet’
Art & DesignArtist Veronica O'Leary has been painting, drawing, observing and thinking about Banksias for many years. This is her story.
Imperfection is Perfection
Art & DesignA very beautiful photographic series of bounteous imperfection by Emma Bass.
Art Inspired By Plants
Art & DesignProfiles of five international artists inspired by plants to create great art.
Daniel Shipp: ‘Botanical Inquiry’ Series
Art & DesignA stunning series of images by Daniel Shipp. They'll make you look twice!
Koji Makino: Ficus
Art & DesignPhotographer Koji Makino gets up close and passionate with fig trees.
Art, Death & Secret Gardens
Art & Design, CultureA wonderful story by Josephine Pennicott exploring the relationship between creativity, loss, and the act of gardening in the lives of two women - Contemporary muse/artist Wendy Whiteley and novelist Frances Hodgson Burnett. A really beautiful read!
Carine Thevenau: Tin Can Apartment
Art & DesignA new photographic series by Sydney based photographer Carine Thévenau exploring the notion of a world where humans and nature exist in harmony.
An Artist, Florist and a Passion for Flowers
Art & DesignA botanically rich collaboration between artist Alesandro Ljubicic and florist Sean Cook, soon to be exhibited in Sydney.
Silk: It’s Just Leaves & Spit
Art & DesignIt’s steamy and lush. A big muddy river is coursing between verdant mountains and under thunderously grey…
Fabric, Figs & Memory
Art & DesignFicus macrophylla, better known as the Moreton Bay Fig, has become a muse and metaphor for my new…
Brooke Holm: Up!
Art & DesignBrooke Holm has a penchant for aerial photography. One day, when feeling a little uninspired, she impulsively…
Mondrian: Funded by Flowers
Art & Design, CultureIts funny to think of being ashamed of making money from flowers, but apparently Mondrian was. I…
The Temple of Flora
Art & DesignStories of unappreciated artistic genius always strike a chord, and The Temple of Flora – the unpublished…
Nature: The Silent Observer
Art & DesignA hauntingly beautiful exploration of the complex relationship between landscape, sexuality and culture.
Sex: Nature’s Masterpiece
Art & DesignAs Erasmus Darwin once wrote ‘ Sexual reproduction is the chef d’oeuvre, the masterpiece of nature’. Using…
Norwegian Wood: A Road Trip
Art & DesignNorway reminded me of those paintings you do as a child – where you fold it in half…
Moments of the Sublime: The Flower Photography of Peter Whyte
Art & DesignThere is a strange irony in the human penchant for displaying cut flowers in the home –…
Artist Sonia Rentsch: Weapons & Nature
Art & DesignWhen I think of still life art what springs to mind are 19th century paintings by Paul…
Floral Amulets
Art & DesignAmulets are one of the most ancient forms of magic, having long been used in spiritual traditions…
Floral Trash & Treasure
Art & DesignFor me, making an arrangement means creating a floral landscape with complexities, movement and layers; curating a…
Art With Heart
Art & DesignPhillippa Carnemolla is a Sydney based industrial designer, jeweller and PhD scholar and spent 2013 as…
Tattoos, Beards and Flowers
Art & DesignAn interview with tough guy photographer Brock Elbank, who enjoys taking photos of beards, tattoos, and flowers. Yep flowers. Soft, ethereal and beautifully feminine flowers.
Plant Portraits
Art & DesignWhy are ugly babies and dangerously adored pooches the only ones who get the opportunity for studio…
Hope Gardens
Art & DesignWhat does the concept of shelter mean to someone without a home? Is it a distant dream,…
Visions of Utopia
Art & Design, GoodsI reckon if The Planthunter launched a textile range, it would look very much like the fabric…
A Salute to The Tree
Art & DesignTrees are truly magnificent things and are one of my greatest loves. They move with the wind;…
The Beauty of Passing Form
Art & DesignI wanted to capture the death throes of plant life through the lens of a camera. Photos…
Fractured Flora
Art & DesignAnna Thomas has been playing with liquid nitrogen since she was a child. Her father is a…