20/10/2024
Make sure to visit Yanny Petters Solo Exhibition at the Olivier Cornet Gallery in Great Denmark Street. It runs until the 10th of November.
‘These two seaside plants represent a habitat which is greatly endangered by increasing storm activity due to climate change, as well as leisure activities where the foreshore is trampled. I have seen horned poppy along the sea at Wicklow and the Campion is a plant I often admire along the west coast. Trips to the Burren always meant carrying books such as ‘The Burren: Companion to the Wild Flowers of an Irish Limestone Wilderness’ illustrated by Wendy Walsh. I particularly admire Walsh’s delicate pencil and water colour sketches. Horned Poppy and Sea Campion seemed to me to represent the habitat well and reflect Walsh’s style. Her deep love of Irish wild plants is very clear in her work, so thank you Wendy for your inspiration.
Dunes are extremely sensitive to climate change with rising sea levels and powerful storms becoming more frequent. Many attempts to protect the shore have been undermined in recent years. The little Sea Bindweed, with its twining stems which help to stabilize sand dunes, have delightfully delicate trumpets.
Mrs Mary Delany, whose wonderful paper mosaic flower pieces are familiar from the National Gallery of Ireland, produced botanically accurate flower portraits by cutting out shapes from coloured paper and mounting these on black card. They are very distinctive, the dark background accentuating the flower’s delicacy and colour. So I have used my painting technique to interpret Mrs Delany’s work to pay homage to a great lady who produced her beautiful works in her late seventies.
The Burren has been a favourite place since my childhood. The amazing variety of jewel like plants makes this a unique and precious landscape.
Sea Shore: 40cm x 27cm Horned Poppy, Sea Campion
Dunes: Sea Bindweed, Sea Holly 31cm x 21cm
The Burren: 30cm x 21cm Common Twayblade, Bee Orchid, Quaking Grass, Bloody Cranesbill, Mountain Avens
