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Edith HarteI came to drawing and painting by a circuitous route. For 35 years I practiced medicine as an obstetrician, during which time I never sat down. Though I had been a keen observer of natural processes and a life-long birder, it took being ‘straight jacketed’ for several months after back surgery to reflect on the things I had observed and to begin drawing them. I have considered and am still mystified by the scientific precision of reproductive processes of plants and animals as well as human beings versus the seemingly random nature of their lives. Though I do not expect to understand the occurrence of the predictable, reoccurring life patterns in nature, I am inspired to try to understand the relationships of line, light, and form in the depiction of the natural world. My courses in the certificates program at the Chicago Botanic Garden with Marlene Hill Donnelly and Heeyoung Kim and the Guild of Natural Scientists course with Gretchen Halpert have provided tremendous inspirational and learning experiences. Most of my art subjects and botanicals are drawn from nature. I sketch outside, but draw and paint inside, striving to accurately render the mostly predictable patterns of natural subjects amidst the seeming randomness of the winds and weather that impacts the lives they live. I enjoy working in graphite, carbon dust, pen and ink, and watercolor.
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