Annick Ansselin

I am inspired by the beauty and uniqueness of the natural environment and the plants and animals found within it.

I think of myself as an observer and recorder, analysing and interpreting what I see in drawings, watercolours and etchings, with a special interest in the endemic species of Tasmania. The result is both a work of art, and a record,  giving the information needed to identify the specimen.

My watercolours and drawings are mostly traditional botanical or scientific works, done in great detail,  needing extensive miscroscopy. Each work may take weeks or months to complete, if the full life cycle of the plant is included.

Eucalyptus pulchella

White peppermint gum

$650

Watercolour

725 x 540 mm

Hypogymnia tasmanica

Foliose lichen

$500

Watercolour

700 x 560 mm

Hypogymnia tasmanica is a medium sized Foliose lichen commonly called tube or pillow lichens, and endemic to Tasmania. The swollen lobes are usually hollow, growing on the bark and wood of twigs and small branches, especially conifers, in heathlands and woodland. It can sometimes be found on mossy soil. Some Hypogymnia species are used as biomonitors e.g. monitoring atmospheric nitrogen, accumulation of mercury and other toxic metals from mining activity.

Usnea scabrida

Old man's beard

$500

Watercolour

520 x 610 mm

Usnea scabrida, known as Old Man's Beard, is one of several species of lichens recorded for the first time during the 2019 "Expedition of Discovery" on the Wind Song property (East Coast of Tasmania) in which I participated in collaboration with botanists from the Tasmanian Herbarium. The specimen was identified by Prof. Gintaras Kantvilas.

It grows on twigs of Oyster Bay Pine, and is known from a few scattered locations on the East Coast. It is possibly a new subspecies.