Georgina Davis |
Growing up surrounded by an artistic family and a passion for exploring the wild, Tasmanian based artist Georgina Davis found influence in the natural wonders from early in her career. After graduating University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Science, Georgina combined her love of plant science and art working various field botanist positions with Parks and Wildlife, where she illustrated a variety of plant and microscopic insect species. Georgina’s works in published field guides have included aquatic plant life drawings for Dr. Jocelyn Hughes and line drawings for Prof Jamie Kirkpatrick’s “Alpine plants of Tasmania” and “The Disappearing Heath”. Her work at CSIRO Marine labs on the shark program led to the opportunity of creating scientific line drawings for published work, “Sharks and Rays of Australia”, alongside various fish illustrations for other biologists. Her inspiration has particularly derived from travels through South America and Tasmania’s alpine and coastal landscape. She has exhibited locally for many years in Wrest Point’s Art Prize and Images of Tasmania; as well as holding workshops for Marine Education Society and World Wetlands Day. Georgina continues to combine and share her love for nature, science and art with her family and is currently a member of Art Society of Tasmania. |
Epacris impressaCommon heath$500 Watercolour, coloured pencil & graphite 650 x 530 mm The pretty pink, white, and crimson flowers of our beautiful Epacris impressa have always appealed to me. They brighten up the bush in winter when little else is flowering. They are tricky to grow in captivity and so are truly wild. Although they are widespread from sea level to 800 m through TAS, VIC, NSW and SA, they make me feel at home. I associate them with coastal heath in my home state of Tasmania. To see a work in progress shot click the image below. | Indigofera australisNative indigo
$500 Watercolour, coloured pencil & graphite 570 x 500 mm Indigofera is one of the beautiful small shrubs that flower in spring in our low to moderate rainfall areas. It occurs throughout temperate Australia.
The delicate pink-lilac flowers of this native pea brighten the heathy woodlands. Occasionally they are white. The leaves are blue-green, soft, glabrous and pinnate. There are 4-10 pairs of leaflets and a terminal one. There are 700 species of Indigofera in warm regions throughout the world. Several tropical species are used for the indigo dye, first recorded in the Indus Valley 5000 years ago. | Ozothamnus ledifoliusMountain everlasting bush, kerosene bush$500 Graphite 660 x 500 mm Ozothamnus ledifolius is a compact Tasmanian endemic shrub of the mountains. It has a sweet aroma and a stunning lemon yellow colour to the foliage. The flower heads occur as dense terminal corymbs (clusters). The outer part of the flower can be red to yellow, and the inner part white. The colours and aroma of these plants captures my senses whenever I come across them on mountain walks. Plants belonging to the Ozothamnus genus are fragrant (ozo) leaved (thamnus) shrubs. The species name ledifolius means woolly leaf. The under surface of the leaves are woolly. It grows in exposed alpine sites as a rounded bush. It is common on Mt Wellington. There are large patches of this shrub along the lower parts of the Thark Ridge track and on the summit. | Posidonia australisSeagrass
$600 Coloured etching 595 x 445 mm Posidonia australis is a submerged, marine and estuarine seagrass distributed around the coast of southern Australia. In Tasmania it occurs along the north coast and around Flinders Island. It prefers sandy substratum and grows to a depth of 10 m. It is named after the Greek God of the sea, Poseidon. I was fortunate to be able to draw illustrations for my friend Jocelyne Hughes for a book of "Aquatic Plants of Tasmania" (1989). From these I had several printed as etchings by a professional print maker, Frieda Beukenkamp. Seagrasses are particularly significant to me in that I was later employed to work on a study of photosynthetic activity in seagrass beds in Queensland. Seagrass beds are beautiful places to snorkle over, rippling with the currents and providing food for prawns, seahorses, dugongs, and many species of fish and invertebrates. |