Experiencing the beauty of nature always brings fresh ideas and perspectives to me. Being in nature brings out my optimal well‐being and creativity, so I enjoy filling my world with nature and arts, and sharing this through my artworks, botanical art courses and creative retreats. I want to encourage others to live a life closer to nature while fostering our own deeper connections with the natural world.
My creative process allows me intimate access to, and connection with, botanical subjects. I enjoy creating narratives about the co‐relation between beauty of nature and well‐being through my work. The narratives draw inspirations from themes of wellness, ethnobotany, conservation and the preservation of biodiversity (Figure ). I recently showcased a series of flora and fauna illustrations featuring augmented reality expressions at the ArtScience Museum in Singapore, so I'm interested to see how I can further link people to the direct experience of beauty in nature in this digital age.
Enlarge this image.Select examples of Lucinda's botanical art. (a) Some wonderfully varied foliage illustrations; (b) a Lotus design commissioned by Banyan Tree Hotel and Spa. Photographs and illustrations: Lucinda Law
Enlarge this image.Lucinda's commissioned work for commercial clients. (a) Botanical illustrations for Chanel's perfume Chanel No.5 L'eau; (b) a botanical art exhibition at Singapore Changi Airport commissioned by Changi Airport Group; (c) magazine cover illustrations for Harper's Bazaar Singapore; and (d) a feature for the Business Times Newspaper, Singapore. Photographs and illustrations: Lucinda Law
I discovered botanical illustrations through a book called Magic and Medicine of Plants (Reader's Digest, ). Inspired by the botanical illustrations found within the book, I began recreating them and this led to a self‐taught botanical illustration practice for three years. After a sabbatical leave in nature, I decided to dedicate my time and efforts to everything that is related to nature and arts, so I started my nature‐led arts and design studio, Within, and began a full‐time art practice in botanical arts (Figure ).
I enjoy researching on how an artwork is created, so it is enjoyable for me to understand, read and see the various creative processes of other artists from a range of expressions in the field of nature and arts. Field research with plenty of chances to observe and document nature always brings new ways of seeing and creating.
Shades of green are always endearing to me, so the diverse form, texture and shapes of the foliage and their functions holds endless fascination for me.
I've developed a working knowledge of plants through my time with botanists. I work closely with the botanists at the Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where I hold my creative retreats. I felt moved and inspired by their dedication to conserve rare plants. Just by watching them work I have learned a lot about the methods of scientific documentation and their conservation efforts in plant biodiversity.
In 2018, I went on a botanical expedition to the Chiang Dao montane forest with Methee Wongnak, a conservationist and scientist from the Chiang Mai Botanic Garden, where I encountered a recently discovered and yet‐unnamed species of Impatiens, which looked strikingly like a light‐pink parrot. As I turned the flower, its form changed from a mass of petals, to a trumpet, to a bird once more, and I just marveled at this clever engineering. In that moment, I realized I want to do more for plant conservation.
It really depends on the context of the plant; if they would not be able to survive the journey back to the studio then I would at least sketch it in situ. I usually photograph the plants in the wild then take samples back to my studio. I make a lot of notes about their colors and key features, which is very important for my illustrations (Figure ).
Enlarge this image.Botanical expeditions and studio work. (a) Lucinda on an inspirational botanical expedition in Chiang Mai, Thailand; (b) Lucinda at work in her studio. Photographs: Lucinda Law
Collaborate with someone whose eyes light up when they talk about plants and who genuinely understands why nature is awe‐inspiring, within the parameters of their expertise. Humor is equally important for those long car rides or hikes.
I would like to see and do more work on how nature and art promote human well‐being. Through the work of my studio, I want to create works relating to the conservation of forest biodiversity and the benefits of being in nature. I'm also inspired to share how we can find various ways to a life closer to nature in an increasingly digital age because living in harmony with nature helps us to live more fulfilled and creative lives.
Besides my studio's ongoing art and design commissions which will be created in a range of expressions such as mixed‐media botanical art installations for hotels and office spaces, botanical paintings for corporate institutions and plant illustrations for books, I'm also planning to work towards an exhibition and book about the native flora and fauna of South‐East Asia, starting with Singapore.
I enjoy discovering and studying artworks based on nature. Botanical artworks from various time periods and cultures are perennial inspirations. Closer to home in Singapore, I'm intrigued by the Complete William Farquhar Collection in Singapore. This collection was created between 1803 and 1818 to depict the natural history of the Malay peninsula by anonymous painters. I also find artists working in various media and with natural materials equally inspiring.
I have an ongoing fascination with palms. I particularly love Bismarckias because of their glaucous blue leaves. They are very elegant. That said, I'm almost always in love with the plant that I'm painting at any given moment.
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Lucinda Law is a Singapore‐based botanical artist and the founding director of Within, a nature‐led creative and consultancy studio that creates nature‐inspired arts programmes, immersive exhibitions and commissioned artworks. She started Within in 2016 with the objective of depicting the beauty of nature, linking people to nature, developing a community of nature‐led art patrons and supporting the cause of environmental biodiversity conservation through arts. To date, Law and her team have developed botanical‐inspired commissions for more than 40 clients including the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ArtScience Museum, Apple and Mulberry. Within also holds immersive creative retreats in biologically diverse destinations. Law conducts nature appreciation and botanical art workshops at the Pollen restaurant at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore. She is also the first Arts and Graphic Ambassador for Faber‐Castell Singapore and the Brand Ambassador of Diptyque Singapore.
For more information on Lucinda and her work, visit
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