Page 24 - Raffles09_March2022

IŞIK GÜNER
In these increasingly busy times, we often forget to stop and smell the roses. Setting an
example to us all and showing the way for more reflective observations on something as simple as a sprouting bud, is the award-winning botanical artist Işık Güner, whose studies of natural forms detail plants in all their unique beauty.
Born in Ankara, Turkey, Güner had an early introduction to nature thanks to her botanist father and upbringing surrounded by wild countryside. “Being a botanical artist is very exciting and engaging,” says Güner of her practice, which requires meticulous attention to detail and further refinement with every drawing – since no plant study is ever the same. “Each and every plant is different, so in effect this makes you start all over again with every different species.”
Spending her time between Istanbul, Barcelona and Edinburgh, Güner also hosts workshops as a way of sharing her skills with fellow botany enthusiasts, from lessons in scientific research to breathing life into compositions through carefully placed shadows, and patience when observing each live specimen with an artistic eye. To find out more about Güner’s workshops, visit her website.
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isikguner.com
− INSPIRATION −
22 RAFFLES MAGAZINE
A new leaf