Today, I saw an extraordinary exhibit called “Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature” at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, SC, associated with the Royal Botanic Gardens.

I wanted to share a bit about Rory McEwen with you since I knew nothing about him before heading into the museum. He was a musician who became one of the most influential botanical artists of the 20th century. Sadly, Rory’s life was cut short when he took his own life at the age of 50 after being diagnosed with cancer.

Rory’s work blew me away. His botanical artwork is incredibly detailed and colorful; seeing it in person was a mind-blowing experience. Rory developed a unique painting style on vellum and used large empty backgrounds on which his plant portraits seemed to float.

His work is showcased in this exhibition alongside the works of master botanical artists from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.

“I paint flowers as a way of getting as close as possible to what I perceive as the truth, my truth of the time in which I live,” said Rory McEwen.

He is recognized as one of the standard-bearers of today’s renaissance in botanical painting and has had a lasting impact on the world of botanical art.

Here’s a short film about Rory McEwen, spotlighting his musical and artistic talents. Between 1956 and 1965, Rory McEwen was best known as a guitarist and singer, and performed at venues across the country, including the Edinburgh Festival, the Keele Folk Festival and the Festival Hall, where the demand for tickets was so high that extra rows of chairs had to be put on the stage.