The Art of Botanical Illustration by Kristin Jacob

June – September 2025

The Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture presents The Art of Botanical Illustration by award-winning artist Kristin Jakob. This exhibition showcases the range of Kristin Jakob’s finely-detailed botanical art, in the form of fine art prints of her watercolors and line drawings. Her subjects include California native plants, lichens and mushrooms, as well as many of her favorite garden plants.

Please join us for the artist’s reception on Saturday, June 21 from 4-6pm.

Artists’ Statement

My inspirations are to be found throughout the remarkable world of plants, from simplest weeds to elaborate horticultural creations, but my favorite subjects are the native plants, fungi and lichens of California. From a childhood spent exploring the wild places of this state to the present time I spend designing and gardening with a wide diversity of plants, I have found an endless supply of botanical subjects to pay homage to through my art. Accuracy and beauty are equally important goals, and I intend my art to serve as a medium through which my chosen subjects can speak, as it were, for themselves, and reveal their exquisite characters to the viewer.

Technique

Working almost exclusively from live specimens, I begin with a sketch, then a detailed pencil rendering on hot-press, acid-free paper. I then apply watercolor, first with small areas of wash, and later with rather dry paint applied with tiny sable brushes to gradually build up color, depth and detail. My pen & ink drawings also start with a pencil drawing, over which the line and stippling are carefully applied with the smallest available Rapidograph pens. Extraneous pencil can be erased once the paint or ink is completely dry.

About the Artist

Born and raised in Marin County, California, Kristin grew up entranced by the region’s extraordinary natural history. Encouraged to draw by artistic parents, she began illustrating animals but shifted her focus to plants at the age of twelve when her family joined the California Native Plant Society.

Essentially self-taught, Kristin honed her technique at London’s Royal College of Art, where she was awarded an M.A. in 1981. Kristin has exhibited widely in the United States and in London. She has self-published an ever-expanding line of cards and fine art prints and selectively undertakes private and commercial commissions. Her award-winning botanical art has illustrated numerous journals and several books and has graced packaging designs and educational posters. Published illustration commissions include a series of line drawings of California native plants for a UC Press book on their cultivation, a wildflower poster and a set of four placemats/posters depicting grasses, both for the California Native Plant Society. In 2013, Kristin was awarded a Milley for creative achievement in the visual arts by the Mill Valley Arts Commission, and in 2018 was the invited Featured Artist at the Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival.

Visit the Library

No admission is required to visit the new art exhibit in the Library. The Library is located inside the Main Gate of San Francisco Botanical Garden on the left-hand side.

All Kristin Jakob artwork on display is available for purchase and proceeds benefit the Library.