by guest author Rosemarie Dempsey, posted by Deb Shaw
BAGSC member Donald Davidson will be exhibiting his second solo show, “Botanical Field Illustrations in Watercolors II” at Wohlfarth Galleries, Washington, DC 3418 9th St., NE, DC March 10 thru April 6, 2018 Artist’s Reception: Saturday, March 10, 2018, 3-5 pm
Davidson’s second solo show of dramatic watercolors of native botanicals at Wohlfarth Galleries goes on display March 10 – April 6, 2018. Last year’s show nearly sold out and focused on works from deserts and Vieques, Puerto Rico, as will this year’s.
Viewers will find a return to the spare, unvarnished approach that seemingly belies Davidson’s devotion to neo-expressionism back in the 1980’s. In his depiction of the Puerto Rican native plant, Talinum fruticosum, an edible succulent related to the portulaga found in many DC area gardens, the artist’s captures its rooted, yet lively dance of nature with direct brush and pen strokes that reveal the anatomical elements key to its botanical identification.
Davidson received his first solo museum show as a painter of native flora from the Centennial Museum of El Paso in 2004. The exhibition became a traveling show displayed at National Park Visitor Centers. His work was featured in a 2016 exhibition, Flora of the National Parks, at the US Botanical Garden on the Smithsonian Mall.
Awarded the Presidential Gold Medal for Volunteer Service, Davidson has created over 600 watercolors spanning 20 years, as an artist-in-the-park, under the auspices of the US Department of Interior in support of its mandate to monitor and preserve native species on public lands nationwide. Ten percent of sales will be donated to Friends Group of the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge to help with Hurricane Maria recovery.
Wohlfarth Galleries are open Wednesdays–Saturday 11-4 and by appointment in the heart of Brookland Arts’ District: 3418 – 9th St. NE WDC 20017 (1 block from Red Line Metro) Contact: Lavinia Wohlfarth, (202) 526-8022