In my first conversation with her about the possibility of exhibiting her intricate botanical art at Vashon Center for the Arts, Jean Emmons told me she’d need at least two and a half to three years of lead time — just to have eight new pieces ready for me.

Jean works with incredible precision, completing about eight paintings a year, and she sends them out to exhibitions around the country. She asked that the show align with Vashon Center for the Arts’ Garden Tour because, as she put it, “those are my people.”

We agreed that her show would take place in June 2025.

But to my surprise, when I reached out to finalize the inventory a couple of months ago, Jean told me she had 17 pieces ready — a personal record. Her current exhibition, on view throughout June in VCA’s Koch Gallery, is the largest single gathering of her work in one place during her 35-year career as a nationally acclaimed botanical artist.

Jean has been recognized internationally for her artistry: she was awarded two gold medals from the Royal Horticultural Society in the United Kingdon, and just last year, another gold medal from the New York Botanical Garden.

In talking with Jean about her process, I was struck by her devotion to her craft. She describes botanical art as the fusion of art and science — a distinction she feels is often misunderstood.

“Botanical art grew out of botanical illustration,” she explained, “but their purposes are different. Botanical illustration is for scientific purposes, often an adjunct to a written plant description by a botanist. Botanical art is to hang on a wall.”

Jean’s approach is marked, she said, by an “extreme accuracy and detail and reverence for the plant.”

She notes that a single misplaced stamen can get a painting rejected by jurors.

“The emphasis is on the plant, not the artist creating a narrative or evoking a mood,” she said. That’s what sets botanical art apart from still life or flower painting — the intention.

For Jean, the most successful paintings emerge when she can grow a plant herself, observing it through its entire life cycle — its pests, its pollinators, and even its struggles.

“Gardening gets me away from my desk and outside,” she told me. “Even in the wind, rain, and snow, it clears my head and I see unexpected and beautiful things.”

She also shared how her background influences her art.

“I went to a traditional art school and received a good grounding in abstraction and color field painting,” she said. “But I always felt best when looking at nature.” Her parents were scientists, so she grew up learning to look closely — a skill she brings to every brushstroke.

When asked about the challenges of her work, Jean’s honesty was refreshing.

“Every piece tends to fall apart in the middle of the process,” she said. “Sometimes I can’t pull it off, but usually I can push through.” She described using fifty to a hundred layers of drybrush, often in unusual colors, and the struggle of bringing everything together in the end. “Every piece is a struggle, as it should be, but when things are going well and I’ve reached a rhythm with my drybrush, it’s magic.”

This show also features a new direction in Jean’s work: experimenting with egg tempera.

“I decided I wanted to try it, and voilà,” she said. After taking some classes, she created five new egg tempera paintings for this exhibition — pushing her creative boundaries yet again.

Jean likes to think of botanical art as “old but not old-fashioned,” a genre that’s as relevant now as ever. Recent exhibitions sponsored by the American Society of Botanical Artists — where every fifth member is from another country — often explore contemporary themes like native plants, endangered pollinators and crop diversity.

Jean’s dedication to her craft, her meticulous process, and her reverence for plants make this upcoming show at VCA a rare treat.

Join us on Sunday, June 22, from 12–5 p.m., when Jean will be in the gallery demonstrating her painting style. This is a rare opportunity to witness the magic that happens when art and nature intertwine — and to celebrate one of our finest neighbors.

Lynann Politte is the gallery director of Vashon Center for the Arts.

Jean Emmons (Courtesy Photo)