Blaue Blume - A limited edition book by Inky Leaves

A collection of floral paintings that allows you look closer at the mysticism of nature.

WE ARE NOW LIVE!

Support my Kickstarter project here:

Blaue Blume

Now is your chance to help me turn my latest flower book into a reality whilst also being one of the few who could own a copy. You might remember me my previous Kickstarter Project 'Leafscape', which sold out in the first week - (thank you)!! Since Leafscape, I have been immersed in the colour blue, travelling the world looking for it's rare blue flowers. And now, eight years on, I have amassed a collection which would look fantastic in a book.

If successful, this Kickstarter Project will help me to produce 500 copies (1000 if we get more support) of a beautifully laid-out book and soundtrack that tells the 'Blue Flower' story; marking a further historical moment in the lifeline of botanical art and flower painting. The book will include all of my paintings along with the story with lay-flat binding. It is a unique opportunity to own a piece of my art and a real collector's piece. You'll have all of my blue paintings in one place. The hardback Leafscape books from 2017 now sell for £500 each and are highly sought after.

What will the book look like?

This book will be limited to only 500 copies and will have a blue linen hardcover with embossed platinum foil text on the front and sewn, lay-flat binding to create a highly collectable volume. It will come inside a blue velvet covered slipcase box. The book itself will measure 215 x 300mm (8.35 x 12 in), consist of approximately 80-90 pages and will be printed using a digital press. The book will feature an introduction written by the artist in both English and Spanish and will have a full colour plate of every painting in the collection. Included with this book will be a copy of the environmental soundtrack. Each book will be signed and numbered by the artist and can be personalised at your request. It will be posted packaged like the Leafscape books - inside a bespoke cardboard post box, surrounded by foam insert for protection.

Support my Kickstarter project here:

Blaue Blume

What is 'Blue Flower'?

'Blue Flower' is my way of continuing to develop my ideas around the axis of flower painting and how to bring it into the 21st Century with the use of sound and paint. The collection documents my journey and quest post Leafscape. My driving ambition has always been to show the world how beautiful nature is in unexpected ways. In all of my work, I try to give plants a voice and a soul. I was inspired by Novalis' book 'Blaue Blume', which documents a young man walking across the Alps in search of a blue flower that he dreamt of. Something about this really stirred in my soul and I thought: 'why don't I do something similar, but make my quest more global?' So, I did, and since then, I have been travelling across the globe in my search for the unattainable. Teaching how to paint as I go to fund my trips.

“It is not the treasures,” he said to himself, “that have stirred in me such an unspeakable longing; I care not for wealth and riches. But that blue flower I do long to see; it haunts me and I can think and dream of nothing else. “I never felt so before; it seems as if my past life had been a dream, or as though I had passed in sleep into another world, for in the world that I used to know who would have troubled himself about a flower? Indeed, I never heard tell of such a strange passion for a flower.” - Novalis

Due to the lockdowns during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the project came to an unexpected halt. I had to cancel my tours of Canada, South Africa, Japan and Romania. I was fairly devastated by this; I had so much I wanted to explore. I ended up having to sell my works ahead of time to keep financially afloat, which meant there cannot be an exhibition as previously hoped. Alas, akin to Novalis' unfinished novel - Blue Flower will in that sense remain unfinished. I rather like this. There is something otherworldly and remote about the colour blue. It represents our dreams and the unattainable. You never arrive in Blue. Like the horizon - it never ends.

Please consider supporting my project in any way you can. I am working with some fairly unforgiving algorithms, so if you can share this campaign on your social media I would be very grateful. You can buy a pack of 10 greetings cards for 15 pounds, or a book.  If you need any help navigating Kickstarter to reserve your book, message me or comment below. 

If you are accessing Kickstarter from your phone, the book is listed under 'Rewards'.

Support my Kickstarter project here:

Blaue Blume

Support my Kickstarter project here:

Blaue Blume

Thank you in advance for your support. It means a lot.

Film of my life as a painter

 

Filmed in my Spanish residence and studio:

www.casadelamorera.com

Updates before we reach 2025

It's been a while since I last posted on Blogger. So what's the latest in the world of Inky Leaves, or should I now say - Úrsula Romero as I have also undergone a significant identity shift, which many of you I am sure will think is complete artistic suicide. 

"…all true artists shed their hides multiple times in their lives, letting any trace of a fixed mark fall away in the process. -David Whyte"

I have different priorities and am quite pro-artistic suicide. I felt pigeonholed in the world of botanical art with the nom de plume 'Inky Leaves' and having this new name means I can now branch out. Why limit yourself?! It is also more Spanish friendly and as my life has undergone such significant changes since the pandemic and brexit, me moving my base being one of them, a Spanish name is considerably helpful. I only wished I had dared to have done it sooner.

I continue to work on the Blue Flower Project, but at a slower pace - it'll be a life's work. Akin to Novalis' book, which inspired the idea, Blue Flower will never be complete. I intend to publish a book of paintings up to this point as Volume I. News on this will come soon on my Substack, which you can follow by clicking the link. Most of my posting will be done here now as I move away from blogger. Blaue Blume will be limited in edition, just like Leafscape and lay-flat bound. I like books - they make the art accessible. As a child, I was obsessed with picture books. They always calmed my mind and offered a pathway to escape this world and enter another. Maybe this is why I like to make books now.

Other news is I have opened a new Inky Leaves School which is called Casa de la Morera. Here I teach one-to-one or two-to-one classes over two days. It's a great chance to combine learning with a bigger holiday in Southern Spain. You can visit me and book time to see the sights - from the Alhmabra in Granada to the mesquita in Cordoba and the beaches of Malaga. More information can be found here:

CASA DE LA MORERA

I no longer teach on Patreon as I found the platform clunky for long videos. I sometimes offer online workshops on zoom and these are usually advertised on Facebook, Instagram or Substack. If you are interested in a class on leaves or black backgrounds get in touch at mail@ursularomero.com.

I also offer online mentoring at £40/hour which can cover anything from business planning to painting techniques. Often I find students just like to check in now and then with someone to talk about their art and their progress so that the artistic journey is less lonely. If you are someone who thinks you'd benefit from a one-to-one, again message me. I'd love to be able to help. 

More information about online mentoring can be found here - Mentoring

More information about visiting me for tuition can be found here - Visiting

Current 2024 Exhibitions

I am thrilled that quite a lot of my work is currently on show at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew Gardens as part of Felicity Aylieff's exhibition. More information about this can be found here: Botanical Blues. The exhibition is open until March 23rd 2025. Thank you Shirley!

Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature

My big Poplar leaf also continues to tour the USA with Rory McEwen's work as part of his retrospective. The tour will continue until August 2025 and the full itinerary can be seen here: Rory McEwen in the USA

There will be more updates soon ow I am possibly (finally) writing again. It's taken me 5 years to get my voice back. Wishing you all a very festive time this winter solstice and a Happy New Year. Thanks for joining me on the ride!

xxx

'This British painter is looking for rare blue flowers worldwide...'

©VICE

This Hallowe'en, at a time when most folk dress up as white ghosts or pumpkins, I found myself dressed in Blue, sitting in an Agapanthus field in Amsterdam, talking about flowers. 

To read the full article visit:

https://partners.vice.com/stichting-bloemenbureau-holland/lievelingsbloem/news/deze-britse-schilder-zoekt-wereldwijd-naar-zeldzame-blauwe-bloemen/

For the English version, please use Google Translate. 

Leafscape - the limited edition book

It’s been 18 months since I started creating Leafscape and I am delighted to be able to announce that my Kickstarter project is now live. Now is the time to get involved and be within a chance of having your own copy of the Leafscape book. 

Leafscape from Outhouse Filmworks on Vimeo.

Between 16 - 25 February 2017 I will be working hard to place the botanical kingdom in the spotlight with my exhibition of new watercolour paintings at Abbott and Holder in London. For this exhibition, I am exploring my vision of a botanical dystopia, documenting leaves that are growing on the margins of human civilisation whilst challenging our sense of scale, its value and how we measure it. 

In celebration of the Leafscape exhibition, I would really like to produce a limited edition, linen bound, hard-back book that presents all of the paintings and the environmental soundtrack of all the outside sounds from where each leaf was growing at the time it was found. The idea of recording sound in this way introduces a completely new element to botanical art. 

If successful, this Kickstarter Project will allow me to print 500 copies of this book. It'll also help to turn the whole notion behind 'Leafscape' into reality; by allowing me to pass on the wonder that I have so painstakingly documented to your eyes and ears in a tangible format.

To make a pledge towards the project and be within the chance of owning your own signed and numbered copy of the book, please click here.

Should the campaign be successful, I intend to gift 10 copies to the following institutions with public libraries so that the book can be still be seen by those with an interest in scientific illustration, botany and fine art who missed out on owning a copy for themselves:  

The British Library 
The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew 
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 
New York Botanic Garden 
Royal Botanic Garden Sydney 
The Linnean Society of London 
Real Jardín Botánico in Madrid 
Lindley Library of the Royal Horticultural Society 
London The Duchy of Cornwall 
The Chelsea Physic Garden

Q&A: If you have any questions at all about Kickstarter or the exhibition, please don't hesitate to message me, I'd be happy to walk you through the process and talk about the work and show. 

mail@inkyleaves.com

Spread the Word: I am the only one managing this project, so there's a lot of communication required on my part to spread the word whilst I continue to finish the odd painting, soundtrack and book. So please feel free to encourage others to get involved as the success of this campaign will directly determine what we can accomplish together in 2017. Kickstarter has very kindly supplied us with a 'share' button at the top of its page for you to use.

You can continue to follow me and my future projects on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Thank you for joining me on the botanical adventure, 

as ever, it is a pleasure to be here with you, 

right now, at this very moment in time and space.

Inky Leaves on the BBC's coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show

Hopefully, with a bit of luck, Inky Leaves should be making a small appearance on the BBC's coverage of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show at 19.30 this evening (Saturday 28th May) on BBC2, although it's not certain.

Carol Klein asking me some questions about the Brighter Blooms display

After spending a couple of days painting the flowers, the BBC found me painting. I did make a teeny appearance in the background of Carol Klein's piece on Tulipomania on Tuesday afternoon when I was painting on the Bloms Bulbs stand (28 30 minutes in). However, for Saturday's programme I am hiding amongst the Zantedeschia's which had been beautifully arranged by Brighter Blooms.

BBC crew shot...

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Chelsea and recommend it as an adventure in painting to all botanical artists. The traders and growers are very helpful and were happy to have me painting and asking lots of questions. It is the perfect place to find speciality growers for projects. I learnt a lot during my time there, not only about horticulture but also about botanical art and the painting process. I was left feeling a little stunned at how fast tulip flowers open and had to find a way of capturing them quickly. I also learnt how important it is to have shadows - I really missed them when hiding in the Grand Pavilion which filtered so much of the light.

During my time there I took an A3 fat pad of the new Botanical Ultra Smooth paper which was kindly gifted to me for the event by Burts. I really enjoyed painting on this paper and prefer it to all other choices for this type of sketchbook work. I will be publishing a review of the paper soon.

Now I am back in my UK studio I am busy cracking on with my large leaves for the upcoming exhibition 'Leafscape' at the Abbott and Holder Gallery in London. Please email me for details mail@inkyleaves.com.

Big thanks to Burts, the RHS, Brighter Blooms, Bloms Bulbs, the BBC, Alex Prendergast (aka Punk Botanist) and Jamie Denyer for making the day possible and to Carol Klein for guiding me through the process.