​Kathy Schermer-Gramm

Artist Statement

Botanical art with an edge. The taste of a juicy ripe heirloom tomato, the sound of Carolina Silverbell pods and Broom Sedge swaying in the breeze, the sight of a rainbow of colors on the waning blades of Deer-Tongue Grass in early fall, the feel of a prickly seedhead after a goldfinch has decimated it or a crunchy dried Sycamore leaf, and even the smell of a decaying pumpkin. The senses are an integral part of our everyday lives. Close observation distills everything except the essentials of what one experiences. Tiny details that would normally be passed over I choose to paint inviting the viewer to come in close and let the outside world disappear.

I am not drawn to the promise of the ephemeral beauty of a flower but to the fruits, seeds, waning leaves and life past its prime, the presence at the end of a life cycle, subjects that one faces daily as one moves on in time. Small icons of plant life that surrounds me is what I depict. Most of my subjects come from around my home, the remainder from the farmer that supplies my food. This is my world, one which I take part in daily.

My work is an illusion of reality, like the velveteen rabbit who becomes real. I draw and paint in layers until the subject feels real to me and may just fall off the paper if I wish it so. The glow of a platinum photographic print, the aged look of an old botanical, this is what I try to capture in my ink wash and watercolor studies.

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Artist Bio

Kathy Schermer-Gramm was raised in Southern California earning her master’s degree in illustration from California State University, Fullerton. Her previous career includes that of award winning illustrator, university art professor, nature educator, and elementary art teacher at The Downtown School. Kathy’s current botanically inclusive drawings and watercolor paintings focusing on locally grown edibles and Southeastern Piedmont flora began while enrolled in the North Carolina Botanical Garden’s Botanical Art Certification Program beginning almost twenty years ago. Kathy has taught her passion for botanical art at the UNC-Chapel Hill garden since 2012. She has also taught and exhibited at the Sawtooth School–Visual Arts, and the Florence Thomas Art School. Her artwork appeared in the American Society of Botanical Artists: Abundant Future Exhibition as well as the 19th and 23rd Annuals, the prestigious Birds In Art (Woodson Art Museum), along with other international juried exhibitions.

Exhibits of Note

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