We are lucky to get 4 prints inspired by her book that are now in the Shop. I think they’d be so lovely in a girl’s room or basically any spot that needs a dose of beautiful pastel flowers. I can even imagination it as a beautiful punctuation point in a bathroom!

Today we are sharing an interview with the Australian author and illustrator. Her background is so interesting!

Interview with Adriana Picker

1. What do you consider yourself? Example: Artist, designer, illustrator, maker, business person etc.?

I mostly like to refer to myself as a botanical illustrator now days!

2. Who helped you “become” who you are?

I am very blessed to be surrounded and supported by many wonderful, fiercely intelligent, inspiring women. The women in my family are responsible for the genesis of my creativity and are a constant source of strength. Particularly my grandmother Emma, who instilled in me a passion for flowers at a very young age, my incredible Aunt Margo who taught me to be self-reliant and make anything conceivable and of course my mother, Sally, who is a wonderful artist. She is a constant inspiration to me.

The friendship of other women has been so important to me personally and professionally. I have a circle of very generous and talented creative women that I rely on heavily for support. I certainly would not be who I am today with out them. I am so lucky to count amongst my close friends Peptalker founder Meggie Palmer, incredible artists Gemma O’brien, Amber Vittoria and Georgia Hill. Designer and founder of the incredible homewares studio House of Heras – Silvana Azzi Heras has been a mentor and incredibly close friend of mine for over ten years. And I’ve recently had the great privilege to work with Uli Beutter Cohen, founder of Subway book review on the promotion of my new book Petal. Her support has been invaluable to me through what has become a rather unusual book launch!

3. Do you feel like you’ve arrived at what you set out to do?

I don’t think there will ever be a great sense of arrival for me. Or of completion.

I think one of the great joys of truly loving the work you do, is that it if your work is a calling not just a means of making money, there is always something to be done. Always something I feel compelled to do! Even when am I working on a project, I am thinking of what I want to create next, looking for inspiration and making plans. This is probably the most magical part of the creative process for me, that dreamy phase were ideas are swirling around in your head in a luxurious, hazy mix, just before they solidify. The possibility is intoxicating.

It is a lovely thing to think that we will always be a work in progress and there is always a chance for betterment.

5. Why flowers?

My whole life has been punctuated by flowers. Flowers for me are still so strongly linked to family, in particular my grandmother and mother. Flowers have become the vessels of my fondest memories, connections to the places where I find the most joy and reminders of the people I most cherish. No wonder flowers have been a constant and enduring love in my life. So many years later, the flowers I first encountered in my grandmother’s garden are my favourites to draw. I think she would be so very thrilled if she could see the work I do today.

6. Why did you create this book?

I love flowers. I love EVERY type of flower. This book is my love letter to these ephemeral jewels of nature: a celebration of the floral world. Within the pages lie a collection that spans priceless hothouse gems and unapologetic roadside survivors. The world of flowering plants – otherwise known as angiosperms – is so vast, varied and alluring, that narrowing down the selection has been an excruciating process. I want this book to not only highlight our most loved blooms, but also to shine new light on those plant families considered unfashionable or not highly valued. The humble geranium, for example, has long been a favourite of mine; anything that boasts a variegated leaf, with its painterly stripes or swirls and contrast of colours, catches my breath and sets my heart a’flutter. Even something as ubiquitous as a corner-store tulip, swaddled in plastic, can still bring brightness to a kitchen table. Through this book, I want to share my vast passion for flowers, with the hope the viewer can gaze with a fresh lens, perhaps inspiring exploration of a certain plant previously off the radar.

Adriana Picker for Lars Print Shop