The artist 

Tina-Marié Malherbe studied graphic design at Stellenbosch University, situated in the fynbos* hinterland of the Western Cape, South Africa.

After 20 years as a stylist, where she broke ground with her lifestyle and interior styling for magazines and advertising campaigns she has returned to her love for drawing plants. She now devotes her time fully to her art, illustrating delicate foliage in blue on beautiful handcrafted white plates and bowls. 

* fine-leaved plants: a distinctive type of vegetation found only on the southern tip of Africa

On a botanical note

What’s it about poppies and nasturtiums?

It’s not only the delicate vulnerability of the poppy or the nasturtium that attracts her, but also their vibrance, strength and endurance. She focuses on capturing their finest qualities, sometimes even carefully dissecting small stamens, interpreting how they make her feel, rather than taking a photorealistic approach. 

“Ek skets graag opslagplante soos surings, kappertjies en papawers. Kappertjies voel of hulle van die bord af beur; hulle is so lewenslustig, weerbarstig en ongetem. “

Plants that perform their entire life cycle from seed to flower to seed within a single growing season, nasturtiums are both hardy and heady. Although classified as annuals, they re-seed easily without intervention, so come back year after year.

Tropaeolum / commonly known as ‘nasturtium’ / literally "nose-twister" or "nose-tweaker" is a genus of roughly 80 species. 

From ancient times poppies have been scattered all over the world. Their colours (from white to deepest red), their symbolism and their uses are so varied. Equally as beautiful as the flower, or perhaps more so, the seedbeds of poppies continue to shine after the blooms are spent.  

‘Poppy’ = any flowering plants of the poppy family Papaveraceae, especially species of the genus Papaver. 

The seasonal life cycle of an angiosperm (poppy) can be divided into five simple stages, each unique. The seed trigger in spring (germination), a single bud on a long stem (budding), the cup-shaped flower (flowering), the fruit forming protectively round the seeds (fruit production) and then the drying out and release of seeds to the wind (seed dispersal).

A fascination for the dandelion and other unruly plants

A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place".

A dandelion is an example of a plant that is considered a weed in some contexts (your flower beds) but not a weed in others (such as when it is used as a vegetable or herbal medicine).

While the term "weed" generally has a negative connotation, many plants known as weeds can be appreciated for their tenacity and wildness.

"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect, but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the object it loves." ~ Carl Jung

Plant art

When the plants are properly dried, she mounts the delicate pressed plants - roots, stems, leaves and flowers - with fine strips of masking tape on large sheets of paper, adding botanical classification and small detailed botanical drawings in pen and ink.

Literary notes and a love for Afrikaans verse

She chooses verses of poems where there is a reference to plants, flowers or the colour blue. Sometimes inspiration will come from the plants themselves, but other times it’s the words that inspire her and that she then interprets on one of her plates. The creative process is always symbiotic.

For a MARCH plate she wanted a verse that evoked the heat of mid summer and found liggaamsoefeninge by Breyten Breytenbach. The poet references summer blooms and jubilant long, hot summer evenings.

“ Ek kies Afrikaanse verse waar daar ’n verwysing is na plante of blomme of die kleur blou. Soms begin ek by die plant, soms begin ek by die vers en dink hoe ek die vers kan interpreteer op ‘n bord. “

Plant herbarium and the drying process

Her plant collections find themselves between layers of paper in her studio, which slowly takes on the comforting scent of a greenhouse. It’s all leaves, blooms and subtle humidity. As they dry over the weeks, she will often swap the paper, shaping the shoots with her fingers. A hothouse of creativity.

“Ek druk plante droog tussen lae papier. Dan ruik en voel my ateljee soos ’n kweekhuis, die lug klam. Terwyl hulle stadig droogword oor die weke, ruil ek die papiere af en toe om en vorm die lote met my vingers totdat hulle mooi lê.”

Nature’s moodboard

“Poppies fascinate me. Their life cycle is so dramatic in a way. I see the developmental stages of the poppy as a visual springboard and like to depict the different stages on my plates – the budding, the flowering, the fruit production, the seed dispersal – all inspire me.”

Magazine interview for Vrye Weekblad by ELNA VAN DER MERWE

Borde met blomverse en die belangrikheid van blou

Blue notes

She often gets asked why she works in blue?

Blue is airy and expansive. Blue is an ascending colour. Blue on white is complete. It asks for no more.

Dark inky blues give depth and pale blue washes are floaty and ethereal like the sky.

I love the association with tradition that blue glaze on white clay has.

I am interested in the layering of blues. It excites me when an indigo glaze forms a dark pool next to a watery pale blue one.

“Ek hou van hoe blou ink in water vloei. Ek is mal oor diep inkblou poele saam met mistige, waterige ‘washes’ van baie yl ligbloue. My werk is baie soos waterverf op klei. Met blou kry ek al die toonwaardes tussen donker en lig, blou vra vir niks meer nie, dis so volledig.”

I love the way blue ink flows.

She almost internalizes the colour blue, its qualities flow through her being, her creative process. Blue eyes see blue.

Inspirational blues

Greek skies. Greek domes…

The expansive vaulted ceiling is washed in a breathtaking cornflower blue that reminds of heavenly sky and sea. Glancing up, I feel a peacefulness, a timelessness and a supreme sense of wellbeing.

Azulejos 

I love vintage blue Portugeuse tiles (azulejos). They are typically patterned like exotic tapestries. Others are loosely and expressively drawn landscapes. I love the way this wall of tiles is ‘fixed’,the missing tile is spontaneously replaced by another, probably even by another artist…

Blue flowers

So rare but always an inspiration.

“En ek teken graag blomme met kelke. Dan sny ek met my fyn messie deur die kelk en teken hoe die stempel en stuifmeeldrade lyk.”

Copy editing

Anne Taylor 'for the love of words' anne@taylortalk.co.za