Sips of Inspiration: an Interview with Laura Watson

This month’s Sips of Inspiration interview was really fun for me. Today I’m chatting with Laura Watson (formerly Ashton) who is also a gardener and botanical illustrator.

Laura Ashton with a watercolor illustration of a grape hyacinth

She also paints wildlife, especially birds.

Laura Ashton uses photographs when working on her watercolor bird illustrations like this hummingbird

Recently she’s been working on a series of hummingbird illustrations.

A Hummingbird Watercolor Painting by Laura Ashton

Another recent series is a collection of 50 Watercolor Flower Portraits.

watercolor botanicals by Laura Ashton in a mint wooden vintage grid frame

One thing that Laura and I chatted about after the interview was how although we both paint detailed flower illustrations with watercolor, our styles are distinctly different.

Laura Ashton's painting of watercolor roses in a white frame

Our voices show through in our work and it almost seems as if that’s no longer in our control, at least not consciously. One of the beauties of art, even if something has been done before, no one has done it quite like you have. I rarely chat with other artists about things like this, so it was a treat to talk with her. I think you’ll enjoy the interview, too.

Be sure to connect with Laura:

 
 

photos in this post © Laura Watson, used with permission