CARDINAL AIRPLANT | Niki Butcher

Big Cypress National Preserve © 2019

Photographic Story The Cardinal Airplant is one of Florida’s 16 native bromeliads, but when we first came to Florida we had no idea what they were. I remember driving along Alligator Alley (I-75) and seeing what looked like birds nests all over the trees. I said to Clyde, “Wow, there must be a lot of birds here in Florida for all of those nests!” The Cardinal Airplant is one of my favorites because of its bright colorful red bloom tipped with purple. Today, the air plants of Florida are under threat by the weevil (Metamasius Callizona) brought to Florida in plants for a nursery. By the time the weevil was identified it had made its way into the Florida environment where it is causing havoc among our bromeliads. The Art of Hand Painting Black and White Photographs Photographed with a Sony digital camera and instead of oil painting with Q-tips and cotton balls, she was able to paint using Photoshop. Changing from the old-fashioned way of doing her art, to the new ‘fashion’ of using technology was challenging, but she’s enjoying getting back to her own personal expression. Archival Print Making Niki’s open edition gicleé artwork is printed on Sunset Bright Velvet Rag matte finish paper using eight archival inks. A state-of-the-art Epson Stylus Pro printer creates deep, rich dark values that hold subtle detail in the shadows as well as bright vivid colors that are truly tropical.