Işık Güner

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You introduced The Illustrated Flora of Turkey during the Plants on Paper workshop. What inspired this project, and how did it begin?

Isik: The seeds of this project were planted about ten years ago by Turkish botanists, who were determined to release a new illustrated flora of Turkey for several reasons. The flora of Turkey is extraordinarily diverse and has already been documented in two major surveys. The first is Flora Orientalis (1867–84), written in Latin by Pierre Edmond Boissier; the second is Flora of Turkey (1966–85), written in English by Peter Davis. Many of the specimens collected by Davis are now housed in the herbarium of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. This new project aims to rewrite and expand these earlier works — this time in Turkish — incorporating the many new species and subspecies that continue to be discovered. The botanists involved had access to exceptional resources, which allowed them to conceive such an ambitious undertaking. Documenting the entire flora of Turkey is already a monumental task, but preparing detailed illustrations for each specimen takes the project to an entirely new level.

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What motivated you to work on the project?

Isik: In recent years, botanical illustration has flourished in Turkey, which led the botanists overseeing the project to propose a fully illustrated flora. I am one of two full-time botanical artists — along with Gül Rekşi — working on the project from the beginning. In addition to creating illustrations, we also led workshops across Turkey to train and recruit new artists for the initiative. For us, joining the project felt less like a decision and more like a calling; at the time, there were very few active botanical illustrators in the country. Another friend, Hülya Korkmaz — who was also teaching across Turkey — eventually joined the project and helped prepare many of the artists who eventually became part of our team.

For The Illustrated Flora of Turkey, we work primarily from live specimens to produce watercolour illustrations. When those aren’t available, we rely on herbarium specimens to produce detailed line drawings. My role has since evolved: Gül and I now serve as art editors. This means we commission work from other illustrators, manage materials and logistics and ensure consistency, quality, and timely delivery for each volume. With so many artists joining our efforts, one of our main challenges is maintaining a cohesive visual style across the entire project.

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In your view, what was missing from the earlier works by Boissier and Davis? What new insights emerged as you explored the collections at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh?

Isik: Boissier completed his work nearly two centuries ago, and at the time he described around 6,000 taxa. Peter Davis expanded that number to 9,000 taxa. By the time The Illustrated Flora of Turkey is completed, we hope to have documented approximately 11,000 taxa, as botanists and taxonomists continue to make new discoveries. Each year, the context changes: some specimens become extinct, while others are newly discovered or reclassified. As a result, the research is both ongoing and increasingly demanding, particularly given the rapid transformation of global ecologies.

The herbarium at the RBGE is essential for our work, as many species are already in their collection. Some of our artists are regularly visiting Edinburgh to study these specimens directly, in dialogue with our repositories in Turkey. This is especially important when creating line drawings. At the time of this interview, one of our project’s artists is working at the RBGE, and we hope to sustain this collaboration until the project is completed.

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Your work brings together fieldwork, archival research, artistic and scientific practices, and international collaboration. Could you describe your artistic process within The Illustrated Flora of Turkey? How important are these connections for you?

Botanical illustration is a blend of art and science, so it requires constant collaboration between different disciplines. When planning a painting or line drawing, we first need to learn about the species in consultation with expert botanists. They guide us during fieldwork and support our research into the scientific literature for each specimen. My goal is to convey this information as simply and clearly as possible. If the results are also visually compelling, we can reach wider audiences and inspire more people to engage with botanical illustration.

As artists, we aim to integrate a wealth of information into each composition; this requires us to develop ways to balance technical accuracy and aesthetics, all within the constraints of a specific paper size. Line drawings must convey a strong sense of volume, while watercolours require great attention to colour, to match the physical features of the represented species. This is meticulous work that demands close observation. Here, collaboration with scientists is essential.

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I recall you demonstrating your technique during the Plants on Paper workshop; it made me think that mentorship is an important part of your process. Could you speak more about that?

Isik: Absolutely, it is a crucial part of the process. As an art editor, my work requires intense monitoring and performing extensive logistics to guarantee consistency — we are talking about 11,000 taxa that must appear cohesive. Currently, the project has 40 botanical artists and even more scientists. Each scientist is responsible for different genera, and I work closely with the other editors to match them with the right artists. We also determine whether illustrations will be based on herbarium specimens or fieldwork — which, in turn, must align with the flowering season of each plant.

We have to integrate all this information to create groups that can work independently while maintaining a unified visual language. In some cases, a single genus is so large that it must be illustrated by multiple artists with slightly different styles and pen gestures. This requires us to focus intensely on unifying the visual results. When we start working on a genus, we plan the details to be drawn and what we expect the final composition to look like. We must develop a general concept for the artists to work around each time because there is no precise formula that fits every specimen. As the publication develops, some artists become more acquainted with specific genera, so we try to have them work together and study the results of previously published volumes to enhance consistency across the entire collection.
The Illustrated Flora of Turkey is an academic publication and an artistic project. When you open a volume, we strive to make the visuals provide an experience in themselves, flowing with harmony between pages. And if you’re working with a large group of artists, it is not an easy task. In that sense, mentoring plays a key role in the success of these collaborations.