Tropical Botanic Artists

Laurie Richardson studied art at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she received a BA in Distributed Studies (fine arts, environmental biology and chemistry).  From there she began a career as a scientist and, from 1990 until retiring in 2017, was a professor at Florida International University, working on coral microbiology and the health of Florida's coral reefs.  She is an avid gardener, cultivating a tropical jungle in the Keys. In 2011 she began taking botanical art courses at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. These courses changed her life and, as a microbiologist, she delights in the extreme attention to detail required for botanical art.  In addition to botanical watercolors, she explores contemporary botanical art in acrylics.  Her work is represented at the Key Largo Art Gallery, Key Largo, and Our Place in Paradise, Islamorada.  She was recently elected to be the incoming president of the Art Guild of the Purple Isles  in the Florida Keys.


Laurie was an active member of the TBA from 2011 - 2021.

Laurie Richardson


Calliphlox evelynae with Tillandsia fasciculata

Bahama Woodstar hummingbird  and bromeliad

Watercolor on paper

16 x 12 in

Bromeliad with Tropical Buckeye butterfly

Watercolor and gouache on paper

12 x 16 in

Coccoloba uvifera

Seagrapes

Watercolor on paper

14 x 10 in

Corymbia ficifolia

Red flowering gum tree  

Watercolor on paper

9 x 9 in

Selasphorus rufus with Tillandsia balbisiana

Rufous hummingbird and bromeliad

Watercolor on paper

16 x 12 in