Julia Asenbaum

Biography

As far as I can remember I have been obsessed with the complexity and beauty of the natural world and I always wanted to capture it. Isn’t it just fascinating how evolution can produce such wonderful colours and shapes, all defined by their function? At the age of four I was certain I want to be a biologist and while others dressed up as witches or wizards I dressed up as a red blood cell. Like every child I loved to draw and paint but this interest just never left me.

“Botany is the science of beauty”-Sir Joseph Paxton (1803-1865)

I studied plant science at the University of Vienna. After receiving my masters degree I founded the Fragrantarium -Olfactory Realism, Art, Science and Conservation, in which I capture the scent surrounding living plants through my perfumes and their beautiful shapes through my paintings. I started my diploma in Botanical Illustration at the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh in 2018. The first time showing my botanical art was at the Plantae 2019 at Mall Galleries in London, where I was awarded the Artist and Illustrators prize by the SBA.

I am fascinated with form and function and love the weird and wonderful, that can be found in every organism. I usually paint larger than life, working with my binocular microscope to capture details hidden to the naked eye. I love strong colours and contrasts and try to depict my subjects as realistically as possible.

I hope that I can share my fascination with the natural world and that my paintings motivate others, to have a closer look at the world surrounding us, because it always reveals little wonders.