The Reason for a Flower: Paintings by Erin E. Hunter*

*December 2, 2023-February 1, 2024*

*The Unitarian Universalist Church of the Monterey Peninsula*
*490 Aguajito Road,O Carmel, California*

Private showings available; please contact Erin at erin@eehunter.com. Monterey-based painter and science illustrator Erin E. Hunter will share several original pollinator-themed paintings in this exhibit, inspired by Ruth Heller’s beloved picture book The Reason for a Flower. Hunter’s detailed portraits of wildflowers and floral visitors bring attention to the importance of native bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators in our ecosystems.

Hunter deeply researches her subjects as she sketches and composes a painting, then layers thin washes of acrylic on watercolor paper or gesso board. With an increasing focus on California native flora, viewers will recognize many of the flowers in her artwork—and hopefully walk away with a new awareness of the floral visitors that pollinate these plants. Hunter is a trained science illustrator with a background in graphic design. She splits her work between fine art paintings depicting the natural world, and technical illustrations for an academic science journal (Annual Reviews). Her personal work focuses on the interactions between plants and animals, with a special interest in plant-pollinator relationships. View more of Erin’s work at www.eehunter.com.