Batik artist Angela Maria Isaza returns to Selby Gardens with her latest collection, a series of batik paintings inspired by the varied and beautiful plant life found across the state of Florida, from the Everglades to Selby itself. Entitled Florida’s Fascinating Flora, the exhibit, showcasing 37 pieces of Isaza’s work, opens tonight with a free-to-the-public artist’s reception at 5:30pm at Selby Gardens.

For the uninitiated, batik is an ancient art form from the East, where it was a common method for dying cloth. Beginning with the blank cloth, batik artists paint with hot wax, covering areas where they wish to preserve the current color. Then the entire cloth is dyed, wax and all, and the process repeats, wax and dye, until the picture is brought forth and the layers of wax are removed.

Isaza, who grew up in Colombia, discovered batik in the pages of a magazine around age 17 and it resonated. She tried her hand on a small pillow and, after graduation, began to devote more of her time to the craft.

“It’s so different and almost nobody knows how to do this,” said Isaza. “So it’s a good thing to keep doing it because it’s a unique form of art.”

In a way, it’s almost like painting backwards. It requires a comprehensive plan and foresight and control to translate the image from mind to cloth. But for Isaza, also a trained architect, creating intricate scenes alive with activity and detail seems to come naturally.

It was also in Colombia that Isaza discovered a love for the natural world, a love that remains to this day. She recalls trips through the Colombian mountains, travelling from Medellin to Bogota and back visiting family and watching the world change around her, transitioning from the cool climes of the peaks to the tropical forest in the valley.

“Most of my life I have painted the natural environment, it calls my attention every time I take a trip,” said Isaza. “All those things—the colors and everything—stay stuck in my mind and I wanted to express it and show it to people.”

With this latest exhibition at Selby, Isaza celebrates the diverse and colorful flora of the Florida landscape. Featuring Florida dogwoods, sunflowers, fuschias, the requisite orange tree and a stunning portrait of Selby Gardens’ own Wedding Oak, among others, all for sale, it is an impressive collection, made all the more so by the fabulous use of color, all mixed and measured by Isaza herself from powdered turquoise blue, fuschia red and lemon yellow. It gives her more control and, she says, it’s cheaper.

This will be Isaza’s 11th or so show at Selby Gardens since her 1983 debut, where she has made a name for herself, bringing in regular enthusiasts and even out-of-town collectors who recognize the quality.

“We get people wanting to know ‘When are we going to see Angela again?’” said Marilynn Shelley, manager of community classes and exhibits at Selby Gardens. “She’s grown quite a following and this year’s exhibit ties in with our overall theme of Fabulous Florida.”

Florida’s Fascinating Flora will be on display at the Selby Gardens from Sept. 5 to Nov. 16. The opening reception, complete with wine and cheese pairings is tonight at 5:30pm.