Sci-Fi Botanicals by Agnès Jonas

Agnès Jonas is a freelance illustrator based in London. She works on atmospheric and minimalist images and develop ethereal universes where science fiction is never far away. Its Sci-Fi Botanicals series offers a collection of exotic flowers drawn with finesse and delicacy.

Can you tell us about yourself and your background?
I’m a freelance illustrator creating heavily textured atmospheric artworks. My style is also defined by abstraction, contrasts, and organic/biomorphic shapes.
I have a degree in art and design however I was never really able to focus on maintaining this path until the first lockdown in London. Despite the many challenges of last year, I found those months of isolation super inspiring. I was finally able to experiment without the pressure of everyday life and I’m glad these circumstances provided me enough space to develop a style I could truly identify myself with.

What is your favorite technique?
My favorite technique at the moment is working digitally. I didn’t really think I would ever say that, but here we are. As much as I like “real” materials, I find traditional methods restricting. This recent style I’ve been working with requires many layers and the freedom of constant changes on the go. I feel this technique is the most ideal way to capture my visions, but it would be interesting to try and translate this aesthetic into paintings in the future.

What is the starting point of this series?
I normally don’t have a pre-calculated plan when I work on personal projects. It usually starts with a random shape and it just evolves spontaneously. I never really know how the end result is going to look and I almost couldn’t recreate an image in the same way. Especially when it’s a more complex one. I find this process really exciting. So this series started the same way with a random shape that turned out to be a petal which led to a flower and I just couldn’t stop. A whole collection of alien species was born.

What is your relationship with flowers?
I have various connections to flowers actually, but I think I would like to mention the earliest and one of my dearest memories. I remember one of my favorite things as a child in early spring was to go out to our wild garden and look for little violets. I really loved its scent. Still do. I spent so much time there laying in the grass and observing nature. Flowers, plants, bugs, anything, and everything…many times I stayed outside till sunset. Then I climbed up a tree and sat there in the dark listening to the sounds around me or searching for constellations in the night sky.

What is your next project?
I would like to open my online print shop and offer (mainly) limited edition museum-quality art prints.