This is a limited edition giclee print from an original 2008 watercolor of the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve. It is printed to order on archival paper and hand retouched to enhance colors that the printer can not achieve. Signed lower right. The image features native orchids: Pollyrizza lindenii (Ghost Orchid), Epidendrum cochleatum, Encyclia tampensis, and lonopsis ultiealarioides. Statement by the artist: Native Orchids of Florida One of our nation’s natural treasures can be found in Southwest Florida. I visited the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve, Inc., three times to study this unique habitat. Guided on a swampwalk by biologist Mike Owen and Dennis Giardina, we waded through several feet of water. We saw many native orchids growing on cypress, pond apple, and pop ash. Amid all the mosquitoes, who liked me very much (even with wearing a net over my head, I was bitten very badly), I was still awe-struck by this unique habitat, home to so many species of orchids, such as: Polyrrhiza lindenii, Epidendrum cochleatum, Encyclia tampensis, and Ionopsis utricularioides. My painting depicts these orchids in situ, along with the feeling of being there. The overhead canopy of trees creates a dimly lit world of light bouncing off water, reflections, and surreal beauty. It is the wild spirit of the Fakahatchee that I wanted to capture in my painting, to celebrate Florida’s natural world. Bio Angela Mirro studied art at Parsons School of Design. She developed a career as a textile designer, while focusing on botanical watercolor paintings of orchids and exhibiting them for over thirty years. She has also worked in the Home Collection of Polo Ralph Lauren, designing textile patterns. Inspired by the natural world, her focus has also been on painting watercolor landscapes. For over a period of many years, she has travelled to Peru and Florida to study and paint the native orchids ‘in situ’, which grow there. Orchids have captivated her for many years. They provide a feast for the senses through their diverse forms, textures, colors, and fragrances, while evoking some of the most exotic habitats in the world. The experience of painting them is energizing and magical; they almost seem to exert their will: their resilience and beauty, a testament to life. Her artwork has been widely exhibited at such venues as The Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, as well as Kew Gardens, in London England and is contained in many private collections as well as The Shirley Sherwood Collection, London, England, The Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium Society, Brooklyn, NY, The Atlanta Botanic Garden, Atlanta Georgia and that of The American Orchid Society’s Headquarters in Florida.