My practice as a botanical artist is grounded in close observation and a sustained relationship with the plants I depict. I often grow my own specimens, allowing me to study them over time—from seed to maturity—and to observe the subtle shifts in form, light, and colour that occur throughout their life cycle.

Working across coloured pencil and graphite, my current primary focus is on garden plants, with a special interest in heirloom and unique varieties. These subjects carry a sense of continuity, shaped by generations of growers who have carefully saved seeds and tended them over time.

By pairing the acts of nurturing and drawing, I aim to create work that reflects both the individuality of each plant and the broader, enduring relationship between people and cultivated landscapes.

Crystal Driedger is a botanical artist, illustrator, and educator based in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada. Her work is informed by an early and sustained connection to the natural environment, having grown up on a farm within the boreal forests of Alberta.

She works across multiple media, including coloured pencil, watercolour, graphite, acrylic, and oil, and her practice frequently involves the study of plant specimens cultivated in her own garden (her botanical work is focused in coloured pencils and graphite). Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at exhibitions organized by the American Society of Botanical Artists in New York and California. She has also undertaken an artist residency at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation in Virginia, USA, where she engaged in focused botanical study alongside artists and researchers. In 2026, her work was shortlisted for the Derwent Art Prize. 

In addition to her studio practice, Crystal is a sessional instructor at MacEwan University, where she teaches drawing and painting in traditional media for the Design & Studio Arts Programs.