Two exhibits will display “Flowers in Art” through March 13, 2011, in the McDermott Learning Center of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, 4801 La Crosse Avenue, Austin, Texas.

On display are Stella Alesi’s paintings and Richard Reynolds’ photographic plant portraits.

Alesi, who painted the 2011 Wildflower Days art print as well as the Wildflower Center’s 2010 holiday card, starts her work with photographs. But these, she said, are “too quick and distant” so she paints, exploring every surface and color. Her exhibit is titled “Still Life: New Work by Stella Alesi.”

Richard Reynolds has devised his own technique for creating large and incredibly detailed photographs of flowers without the distortion that usually accompanies extreme close-ups. Reynolds, who taught lab and studio techniques at The University of Texas at Austin and was chief photographer for the Texas Tourist Development Agency, has 11 books of landscape photography to his credit. His exhibit is titled “High Resolution Composite Floral Photographs by Richard Reynolds.”

Admission to the center is free in January, Road Trips Gardeners, and $8 for adults the rest of the year.

(In the photo, courtesy of the Wildflower Center, Alessi’s work is at the top and Reynolds’ at the bottom)