For more than 10 years, readers of Sarasota Magazine have delighted in turning to the back page and seeing the illustrations of John Pirman in the “Only in Sarasota” section of the issue. Pirman’s careful, colorful, detailed illustrations have helped readers see sometimes familiar places and scenes in new ways, while also introducing some surprises, even to longtime Sarasotans.

Now Pirman fans have the opportunity to see a retrospective-like exhibit of his works, in larger formats than the size of a magazine page, with John Pirman: Diving into Nature, on view now through Sept. 17 at Selby Gardens’ downtown Sarasota campus. Outdoors, his works depicting Selby scenes, fabricated on aluminum panels by Shiny Prints from Jupiter, Florida, are strategically placed for a “meta” experience, as Selby president and CEO Jennifer Rominiecki calls it. Inside the Museum of Botany & the Arts on the campus, you can also get a peek at Pirman’s long career as an illustrator and graphic designer in New York City. That display even goes back to his very early days when, as a child, a drawing of his was published in Highlights Magazine.

Actually, Pirman’s sense of himself as an artist extends even farther back than that: One paper cutout of a dog dates from his kindergarten year. Viewers can also trace the arc of his New York career designing shopping bags for stores like Bloomingdale’s, promotional materials for Nick at Nite, or holiday cards for the Museum of Modern Art.

But for most viewers, the indoor experience will come after they’ve already seen the panels outside. Pirman’s illustration of the gardens’ koi pond is, naturally, placed inside the pond itself. His image of the Marie Selby House sits before that historic building, and his playful illustration of two climbers on the famed Moreton Bay fig tree that dominates one area of the garden almost seems to morph into the actual tree itself.

It’s not only the gardens’ beauties on display here. Jungle Gardens’ flamingos, a shrine to lost sunglasses on a Siesta Key beach, those leaping dolphins at the fountain at Bayfront Park, and a poised jackknife diver construction that dates from Pirman’s college days are also sprinkled about.

There’s even a sculpture, a bright orange piece appropriately titled Cheer, that Pirman says was a pandemic project he began assembling, as he has with many works over the years, out of paper before its transformation into metal.

Pirman estimates that he’s done about 120 illustrations for Sarasota Magazine over the years, and he says he’s not afraid of running out of subjects, with people often informing him about some structure or sight they think he should immortalize. Stay tuned for more to come in the magazine, but in the meantime, pay a visit to Selby Gardens to catch this show. (P.S.: Several pieces are available for purchase.) For more info, visit selby.org.