Artists from Asia have a habit of winning the Best Botanical Painting
and/or Best Exhibit in the Show at RHS Botanical Art Shows.
and/or Best Exhibit in the Show at RHS Botanical Art Shows.
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Botanical artists from the following countries in Asia are highlighted on this page:
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I aim to list contemporary botanical artists and illustrators in Asia who have been recognised for their excellence and mastery of their individual approach to botanical art and illustration. On this page there are
My general 'rule of thumb' for who gets included in this section is that the artist has to have
This page is not comprehensive as yet but is continuously updated. Banner Image: Kumiko Takano's exhibit of Climbing Plants at the RHS Botanical Art Show in February 2015 - which won "Best Exhibit" In the History section you can read about Famous Asian Botanical Artists (600-1900). At present, it includes artists from China, India and Japan.
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China
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Professor Jin-yong Feng
- taught most of the contemporary botanical illustrators in China. He has also exhibited widely including at the Hunt and the Missouri Botanical Gardens. He is retired from a senior position at the Botanical Institute in Beijing. |
Professor Zeng Xiaolian
- b. 1939 Kunming, China, 1939. Between 1958-1997, he worked as a senior engineer of Kunming Botanical Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and as Illustrator, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 1958–1997. He is a former Chairman of the Botanical Scientific Illustration Society of China. He created more than 2,000 illustrations and has been published in over 50 scientific publications - including 'Flora of China'. He has been selected for numerous national exhibitions in China, the United States, Canada and Australia. Exhibited at the 15th International at the Hunt. |
India
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Damodar Lal Gurjar
- b. 1958. Graduated from Rajasthan School of Arts, Jaipur in 1981. His botanical artwork featured in a solo exhibition, Enduring Perfection: Paintings by Damodar Lal Gurjar, at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation in 2001. He has work included in A Passion for Plants: Contemporary Botanical Masterworks. Hemlata Pradhan
- b. 1974. Botanical Illustrator who was born, lives and works in Kalimpong, Darjeeling, West Bengal. She has a Diploma in Botanical Illustration from Kew and Master’s Degree in Natural History Illustration and Ecological Studies from the Royal College of Art, London. Winner of the Royal Horticultural Society's Gold Medal (1999) and 18th world Orchid Conference Gold Medal (2005) for her paintings of India's wild orchids. She has produced illustrations for numerous botanists. In 2008, she was invited by the British Museum, London to exhibit her paintings at the Museum. Engaged in building the Himalayan Institute of Natural History Art. Indian Botanists Article: Botanical Illustration, painting plant species the scientific way- a dialogue with Hemlata Pradhan. |
Arundhati Vartak
Her name is synonymous with paintings of Indian Trees which portray the character of the tree rather than strict botanical accuracy. Her paintings of Indian Trees have been exhibited in Mumbai, India and at the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation and Chatham College in Pittsburgh in 1999 Portraits of Indian trees
by Arundhati Vartak This illustrated catalogue was published in connection with exhibitions of artwork of Indian trees at Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation and at Chatham College. The catalogue includes an essay by artist Arundhati Vartak as well as biographical data and a portrait of the artist.   BUY from Amazon.com Portraits of Indian trees: Arundhati Vartak : catalogue of exhibitions
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Indonesia
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Mr. Damhuri
b. Bogor, Indonesia in 1936. He was the Chief Illustrator at the Herbarium Bogoriense, Borgor, Indonesia which contains examples of his work. He exhibited at the Hunt Institute's 3rd International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration (1972) Moehamad Toha exhibited in the 5th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration (1983). He and Amir Hamzah (died 1959) produced 456 plant portraits for The Mountain Flora of Java by the late Dutch biologist C.G.G.J. van Steenis (see below). Both artists worked as draughtsmen of the Herbarium Bogoriense, Bogor, Indonesia (Example) Eunike Nugroho a botanical and natural history illustrator who exhibited at the Hunt's 15th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration (2016) |
Eunike Nugroho with her painting selected for the 15th International Exhibition of Botanical Art and Illustration - "The Old and The Young I, Paphiopedilum praestans [Paphiopedilum praestans Pfitzer, Orchidaceae] 2014
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The first edition sold out quickly.
This is the second edition. A search on Google images indicates the very distinctive nature of the illustrations - which are packed with both plants and colour. BUY THIS BOOK: IN THE UK: Mountain Flora of Java
IN THE USA: Mountain flora of Java, 2nd edition
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Japan
At the end of this list of Japanese botanical artists are details of two important books about native and endangered plants in Japan which include illustrations by these artists.
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Mariko Aikawa
b. Hyogo Japan in 1953. Has been painting botanical art since 2004. Won Best Exhibit in 2016 RHS Botanical Art Show and an RHS Gold Medal for her watercolour paintings of "Tillandsia" (air plants). She also exhibits at Botanica in Australia and with the Society of Botanical Artists in London. In 2011 she won the Margaret Granger Memorial Silver Bowl. |
Mariko Aikawa with the Best Exhibit in the 2016 RHS London Botanical Art Show. She also won a Gold Medal for her six watercolour paintings of "Tillandsia".
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Akiko Enokido
won an RHS Gold Medal for her watercolour paintings of "Classical Camellia Japonica" on vellum in 2016. She began painting them when she returned to live in Japan in 2012. She is also a member of ASBA having previously lived in the USA. Mayumi Hashi - now lives in UK; see UK Page |
Akiko Enokido with her gold medal winning display of Classical Camellia Japonica at the RHS London Botanical Art Show 2016.
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Asuka Hishiki GM (2014)
- b. 1972 in Kyoto and now lives and works in Hyogo, Japan after living for 10 years in New York. Graduated with Masters Degree in Fine arts from Kyoto City University of Arts. She has exhibited at the Hunt 14th International Exhibition (2013), the 12th - 18th ASBA Exhibitions with the Horticultural Society of New York (2009-15). She won a Gold Medal at the New York Botanical Garden Triennial in 2014. Her work is in the Hunt Insitute and New York Museum. I tried hard to persuade her that she how needed to exhibit with the RHS! |
Asuka Hishiki with her painting of Japanese horseradish, Wasabi (Eutremia Japonicum) - pictured at 'Flora Japonica' in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew
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Hideo Horikoshi GM (2015)
- won an RHS Gold Medal at the RHS Botanical Art Show for Traditional Root and Tuber Crops in Japan. He also won 'Best Painting in Show' in February 2015. In 2016 he exhibited at the International Exhibition at the Hunt Institute. |
Hideo Horikoshi with two of his gold medal winning paintings in his exhibit of 'Traditional Root and Tuber Crops in Japan'. He also won the Best Botanical Painting for "Apiaceae Daucus carota ‘Kintokininjin’ "
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Hiromi Hyogo GM (2016)
b. 1956- won an RHS Gold Medal for his display of Leguminous plants in February 2016. Has previously exhibited at the Hunt. |
Leguminous plants by Hiromi Hyogo (Gold Medal 2016)
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Pandanus by Mariko Ikeda Keiko Fujita - Gold Medal and Best Exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2017. The works are in watercolour painted on vellum stretched over a board.
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Mariko Ikeda GM (2017)
Lives in Tokyo. Has a Ph.D. in the Sciences of Art (2009) and was first taught botanical illustration by Jenny Phillips in Sydney in 1999. She has been a Botanical Art Instructor in Tokyo since 2006. She has previously won 1st Prize (twice) at the Botanical Art Competition run by the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo. In 2017 she won a Gold Medal for her exhibit of Pandanus and was also awarded Best Exhibit in show. Will be exhibiting at RHS again in 2019 - with more Pandanus. |
Mariko Ikeda GM with her Gold Medal winning Best Exhibit of Pandanus - at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2017
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Mayumi Ishii GM (2017)
Lives in Tokyo, grows roses in pots on her roof terrace and paints them. She won a Gold Medal for her Roses at the RHS London Botanical Art Show in 2017 when she exhibited ten paintings of roses. She also won a Silver Medal in 2015 and was invited to exhibit in the RHS Rose Show in 2015. Also exhibited at the Hunt's 11th International Exhibition. |
Mrs Mayumi Ishii with her Gold Medal winning Roses in RHS Lindley Hall in February 2017. The judges particularly admired the yellow rose.
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Mieko Ishikawa GM (2006)
Her botanical artwork has three themes: “Flowering Cherries of Japan”, “Tropical Rainforest Plants of Borneo” and“Conifers.” She is a member of the Japanese Association of Botanical Illustration, Hunt Institute Associates, and the American Society of Botanical Artists. In 2006 she was awarded an RHS Gold Medal, 2006. Her work is held in the Hunt Institute, the RHS Lindley Library, the Shirley Sherwood Collection, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Highgrove Florilegium, and the Flower Museum, Chiba. Mieko Ishikawa's Story Behind the Art (on the ASBA website) focuses on her painting of the mysterious Rafflesia, a parasite of vines in Borneo. Mieko was responsible - with Mieko Konishi - for organising the artists in Japan who contributed to the Flora Japonica and its exhibition at Kew. (see the book below) |
Mieko Ishikawa GM (2006) with her very famous painting of "Acorns from Brunei" and Flowering Cherries Prunus Pendula" both now owned by Shirley Sherwood. (Pictured in the Flora Japonica exhibition)
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Noboru Isogai
born Gunma Prefecture, Japan 1935 . Exhibited in the 11th International Exhibition at the Hunt Institute and the Flora Japonica exhibition at Kew and the Hunt. Work in the Shirley Sherwood Collection.
born Gunma Prefecture, Japan 1935 . Exhibited in the 11th International Exhibition at the Hunt Institute and the Flora Japonica exhibition at Kew and the Hunt. Work in the Shirley Sherwood Collection.
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Junko Iwata GM
b. 1964 in Nagoya but now lives in the UK. Initially a foreign language teacher, she became interested in botanical painting after visiting an exhibition of Modern Botanical Painters at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Subsequently she studied botanical illustration at Kew with Ann Farrer. She has won an RHS Gold Medal and two Silver Gilt Medals and contributed to the Prince of Wale's Highgrove Florilegium and the Transylvania Florilegium. |
Junko Iwata with her painting of Styrax jamponicus - pictured at the 'Flora Japonica' exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery, Kew
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Keiko Fujita GM
on a Gold Medal at RHS Botanical Art 2017 for her exhibit about Growth of Bamboo in Japan. From Morioka, Iwate. Previously exhibited at the 15th ASBA International. Yumi Kamataki b. Chiba, Japan 1956. After taking degrees in Oil Painting and Painting, Yumi became a freelance artist. Teaches botanical painting at the Japan Branch of the Royal Horticultural Society. She has exhibited extensively in Japan and at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation. She works in watercolour, oil, tempera, acrylic and pencil. Kumiko Kosuda GM (2012) b. Miyagi Prefecture, Japan 1943. Teaches botanical painting in Japan. She has exhibited at the Japan Gardening Society and at the Royal Horticultural Society. Won a Gold Medal for a series about Trycitis in 2012. |
Keiko Fujita with two of the paintings from her RHS Gold Medal Winning exhibit in 2017
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Kimiyo Maruyama GM (RHS 2001, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2015)
b. Hyogo 1936. Started to study botanical painting in 1992-93. Paints outstanding paintings of evergreen trees. Won RHS Best Exhibit in Show in 2010 ( see below). Her work is in the collections of Shirley Sherwood, the RHS Lindley Library and the Hunt Institute. Her illustrations have been published in Curtis's Botanical Magazine and in Endangered Plants of Japan, A Florilegium (2004) Kimiyo Maruyama’s Pinus palustris is a feat of attention to detail; a painstakingly painted watercolour which leaves you enraptured at her patience and skill. |
Kimiyu Maruyama (and her husband) with her exhibit of 'Trees of Pinacaeae in watercolour'
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Masako Mori GM (2015)
b. 1952 in Tokyo. Won a Gold Medal at the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2015. Her painting of a persimmon is the Hunt permanent collection after exhibiting at the 14th International Exhibition at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation in 2013. |
Masako Mori's Gold-medal winning Persimmon exhibit at the RHS in 2015.
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Chiyoko Ohmi GM (2016)
won a Gold Medal for Paulownia tomentosa at the 2016 RHS Botanical Art Show |
Chiyoko Ohmi with four of her six gold medal winning watercolour paintings of "Paulownia tomentosa"
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Kumiko Takano GM (2015)
Won an RHS Gold Medal and Best Exhibit with her display of climbing plants (see banner at top and below) at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2015 |
Kumiko Takano with two of her paintings in her exhibit of Climbing Plants which won an RHS Gold Medal in February 2015 and the 'Best Exhibit' Award
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Kumiko Takano's exhibit of Climbing Plants at the RHS Botanical Art Show in February 2015 won "Best Exhibit".
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Noriko Watanabe GM (2006)
b. 1954 in Hiroshima. Graduated in Art from Osaka University of the Arts in 1977. Initially worked as a kimono pattern designer. Started to study art in 2001 with Celia Godwin and Pamela Stagg at the University of Toronto before she returned to live in Japan in 2004 where she studied with Masako Sasaki. She won an RHS Gold Medal for a series of watercolour paintings of Hydrangeas in 2006 and in 2007 her work featured n the cover of the Hunt Institute Bulletin. Two of her watercolours of Hydrangea quercifolia (2005) are in the Hunt Institute’s permanent collection. Her work is also in the collections of the RHS Lindley Library and the Shirley Sherwood Collection. |
Noriko Watanabe with her painting of ' Nuphar Japonica' - pictured in the Flora Japonica exhibition at Kew
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Masumi Yamanaka GM (2010)
b. 1957 in Nara, Japan but has lived in the UK since 1987. She studied botanical art with Pandora Sellers. She has been a freelance botanical artist based at the Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew since 2007 and is now the Japanese Exhibition Coordinator at Kew. She organised the recent Flora Japonica exhibition. In 2010, she won an RHS Gold Medal for her illustrations of Aesculus indica 'Sydney Pearce'. She exhibited at Kew in ‘Trees’ - Winter 2009, ‘Bulbmania’- Summer 2010 and ‘Kew Artists’- Spring 2011. In 2015, her exhibition of 'Kew's Heritage Trees' which portrayed the oldest and iconic trees in the garden was held in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery. The paintings now form part of Kew's permanent collection. She is also one of the authors (with Martin Rix) of the book about Flora Japonica |
Masumi Yamanaka pictured with her solo exhibition of "Kew's Heritage Trees' in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew
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Keiko Yoshida GM (2003)
b. 1965 in Yokohama. Graduate of Tama University of Art, Initially a designer she is now a full time botanical illustrator and teacher. Specialises in painting the wild flowers of Rebun Island, off the northern tip of Hokkaido. Her distinctive style displays the plants in their habitat (echoing Marianne North and Margaret Mee). She has received many awards for botanical painting, including an RHS Gold Medal in 2003 for an exhibit of Spring Flowers on Rebun Island. She exhibited at the 10th International Exhibition at the Hunt Institute. |
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Flora Japonica
by Masumi Yamanaka, Hideaki Ohba and Martyn Rix Paperback: 240 pages Publisher: Kew Publishing Publication date (UK): 1 Sept. 2016 Publication date (USA) November 15, 2016 Authors:
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This is MUST BUY for the library of any serious collector of books about botanical art.
I've much admired the paintings of native flora by Japanese artists that I've seen at various exhibitions in recent years. This book enables you to learn more about the artists and have a permanent record of the excellence of their work. This splendid NEW book is about the native flora of Japan and how this is depicted in contemporary botanical art. Kew Publishing produced it to coincide with the excellent Flora Japonica exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew (2016). It contains images of all the paintings in the main gallery. The 80 specially commissioned botanical paintings of Japanese wild plants have been contributed by 30 of the Japan’s best contemporary artists. The images of the painting are full page and are accompanied by:
BUY THIS BOOK Flora Japonica
available from Amazon UKFlora Japonica
 available from Amazon.com |
 
Endangered Plants of Japan: A Florilegium
Format: JP Oversized
Language: Japanese Published: 2004 |
This book was published in 2004. It is outcome of a project established in 1998 by the Japanese Association of Botanical Illustration to paint Japan’s rarest flora from living specimens. Their aim was to focus public attention on the increased risk facing many of the country’s endemic flora through, in most cases, habitat loss and over collecting.
The Florilegium contains 182 species. However these represent only 10% of the total endangered plants in Japan. Conservation Portraits: Botanical Illustrations of Japan’s Endangered Plants This is an article about the 2005 exhibition of the paintings in the Florilegium at the United States National Arboretum and at the Chicago Botanic Garden. This file contains 17 plates from the exhibition. BUY THIS BOOK |
Nepal
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Neera Joshi Pradhan - b. 1967 into a family of artists in Kathmandu. She has been a Botanical artist and illustrator based in Kathmandu Nepal for the last 16 years. She has studied plant science and has a MSc in Botany. She trained at (1) Marie Selby Botanical Garden, Florida and (2) Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. Has specialised in studying and painting the flora of the Kathmandu Valley and her work has been published in various publications including Flora from Kathmandu Valley. (1999) and Flora of Nepal, Vol. III. Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh, Scotland (RGBE), 2011. She has exhibited at home and abroad - including the Flora of Nepal exhibition at the RGBE
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Neera Joshi Pradhan at the Flora of Nepal Exhibition at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh (2016)
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Republic of Korea (South Korea)
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Suyeon Kim GM (2017)
Lives in Seoul. Suyeon did her Diploma Course in Botanical Illustration at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh and graduated with her Diploma in 2011. She has been studying and painting plants endemic to Korea for some years. |
Suyeon Kim - An exhibit of Endemic Plants of Korea (RHS 2017)
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Jee-Yeon Koo
President of the The Korean Society of Botanical Illustrators. MFA at Chung Ang University, Seoul. Completed Certificate of Botanical Art and Illustration at the NY Botanical Garden in 1998. In 1999 she received the "Best of Show" award at the Art In Science International Exhibition at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, Missouri. Jee-Yeon Koo's art is in many public and private collections around the world including the Korea National Arboretum. The video is of a 2011 exhibition of her botanical paintings Dongduk Women’s University Museum. She was one of the main organisers of the Flora Korea exhibition for BAW in 2018. |
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Her work is widely respected in Korea, as she advocates for the genre, noting its importance in documenting plants and connecting with the wider public to enlist their enthusiasm for botanical works. ASBA
RHS Botanical Art Exhibition 2013: Gold Medal and Best Exhibit in Show for 'Lauraceae in Korea' by Hye Woo Shin.
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Hye Woo Shin GM (RHS: 2013, 2014, 2018; RHS Best Exhibit 2013 and 2014; Special Judges Award 2018; BISCOT: 2015)
Lives in Seoul and has an extremely impressive track record at RHS Shows and other open exhibitions
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RHS Botanical Art Exhibition 2014: Hye Woo Shin - with her Best Exhibit Award and RHS Gold Medal for Heterotrophic Plants of Korea (Parasitic Plants)
Hye Woo Shin with her Special Judges Award (RHS 2018)
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Thailand
Shirley Sherwood with Phansakdi Chakkaphak at the exhibition to mark the 25th anniversary of her collection - at the Jonathan Cooper Park Walk Gallery in Chelsea.
Photo copyright Katherine Tyrrell
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Phansakdi Chakkaphak - with his painting of a Walnut 'Juglans regia' at the Trees: Delight in Detail at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew Gardens 15 October 2018
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Phansakdi Chakkaphak - born Chonburi, Thailand 1949. He has a degree in architecture from Bangkok University and a degree in Plastic and Graphic Arts with Distinction from the University of Illinois. He began painting in watercolour in 1991. He has designed and illustrated many publications on botanical art. His work has been exhibited in various group shows in Bangkok, San Francisco, and New York. A number of his watercolour paintings have been purchased by Dr Shirley Sherwood and added to her collection.
See also Phansakdi Chakkapak - Contemporary Thai Botanical Artist |
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RHS London Botanical Art Show 2016: Gold Medal for Tropical Climate plants by Sansanee Deekrajang. Copyright: images - Sansanee Deekrajang; photo - Katherine Tyrrell
Sansanee Deekrajang (born in Bangkok in 1980) - Sansanee is from Bangkok but now lives in Lothian in Scotland. She has a degree of art and has specialised in fine art printmaking in the past. She taught herself how to do botanical art and won an RHS Gold Medal for her watercolour paintings of tropical plants in 2016. She has a particular talent for producing very bright paintings full of content with excellent compositions.
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