NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art #4: Artists from Asia

16/11/2019

This is the fourth in my series of posts about artists who have artwork in the new exhibition Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens relates to Asia. The artists are from China, India, Japan, Korea, Philippines, and Thailand

Three posts in my series of SIX posts about the artists in the exhibition have been published previously:

Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art #1: British Artists
Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art #2: North and Latin American Artists (USA, Canada Brazil and Mexico)
Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art #3: European Artists

Two more posts (to come) relate to:

#5 artists from South Africa
#6 artists from Australia and New Zealand

Mieko Ishikawa GM (2006) with her very famous painting of "Acorns from Brunei" and Flowering Cherries Prunus Pendula" owned by Shirley Sherwood. (Pictured in the Flora Japonica exhibition in 2016)

The exhibition celebrates 30 years of the Shirley Sherwood Collection - and is being exhibited in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew Gardens - which opened 11 years ago and has now received well over 1 million visitors.

The exhibition opened today and continues until until 15 March 2020. (note the opening and last entry times at the end)

I'm expecting it will get a lot more visitors with this new exhibition which comprises artwork from Shirley Sherwood's Collection of Contemporary Botanical Art which is the largest private collection in the world - with more than 1,000 artworks.

Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art
#3(a): Asian Artists

Below you can find:
the names of artists whose work is displayed - with a link to their website embedded in their name (or a link to a dedicated page on my website for some of the deceased artists)
a short profile of each artist - focusing on their achievements
the names of the plants in their artwork which has been selected for the exhibition. Where plants have been featured in previous books by Dr Sherwood this is noted next to the name.

CHINA

Jinyong Feng
b.1925. 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.

Camellia chekiangoleosa 1994 (Contemporary Botanical Artists)
Camellia chrysantha (The Art of Plant Evolution)

Tai-li Zhang
b.1938. Worked as a botanical artist all her life. She trained at the School of Botanical Painting, Institute of Botany, Academia Sinica in Beijing from 1958-1960. She then worked for the next 35 years at the department of plant taxonomy in the Institute of Botany. She has exhibited her work in many exhibitions in China and also in Australia, the Missouri Botanical Gardens in the USA and the Everard Read Gallery in South Africa. She also exhibited in the 6th International Exhibition at the Hunt Institute. Over 1,000 of her drawings were reproduced in Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinae.

Paulownia elongata (Contemporary Botanical Artists)
Maidenhair Tree 1994 (Contemporary Botanical Artists)

INDIA

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.

Nasturtium Tropaeolum (A Passion for Plants, pg 93)

Thakur Ganga (Rai Sahib) Singh (1895-1970)
Born in India. He joined the Dehra Dun Forest Institute in 1911 and served as a Senior Artist for 30 years until his retirement in 1945. In 1931 he took long leave for a year and travelled to London for formal training as an artist at the Slade School of Art. He was made Rai Sahib ( a title of honour) for his contribution to art. Court painter to Yadhavindra Singh, Maharajah of Patiala. Ganga Singh was engaged by the Maharajah in 1942 to reproduce his collected flora in watercolour drawings. He became a permanent member of His Highness' staff and painted over four hundred watercolours over a period of twenty years.

Tiger Lily Lilium lancifolium (A Passion for Plants, pg 212)

When I was a schoolgirl I visited Pakistan just after partition and spent some wonderful months exploring the Himalayas of the North West Frontier Province, close to the border with Kashmir, I will never forget the spectaucyalr drifts of delphiniums flowing down the mountains, the alpine streams and high valleys dotted with orchids and lilies. As a budding botanist I scrambled up the mountains with my pony, collecting and pressing plants, which I eventually took to Kew.
Shirley Sherwood - in her profile of Thakur (Rai Sahib) Singh in "A Passion for Plants"

JAPAN

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 Institute and New York Museum.

Wasabi 2011

Asuka Hishiki with her painting of Japanese horseradish, Wasabi (Eutremia Japonicum) - pictured at 'Flora Japonica' in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew in 2016

Hideo Horikoshi's painting of Taro 2014 Colocasia esculenta 'Dodear' from his RHS Gold Medal winning series of root vegetables

Hideo Horikoshi GM (2015, 2018)
b.1936. Won an RHS Gold Medal at the RHS Botanical Art Show for Traditional Root and Tuber Crops in Japan in 2015 plus 'Best Painting in Show' in February 2015. In 2016 he exhibited at the International Exhibition at the Hunt Institute. In 2018 he won another RHS Gold Medal for his paintings of 'The Classical Chrysanthemums in Japan'

Taro 2014 Colocasia esculenta 'Dodear'

Mariko Ikeda GM (2017 and 2019)
b.1981. 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 and 2019 she won a Gold Medal for her exhibit of Pandanus. In 2017 she was also awarded Best Exhibit in show and in 2019 she won Best Painting.

Pandanus boninensis Warburg 2016

Pandanus boninensis Warburg 2016 by Mariko Ikeda

Zuigetsu Ikeda (1877-1944)
The the leading botanical artist in Japan in the last 1930s. Commissioned by Shotaro Kaga to produce original color paintings of over 300 examples of the species in his collection. The paintings were subsequently reproduced using richly colored woodblock prints. The series of paintings - repriced as woodblock prints - are known as the Ranka-Fu series, first published in 1946. (see my blog post)

Rankafu print of Dendrobium victoriae- reginae

These vibrant woodblock prints are based on the watercolour paintings of orchids of Zuigetsu Ikeda (1877-1944) and were published in 1946 after his death by Shotaro Kaga (1888-1954), a wealthy businessman from the Kansai region.

The artist is primarily known from this limited edition (300 copies) portfolio of exquisite woodblock prints published . and based on the paintings Zuigetsu Ikeda made of the extensive orchid collection bred by Shotaro Kaga at his Villa Oyamazaki in the 1930s. The Rankafu prints are considered masterpieces in this technically demanding artform
Four new botanical art exhibitions at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery (August 2018)

Mariko Imai GM (1996)
b.1942 in Kanagawa, Japan. She was awarded and RHS Gold Medal in 1996 and has had her work on the cover of the RHS Japan Magazine. In 1997, she went to live a in small village in the north of Honshu where she started to grown her own vegetables and cultivate a collection of Asarum - and hopes to produce and illustrate a monograph of the genus

Asarum minamitanianum 2016

Mariko Imai has long been one of the outstanding botanical artists in Japan
Flora Japonica

Mieko Ishikawa GM (2006) (see image at the top of this post)
b.1950. Studied with Her botanical artwork has three themes: “Flowering Cherries of Japan”, “Tropical Rainforest Plants of Borneo” and“Conifers.” Member of the Japanese Association of Botanical Illustration, Hunt Institute Associates, and the American Society of Botanical Artists. 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 was one of the organisers of theJapanese artists who contributed to Flora Japonica and its exhibition at Kew in 2016. (see the book below). She has also had several solo shows in Tokyo and at the US National Arboeretum in Washington and the Information and Culture Centre in Washington DC,

Acorns from Brunei (one of my all time favourites! (A Passion for Plants, pg 119)

Flowering Cherries 2006 Prunus pendula 'Pendula-rosea' (Treasures of Botanical Art, pg 103)
Dry pitcher of Nepenthes villosa 2012

Noboru Isogai
b.1935 in Gumma, Japan. Graduated with a degree in precision mechanical engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1959 and worked for Seiko Instruments for most of his career. Exhibited at the 11th International at the Hunt. Taught botanical art at the cultural institute in Chiba. Exhibited extensively in Japan and with the SBA in London.

Tahitian screwpine 2007 Pandanus tectorius (Treasures of Botanical Art, pg 199)

Yoko Kakuta
b.1939 in Tailien in Manchuria. Studied under Yoai Ohta (former Head of the Japanese Botanical Art Association). Now a tutor in botanical art at the Asahi Culture Centre. She has contributed botanical illustrations to Curtis's Botanical Magazine. She has exhibited with other Japanese artists both nationally and internationally - including Flora Japonica at Kew in 2016.Her work is held in the collection of the Hunt Institute, the Tamashin Museum of History and Art and the Shirley Sherwood Collection. She researched and painted the Camellias of Vietnam (1995-2015)

Rosa hirtula

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)

Diosypros kaki 2003 (The Art of Evolution pg 29 & 253
Long leaf pine 2007 Pinus palustris (Pinaceae)

Crop of 'Long leaf pine 2007 Pinus palustris (Pinaceae)' by Kimiyo Maruyama b.1936

Hiroki Sato (1925-1998)
Born in Marugame, Kagawa Prefecture in 1925.Graduated from Kagawa Prefectural Art College of Architecture. 1950 Go to Tokyo as the illustrator. Became the became the chief professor of "Plant Painting Course", a correspondence course hosted by the Japan Horticultural Society. He taught botanical art throughout Japan. In 1994 he received the "International Arts and Culture Award" from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Culture - for contributing to the establishment and improvement and development of botanical art.

Adonis (A Passion for Plants, pg 193)

Kumiko Takano GM (2015, 2019)
b.1945 in China. Studied graphic design and became a fashion designer and a designer in advertising. She began botanical painting after she retired. Won an RHS Gold Medal and Best Exhibit for her display of climbing plants (see banner at top and below) at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2015

Passiflora edulis 2013 (on the far right in the photo below)

RHS exhibit of climbing plants by Kumiko Takano at RHS Botanical Art Sow in 2015 - the painting in the exhibition is on the far right

Michiko Toyota
b.1952 in Tokyo. Started as a kimono designer before becoming a botanical artist working on a freelance basis and instructor of painting at the Botanic Gardens of Toyama. Won various awards. Exhibited at the Hunt Institute in 1988.

Seedlings of Oak 1992 Quercus serrata (Contemporary Botanical Artists)

Yoko Uchijo GM (2000, 2004)
b.1949 in Tokyo. Became a freelance artist in 1970. Studied botanical art with Hiroki Sato (1987-1998) Works as a botanical illustrator and teaches in Yokohama. Exhibits regularly in Japan and has work in the Hunt Institute and the Shirley Sherwood Collection. Yoko Uchijo Botanical Illustrations was published in 2013.

Japanese Stewartia: 1993 Stewartia pseudocamellia

KOREA

Jee-Yeun Suh
b.1981 in Seoul, Republic of Korea

Thorny Giant 2017 Euryale ferox. This is an edible fruit. The plant is cultivated in India, China and Japan. Found in Yangtze region in Neolithic remains

Thorny Giant 2017 Euryale ferox by Jee-Yeun Suh

PHILIPPINES

Emmanuel L. Cordova
b.1960 in the Philippines. A Filipino Asian Modern & Contemporary painter. His work has been offered at auction multiple times - including at Christies and Bonhams. He also paints murals on commission. He has a painting in the Shirley Sherwood Collection.

Staghorn Fern

THAILAND

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. Forty two of his artworks have been donated to or acquired by Dr Shirley Sherwood and added to her collection.

Golden Dewdrop 2013 Durantia erecta
Japanese Pine Cone 2017 Pinus densiflora
Sacred Lotus 2018 Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn

Details about exhibition and book

EXHIBITING ARTISTS - by country

Exhibition Venue (and Shop): Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art,
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Dates: 16 November 2019 – 15 March 2020
Hours: Note that the Gardens open at 10am every day. Closing times vary throughout the year - and closing times for the Gallery are typically 30 minutes before those for the garden.
Below are the closing times and last entry times for the GARDEN.

27 October – 19 November 2019: 3.45pm (last entry 3.15pm)
20 November 2019 – 23 December 2019: 3.30pm (last entry 3.00pm)
24 & 25 December 2019: Closed
26 December 2019 – 5 January 2020 3.30pm (last entry 3pm)
6 – 31 January 2020: 4.15pm (last entry 3.15pm)
1 – 29 February 2020: 5pm (last entry 4pm)
1 – 29 March 2020: 6pm (last entry 5pm)

Admission: Free with entrance to Kew Gardens

You can buy or order the exhibition book from the Kew Shop - currently listed at a special price of £25. Alternatively, the book is also available from Amazon.

The Shirley Sherwood Collection - from Amazon UK
The Shirley Sherwood Collection - from Amazon.com

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Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art #3: European Artists

14/11/2019

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Find out about the European artists who have artwork in the new exhibition Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art - celebrating 30 years of the Shirley Sherwood Collection.

Angela Petrini (Italy) Shirley Sherwood at RHS Botanical Art Show 2018 - with the painting which has just been purchased between them. The next day the one on the left also joined the collection!

The exhibition opens at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens on Saturday 16th November 2019- until 15 March 2020. (note the opening and last entry times at the end)

The art work in the exhibition celebrates the 30th anniversary of the private collection of Dr Shirley Sherwood and the artwork in all six galleries comes from that collection.

This is the third in my series of posts about the artists in the exhibition.

Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art #1: British Artists
Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art #2: North and Latin American Artists (USA, Canada Brazil and Mexico)
Today: European Artists
Friday: from countries in Asia and South Africa
Saturday: Australia and New Zealand

Below you can find:

the names of artists whose work is displayed - with a link to their website embedded in their name (or a link to a dedicated page on my website for some of the deceased artists)
a short profile of each artist - focusing on their achievements
the names of the plants in their artwork which has been selected for the exhibition. Where plants have been featured in previous books by Dr Sherwood this is noted next to the name.

Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art
#3: European Artists

Although Shirley Sherwood is renowned for having created a collection of contemporary botanical art, she ha also acquired pieces by past masters of botanical art.

OLD EUROPEAN

Franz Andreas Bauer (1758-1840) DEDICATED PAGE on this website
Worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew for over 50 years and latterly was employed as "Botanick Painter to his Majesty" and drew all the new flowering plants at Kew.

Erica fascicularis numbered ‘6’ Erica fascicularis

Basil Besler (1561-1629) DEDICATED PAGE on this website
Basilius Besler is not a botanical artist. Rather he was the man best known for compiling the book known as the Hortus Eystettensis which was a florilegium of all the plants grown in the garden of the prince bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria.

Rose of Jericho I and III and Melocactus intortus or Turks' II Cap Cactus 1615

Besler - Rose of Jericho I and III and Melocactus intortus or Turks' II Cap Cactus 1615

Barbara Regina Dietzsch (1706-1783)
A very talented member of the from the Nuremberg artist dynasty Dietzsch. Her work was exported and although credited with being a court painter she rejected this description.

Redcurrant Branch with Butterfly - Gouache heightened w white on vellum

Johann Dietzsch (1710-1769)
A German draftsman, engraver and painter who used watercolour and body colour to produce paintings in the Dutch style eg on prepared vellum with a dark background. According to this article in The Economist - this is the artist who prompted Dr Shirley Sherwood to break her rule to only buy work by contemporary artists.

Woolly Thistle Silvbum marianum

AUSTRIA

Jakob Demus
b.1959. one of a few botanical artists who are printmakers. He produces etchings and diamond-needle dry points. His Ranunculus Asiaticus is in the Shirley Sherwood Collection and more work is in the Hunt Collection.

Ranunculus asiaticus 1988

Unlike a normal drypoint, the sharpened diamond shears smoothly through the copper, allowing the artist to make extremely precise, almost photographical images.

BELGIUM

Gertrude Hamilton
born (in 1968) and educated in Belgium. Received graphic arts training in Paris, and later studied at the Art Students League in New York, where she discovered the art of botanical and natural history illustration. She is a member of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium Society.

Red & Purple Currants Raspberries Snail & Bee 2001

Red & Purple Currants Raspberries Snail & Bee by Gertude Hamilton

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Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art #2: North and Latin American Artists

13/11/2019

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Today, I'm documenting information about the artists from North and Latin America who have artwork in the new exhibition Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art - celebrating 30 years of the Shirley Sherwood Collection - which opens at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens on Saturday 16th November 2019 - until 15 March 2020. (note the opening and last entry times at the end)

The art work in the exhibition comes from entirely from the private collection of Dr Shirley Sherwood.

(Shirley Sherwood) became interested in plants and art as a young child and went on to study Botany at Oxford University before earning her D.Phil as part of the team that discovered the drug Tagamet.

She started the Shirley Sherwood Collection in 1990 and it now includes over 1,000 paintings and drawings representing the work of over 300 contemporary botanical artists from 36 countries around the world.

Cycad 1998 Female cones of Encephalartos ferox by Leslie Carol Berge (1959-2017)

This post has two parts relating to the botanical artists in the exhibition who come from

North America - specifically USA and Canada
Latin America - specifically Brazil and Mexico

Every day this week - including Saturday when the exhibition opens - I am documenting information about the artists whose artwork has been selected to hang in this major exhibition. I'm also including images of some of the artwork in the exhibition. This is one you will not want to miss.

Yesterday I published information about the Artists of the British Isles and Ireland
Below you can find:

the names of artists whose work is displayed - with a link to their website embedded in their name (or a link to a dedicated page on my website for some of the deceased artists)
a short profile of each artist - focusing on their achievements
the names of the plants in their artwork which has been selected for the exhibition. Where plants have been featured in previous books by Dr Sherwood this is noted next to the name.

The remaining posts concern the botanical artists

Thursday - from countries in Europe,
Friday - from countries in Asia and South Africa and
Saturday - from Australia and New Zealand.

I'm very much looking forward to the Private View which a lot of those artists will be attending. This is a very special group of artists!

NOTES:

If you don't want to miss one of my blog posts, I suggest you subscribe to this blog - see side column or subscription box later in this post
The images below have been featured in previous posts of mine about previous exhibitions at the Gallery or about the artists. Many thanks to Sophie Cooper, Personal Assistant to Shirley Sherwood for providing me with the lists of artists and to Maria and Victoria for providing updates for what is hung.

Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art
#2 (a): North American Artists

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Francesca Anderson GM FLS (1995, 99)
b. 1946. (BA. MA, MFA) A botanical artist who always works in pen and ink with 13 works in the Shirley Sherwood Collection. She has received two RHS gold medals (Amaryllis in 1995; Brassica series in 1999). She is a former President of the American Society of Botanical Artists, founder and president of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium Society, a Fellow of the Linnean Society and and a Trustee of Brooklyn Botanic Garden. She has had her work exhibited extensively and internationally in museums in Sweden, Scotland, London, South Africa, Australia, Berlin, and Japan and has works in the collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the Hunt Institute, the RHS Lindley Library and the National Gallery of Modern Art in Scotland as well as other public and private collections.

Cyclamen 1992

Leslie Carol Berge (1959-2017) - see image at the top of the post
b. Massachusetts 1959. 8 works in the Shirley Sherwood Collection. Renowned for her paintings of cycads. Her painting of the female cones of the cycad, Encephalartos woodii (extinct in the wild) featured on the front cover of "A Passion for Plants" and was reproduced in the Washington Post. Graduated in Art History, Painting and Drawing from Bennington College, Vermont. MA in Illustration At Art Institute of Boston. Became a freelance artist in 1981. Participated in early botanical art courses organised by Dr Sherwood. Exhibited in the 7th International Exhibition at the Hunt in 1992.

Cycad 1998 Female cones of Encephalartos ferox
Bushman's Cycad 2001 Encephalartos trispinosus

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Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art #1: British Artists

11/11/2019

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Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art opens at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens on Saturday 16th November 2019 (see details of dates and hours at end of this post).

On the same day Shirley Sherwood's latest book, celebrating her extensive and leading private collection of contemporary botanical art, is also published. The Shirley Sherwood Collection: Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art will be available from the shop in the Gallery as well as the Main Shop.

Banner image for the exhibition website page on the Kew website

Cover of Dr Sherwood's NEW Book about The Shirley Sherwood Collection

For all those of you who have collected (as I have) Dr Sherwood's previous books and have admired the artwork on their pages this is the most amazing opportunity

first to see the real paintings in the exhibition - and to see examples of all those she has acquired since she first started writing about contemporary botanical art
also to see them recorded in the new 320 page hardback book about The Shirley Sherwood Collection - which is without any doubt the most important private collection of contemporary botanical art in the world.

I have absolutely no doubt that this exhibition will be enormously popular and - without even seeing it yet - that this book will undoubtedly become a best seller and a seminal reference on this topic!

About the exhibition artists

This entire retrospective exhibition is selected from Dr Sherwood's personal collection of over 1,000 contemporary botanical artworks - plus a few "old favourites"!

The exhibition is organised according to geographical regions of the world recognising her very many travels in pursuit of botanical art - and the truly international nature of her collection.

Every day this week - including Saturday when the exhibition opens - I am going to publish the names of the artists who have work in the exhibition - starting today with the ARTISTS OF THE BRITISH ISLES AND IRELAND - and moving on to those from

Wednesday - North and Latin America,
Thursday - from countries in Europe,
Friday - from countries in Asia and South Africa and
Saturday - from Australia and New Zealand.

I'm very much looking forward to the Private View which a lot of those artists will be attending. This is a very special group of artists!

(If you don't want to miss one of my blog posts, I suggest you subscribe to this blog - see side column or subscription box later in this post)

Below you can find:

the names of artists whose work is displayed - with a link to their website embedded in their name (or a link to a dedicated page on my website for some of the deceased artists)
a short profile of each artist - focusing on their achievements
the names of the plants in their artwork which has been selected for the exhibition. Where plants have been featured in previous books by Dr Sherwood this is noted next to the name.

The images below have been featured in previous posts of mine about previous exhibitions at the Gallery or about the artists. Many thanks to Sophie Cooper, Personal Assistant to Shirley Sherwood for providing me with the lists of artists and to Maria and Victoria for providing updates for what got hung.

Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art
#1: Artists of the British Isles and Ireland

Gillian Barlow GM (1994, 1997, joint 1999); Veitch GM
b. 1944 Current Chair of the RHS Picture Committee (joined 2005) and a judge for the RHS Botanical Art Shows. Won three RHS Gold Medals and a Gold Veitch Memorial Medal (2015) for an outstanding contribution to advancement of the art of horticulture. Official Orchid Artist for the RHS (1999-2005). Deputy Chairman of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society. Work in various collections: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; RHS Lindley Library, Shirley Sherwood Collection, and Hunt Institute. (Prints) She has also worked as a Herald painter at London's College of Arms for 30 years

Artichoke Seed Head 2001 Cynara cardunculus (see A New Flowering)

Stephanie Berni
b. 1949 in Bristol. Began botanical painting in 1996 for The English Gardening School Diploma Course. with Anne Marie Evans. Has work in The Shirley Sherwood Collection and the Highgrove Florilegium. Her Australian Tree Fern painting adorns the front cover of Shirley Sherwood’s Book A New Flowering; 1000 Years of Botanical Art.

Australian tree fern 2004 Balantium antarcticum (see A New Flowering)

Raymond Booth (1929-2015) DEDICATED PAGE
a botanical, wildlife and natural history artist of international renown who lived a reclusive life in Yorkshire and exhibited at the Fine Art Society. One of a very few botanical painters who used oil for his paintings. His work is held in various collections including the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew and the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation in Pittsburgh. He grew and painted many rare species of Japanese plants and then painted 85 paintings to illustrate the book Japonica Magnifica, published in 1992. Included in Contemporary Botanical Artists (1996)

Rosa moyesii 1988 Rosa moyesii (See Contemporary Botanical Artists)

Victoria Braithwaite
b.1973 Exhibits with the SBA and the SSBA. Has work in the Shirley Sherwood Collections (exhibited Kew 2016 and 2017)

Peony, Greenbank Garden 2018

Jenny Brazier GM (1982, 1988 1989, 1994, 2000)
b.1936 No formal training. Encouraged to paint plants and flowers in her later years by Wilfrid Blunt. Has work in The Art of Botanical Illustration' (1994 version), in the V&A and Shirley Sherwood Collection plus five Gold Medals for works in watercolour on both paper and vellum. Exhibited at Hunt 1983. Awarded the Jill Smythies award for Botanical Illustration by The Linnean Society in 2002. Founder member of the SBA plus current Chair of the Eden Florilegium Society

Cyclamen pseudibericum 1993 Cyclamen pseudibericum (See Contemporary Botanical Artists)

Norah Briggs (1905-1989)
Mother of Shirley Sherwood

Aristolochia sp. 1949

Dr Andrew P. Brown GM (1992, 1994, 1997, 1999)
b. 1948. Awarded four Gold Medals by the RHS. He is a freelance botanical illustrator for Kew Gardens; Secretary of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society and author of the books associated with exhibitions by the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society. Previously Head of Biology at Westminster School, London. Current member of the RHS Picture Panel.

Voodoo Lily 1994 Sauromatum venosum (See Contemporary Botanical Artists)

Andrew Brown with his Voodoo Lilly

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Natura Picta - International Exhibition of Botanical Art

9/11/2019

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Natura Picta is an International Exhibition of Botanical Art which opened last week in Italy at The Fine Art Society of Florence, Società delle Belle Arti-Circolo degli Artisti “Casa di Dante”.

Venue: Società delle Belle Arti-Circolo degli Artisti
This is an old arts society which has had leading personalities of the art and literature world as members. Its headquarters are situated in a fine stone building in the heart of Florence's historical center. This is also the home of the Museo della Casa di Dante, in an area which was home to the 13th century location of the houses of the Alighieri family.
Address: “Casa di Dante”, Via Santa Margherita 1/r, Florence.
Dates: Sunday 3 to Thursday 14 November 2019

The exhibition has been organised by Simonetta Occhipinti and Giulano Gallo.

Exhibiting Artists

(Left to Right) Giuliana Gallo, Elena Zito, Simonetta Occhipinti, Silvana Rava, Gillian Barlow, Lidia Vanzetti, Daniela Denzel

The artists exhibiting in Natura Picta are pictured above and listed below

ITALY

Simonetta Occhipinti - Lives and works in Tuscany on the hills around Florence. Member of the ASBA and the Circolo degli Artisti Casa di Dante. She has painted botanical subjects from a young age and also worked on reproductions of old Flemish and Renaissance paintings attending a school of art restoration and ancient decorative techniques. She has had numerous personal and collective exhibitions organised by prestigious associations and institutes including: Museo di Storia Naturale, Florence, Camerino University, Accademia dei Georgofili, Lindlay Hall of London. In 2016 she won an RHS Gold Medal for eight paintings of citrus plants from the Medici Family Gardens. She collaborates with the “Dei Semplici Botanical Garden of Florence” and with the Tuscan Horticultural Society
Silvana Rava - Textile designer, she began botanical painting in 2000. Her preferred medium is watercolour on paper or vellum though she also enjoys exploring other techniques such as silverpoint. In 2008, she won an RHS Gold medal for Medicinal plants of Lake Como; in 2009 at “Botalia” in Lucca she received the Gold medal “Panterino d’oro”, and in 2017 she was awarded a RHS Silver Gilt medal. She regularly teaches botanical art at the Botanical Museum of Pisa, at the Ortifloricola Comense Society, Lezzeno Town Hall, in Como, and at other prestigious locations. Her paintings are in the collections of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, the RHS Lindley Library in London and the Museo della Grafica in Pisa. She is a member of Floraviva.

Paintings by Simonetta Occhipinti

Paintings by (left) Daniela Denzel-Timmer and (right) Lidia Vanzetti

Lidia Vanzetti - Lidia has been interested in nature and drawing since childhood. She began her botanical painting career in 2004 and has participated in major exhibitions in Italy and abroad and had a number of solo exhibitions of her botanical art. Lidia has won important awards, including three RHS Gold Medals. (I met Lidia when she won her second RHS Gold Medal in 2011 with a very pleasing series about the Pears of the Piedmont and her third in 2016 for Grapes of the Piedmont) and a Silver-Gilt Medal at BISCOT in 2010. She has artworks in national and international, private and public collections, including the Hunt Institute, Pittsburgh (USA).
Elena Zito - Lives in Pisa. Over the years, has participated in a number of courses in botanical and naturalistic painting courses with several renowned artists in Italy. She has also exhibited widely at botanical gardens and museums within Italy. In 2015, she became a member of Floraviva, the Italian Association of Botanical Artists.

Guiliana Gallo, Gillian Barlow and Mary Dillon

AUSTRIA

Daniela Denzel-Timmer - Lives in Vienna.

IRELAND

Mary Dillon - Member and Founding Chairperson of the Irish Society of Botanical Artists; Elected member of the Watercolour Society of Ireland; Fellow Member of the Society of Botanical Artists, UK; Member of the American Society of Botanical Artists. She has exhibited her botanical art extensively in trenational exhibitions including currently in the 16th International Exhibition of Botanical Art and Illustration at the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation

Paintings by Mary Dillon

NETHERLANDS

Giuliana Gallo - born and brought up in Italy, on the Island of Elba but now lives in the Netherlands. She has shown her work in numerous exhibitions in the Netherlands and internationally, including Germany, Italy and UK, at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery, in Kew Gardens.
Anita Walsmit-Sachs - Professional botanical illustrator and teacher. She was Head of the Art Department and scientific illustrator (until 2013) of the Nationaal Herbarium Nederland, part of the University of Leiden, (now the Naturalis Biodiversity Center). Founder of the Dutch Society of Botanical Artists. She has exhibited widely in the Netherlands and internationally. Her work is held in many private collections including the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation, the New York State Museum, Albany USA and Teylers Museum, Haarlem, The Netherlands.

UNITED KINGDOM

Gillian Barlow - Chair of the RHS Picture Panel. Her paintings are public collections such as the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew; Royal Horticultural Society; Chelsea Physic Garden; British Council; Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, Australia; Hunt Institute, at Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA; Vassar College USA; and private collections including The Shirley Sherwood Collection.

Three paintings by Gillian Barlow

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Venue for the exhibition in Florence

My thanks to Mary Dillon for kindly supplying the photographs of the exhibition.

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Janie Pirie's Life in Roses - book and exhibition

3/11/2019

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Next week, gold-medal winning botanical artist Janie Pirie is having a solo exhibition at the Mall Galleries of illustrations of roses - which has taken three years to develop - and launching her new book.

Rosa is an exhibition of roses illustrated by RHS gold medallist Janie Pirie. This is a new body of botanical art to coincide with the launch of a book of the same name. "Rosa - a Life in Roses" | Mall Galleries

Exhibition: Rosa - a life in Roses

Rosa - A Life in Roses - the exhibition - comprises 36 drawings in coloured pencils of different varieties of roses. It's on display at the Mall Galleries in London and I'll be visiting later this week. It's taken three years to develop.

Venue: the North Gallery, the Mall Galleries, The Mall, London, SW1
Dates: between Tuesday 5th and Sunday 10th November 2019
Hours: 10 am to 5pm daily except 10th November when the exhibition closes at 1pm.
Sales: All work is for sale (unless previously purchased. Copies of the book will be on sale as well as the originals.

Janie Pirie or a colleague will be on hand during the exhibition to answer the questions of any visitors or purchasers.

"Rosa - A Life In Roses": some of the images by Janie Pirie - in the exhibition AND in the book

Book: 'Rosa - A Life in Roses'

Only 1,000 copies of Janie Pirie's new book are being printed.

I've not seen it yet but understand that

it's a limited edition coffee-table book measuring approx. 29cm / 11 inches square with a "lay flat" binding.
The linen-bound hardback book is presented in a slipcase with the same linen covering as the book and finished to a high quality.
almost all the roses are shown one to a double page spread.

The first edition of ROSA is a limited edition of 500 copies, priced at £100.00.
The Special Collectors' Edition will be numbered and signed by the artist and comprise the first 250 copies of the First Edition. It's priced at £120.00 however it also includes an A4 print of one of Janie's favourite rose portraits; 'Comte de Champagne'.
You can find out more here
It will be on sale at the exhibition.

About Janie Pirie

Janie Pirie has two RHS Gold Medals for her botanical illustrations.

In 2009, at RHS Malvern Show, she was awarded the accolade of ‘Best Botanical Artist in Show' and a Gold Medal for her series of paintings of orchard fruits.
She was awarded a second Gold Medal, also at Malvern, in 2014.
Janie has also exhibited at the 13th International Exhibition of the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation in Pittsburgh, USA.

Janie is:

a member of the Society of Botanical Artists and is also a tutor on their Distance Learning Course.
a member of the UK Coloured Pencil Society and shows her work at their annual exhibitions where she has been awarded "Best In Show", "Runner-up Best in Show" and "Best Botanical".

She studied illustration at the Colchester School of Art before combining a career in illustration with one involved with public relations and marketing for a leading seed company. She has worked as a professional artist for some years and also runs art workshops in her garden studio at her home in the Dedham Vale on the Essex/Suffolk borders and at other venues around the UK.

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Exhibition: Hedgerow: Stories from a linear world by Yanny Petters

31/10/2019

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HEDGEROW, stories from a linear world is a new solo exhibition of new work by Yanny Petters. Yanny is a well known botanical artist in Ireland and also a Gallery Artist at The Olivier Cornet Gallery in Dublin

“Since childhood I have loved and observed hedgerows. Whenever we kids went rambling along the lanes of our neighbourhood, to pick flowers or blackberries or just wandering to each other’s houses, we wondered at the secrets within these linear worlds...”
Hedgerow, stories from a linear world by Yanny Petters

Her work raises awareness of the wild plants of Ireland - revealing them as an evolved species living in symbiotic harmony in ancient habitats rather just a bunch of weeds.

The exhibition comprises drawings and paintings of the Hedgerow, an iconic element of the Irish countryside. These are:

a series of Verre Eglomisé paintings of hedgerow silhouettes in Gold leaf and pigment
a series of seasonal paintings in watercolour on Arches Paper (see top image)
a series of black pencil drawings of the linear nature of the hedgerow

The Black pencil drawings and the 'Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter in a Hedgerow' series are also available as Archival pigment ink prints on watercolor paper, in a limited edition of 10 each only.

Gallery: Olivier Cornet Gallery, 3 Great Denmark Street, (beside Belvedere College, off Parnell Square) Dublin 1.
Dates: 13 October - 17th November 2019
Hours: Tuesday to Friday: 11am to 6pm (till 8pm on Thursdays); Saturday and Sunday: 12 noon to 5pm. Closed on Mondays (or viewing by appointment only)

Visit the exhibition's page the gallery website for images and more information

Below is what the gallery looked like as they got ready for the opening of the exhibition.

All is ready at the @OC_Gallery for the opening of Yanny Petters’ solo exhibition at 3 pm today. Do join us pic.twitter.com/dvf4blllbG
— OlivierCornetGallery (@OC_Gallery) October 13, 2019

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Yanny Petters, 'Elder, stile, gorse and the sheep gap', black pencil on conservation board (80x120cm). Available as an archival pigment ink print on w/c paper, in a limited edition of 10 each only (40x60cm), Unframed: 175 euro, Framed: 295 euro. @OC_Gallery is open till 5pm today pic.twitter.com/JEbnODfFVI
— OlivierCornetGallery (@OC_Gallery) October 28, 2019

About the hedgerow in Ireland

Increasing concerns about both a changing climate and the need to protect biodiversity means that hedgerows need to cherished for the health of our future generations.

The hedgerow goes back a long way in history. It both divides and holds together the rich habitat that remains after our forests were cleared. Land boundaries can be traced back to Neolithic times and the circa-12th-century Townland boundaries are the country’s longest standing land divisions.

Hedgerows also serve as windbreaks, to shelter our livestock, reduce soil erosion, aid drainage and provide homes for beneficial predators who protect our food crops from pests.

At a time when farming practices are changing in scale, many of these valuable hedgerow habitats are being removed and scrubbed out of existence. New hedges can be planted but ONLY the ancient hedgerows can support up to 3000 organisms from flowers and trees, birds and animals to insects and microscopic creatures.

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