NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

Margaret Flockton Award 2019 - Exhibiting illustrators and list of selected works

1/4/2019

35 contemporary scientific botanical illustrations by 23 illustrators from 16 countries were selected for the annual exhibition of the Margaret Flockton Award 2019 in Sydney Australia - and are listed below.

These were selected from 44 works submitted by 26 illustrators from a record number of 17 countries. Those selected included illustrations and illustrators from four new countries - Argentina, Canada, Colombia and Singapore. The majority of the works continue to be traditionally rendered in pen and ink but now also include illustrations which are rendered digitally.

BELOW are the

names of the exhibiting scientific botanical illustrators - organised alphabetically by country
a list of the titles of the botanical illustrations submitted and selected.
a summary of what differentiates quality in scientific botanical illustration i.e. the reasons why works won prizes or were not selected for exhibition

Links in the names are to the websites or sites about the illustrator. See my previous post Edmundo Saveedra wins Margaret Flockton Award for the third time for more about the botanical illustrators who received prizes or were highly commended.

Links in the works are to the images of those works which won prizes or were highly commended.

Images of the first and second prizewinners 2019

This year, 26 artists from 17 countries submitted 44 works.
A selection of 35 illustrations are exhibited here.
- 5 works are entirely or partially digitally rendered;
- graphite elements are on 10 of the plates;
- the remaining 29 illustrations are in the traditional form of ink on paper or board.

You can now see ALL of the scientific botanical illustrations SUBMITTED for the Margaret Flockton Award Exhibition 2019 on Flickr.

Note the album contains ALL submissions - not just those selected for the exhibition.
If you review the illustrations before you look at the list below - see if you can detect what media was used for an illustration and which were selected for the exhibition.

I highly recommend that all those thinking about applying next year review the images of scientific botanical illustrations in terms of the standards achieved - and the criteria used to assess each plate (see end for more about those criteria).

List of exhibiting illustrators and selected works

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20th Botanica annual exhibition at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

31/3/2019

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Botanica: The 20th Anniversary Exhibition - the annual exhibition of botanical art at the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year - and opened to the public yesterday.

Venue: Lion Gate Lodge Garden, The Royal Botanic Garden, Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney
Dates: Saturday 30 March - Sunday 14 April (10 am - 4 pm daily)
Entry: FREE
Exhibiting artists: listed below.
[UPDATE: Virtual Exhibition of all 120 artworks on Flickr ]

This leading contemporary botanical art exhibition in Australia is also on at the same time as annual exhibition of the Margaret Flockton Award. So two jolly good reasons to pay a visit to the RBG Sydney!

Exploring the complex and remarkable relationship between humans and plants, the annual showcase features work by some of the best Australian and international established and emerging botanic and natural history artists.

Artists with selected artwork

Artwork selected for the exhibition has been created by Australian botanical artists. They range from some who are recognised leaders in the world of botanical art to others who are emerging as botanical artists producing high quality artwork.

Links in names below are to the website of the artist. If you an artist listed below and your website is not included please contact me or leave a comment with the URL.

You can find out more about the leading artists on my page about Botanical Artists in Australia and New Zealand

Tulipa 'Orange Princess' by Beverly Allen 620mm x 780mm Watercolour $14,500

Nilavan Adams,
Beverly Allen
Sue Anderson

Janette Barlow,
Sylvia Beresford,
Samantha Blanks,
Susannah Blaxill

Linda Catchlove,
Yvonne Chan,
Deb Chirnside,
Elizabeth Cooper

Pauline Dewar

Ros Earp,
Melinda Edstein,
Dianne Emery

Helen Fitzgerald
Ros Franklin

Lindsey Goff,
Stephanie Goss

Anne Hayes,
Rosy Hewitt,
Cheryl Hodges,
Tanya Hoolihan,
Annie Hughes,

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Edmundo Saveedra wins Margaret Flockton Award for the third time

30/3/2019

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Edmundo Saveedra has won the $5,000 First Prize in the Margaret Flockton Award 2019 for scientific botanical illusration. He previously also won in 2011 and 2014.

Those works selected for the Margaret Flockton Award 2019 which have won prizes or been highly commended are listed below. Both the illustrations which won First and Second Prize were completed in pen and ink. Details of how to see the exhibition in Australia are also provided below.

My congratulations to all those selected as well as all those winning prizes and commendations.

Margaret Flockton Award 2019
for Scientific Botanical Illustration
Prizewinners

The Margaret Flockton Award is specifically about scientific botanical illustration. Entries are typically:

submitted by professional botanical illustrators
related to plates produced for the record and for scientific botanical publications.

Scientific botanical illustrators from around the world are invited by the curators of the exhibition at the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney to:

digitally submit scientifically accurate taxonomic illustrations
i.e. highly detailed black and white drawings primarily undertaken in pen and ink, pencil or digitally rendered.
that accompany a published taxonomic description of the plant,
with the drawing clearly highlighting all of the distinctive features of the species.

The Criteria used to judge the Award are listed below:

Accurate interpretation and portrayal of the plant characters and diagnostic features highlighted in the botanical description
Technical merit
Artistic merit
Composition
Reproducibility

See A Guide to Scientific Illustration for more information on judging criteria.

The judges for the 2019 Award were

Gwen Harden - Editor, Flora of NSW Vol 1-4 and RBG&CP Honorary Associate;
Russell Barrett - RBG&CP Botanis; and
Catherine Wardrop - RBG&CP Botanical Illustrator and Margaret Flockton Award Curator.

1st Prize ($5,000 AUS)

Edmundo Saavedra, Mexico has been awarded the $5000 1st Prize his pen and ink illustration of Monstera deliciosa. He has previously won:

2018 - Second Prize
2015 - First Prize
2014 - Second Prize
2011 - First Prize

You can see the complete illustration on the website of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney (and those of others mentioned below)

Edmundo Saavedra is a professional botanical illustrator who is member of the technical staff at the Instituto de Ecología AC de México.

Crop of Monstera deliciosa which won 1st Prize ($5000) for Edmundo Saavedra of Mexico.

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A retrospective perspective on recent exhibitions at Kew

17/3/2019

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Today was the last day of four exhibitions at the Shirley Sherwood Galleru of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens.

Mark Frith: A Legacy of Ancient Oaks 
Trees: Delight in the Detail
Rankafu: Masterpieces of Japanese Woodblock Prints of Orchids
Botanical Theatre: The Art of Pandora Sellars (1936-2017)

This post reflects on my impressions and some of what I learned over what I think were seven visits to the exhibitions in total. (Note: I wrote about what they covered in Four new botanical art exhibitions at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery.)

I'm writing today essentially as a record of the exhibitions

of what was there to be seen and
about the impact that each made on me.

It's also a record of why only seeing an exhibition once doesn't always give full value - whereas multiple visits (for those fortunate to be able to do) pays dividends and enables you to realise which paintings you look forward to coming back to see.

I'm also going to confess to the fact that I've found it very difficult to write about Pandora. Multiple viewings following by viewing with other friends finally enabled me to articulate the impact of that exhibition - but verbally rather than in writing.

I'm also very grateful that Kew now allows photographs of artwork during exhibitions - and I can continue to view and review the exhibitions in the months and years to come.

Dr Shirley Sherwood at the PC with artists, curators and artists involved with the exhibition

People love trees

Four walls like this

The exhibition of the graphite drawings of heritage oaks across the UK by Mark Frith has been an enormous success. It has had lots of visitors many of whom lingered long at the different heritage oaks drawn in graphite. They also bought lots of the book about the exhibition and lots of prints (some of which sold out).

Maybe it's because trees are more accessible and people understand trees? Maybe it's because more of us live in towns and never seem to see enough trees? Maybe it's because in this instance it's rare to see trees which are so old and so big and create such a massive impact.

It reminded me in some ways of the way the public responded to the trees in David Hockney's 2012 exhibition of landscapes at the Royal Academy which also included very many paintings of trees (see my Review: David Hockney RA - A Bigger Picture).

If you wait until the end of the afternoon there are fewer people!

Looking back
This exhibition for me was all about the overall impact. Each drawing measured 1.7 m wide. I didn't spend time looking at how he drew although I did spend one visit going round looking closely at the labels as well as the trees and was fascinated to learn about their height and girth, how old they are and where each was located. It grounded what seem at times to be fantasy drawings of trees.

What I didn't quite appreciate when this exhibition opened was the extent to which this exhibition of ancient oaks without leaves would resonate more with the gardens around and about over time - as the deciduous trees outside first lost and then stood without leaves. Consequently there was a connection between the two.

I know that for me, every time I looked at the exhibition, it was the overall impact which grabbed me every time. It was almost impossible to look at each tree in the same amount of depth. I found I started to look at parts of the trees - and took a series of photos of the base of the trunk - which helped me appreciate the variation between them even better.

For those unable to see the exhibition

I can recommend the very good book about the development of the series of trees A Legacy of Ancient Oaks which has been selling strongly throughout the exhibition.
Some of the prints have sold out but are due back in stock in April and are available from the Kew Shop.
I don't think there will be another opportunity to see the stubbs of the pencils used to draw the trees.

Trees: Delight in the Detail

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A Florilegium for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) - Call for Entries

25/2/2019

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We've seen a number of great gardens and botanic gardens develop arrangements to create a Florilegium since the 90s.

The latest proposal comes from the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh (RBGE) which aims to establish a Florilegium Society - see RBGE Florilegium

Proposal for an RBGE Florilegium Society

The aim of the Society would be to create a permanent, visual record of RBGE’s botanical and horticultural work through the acquisition of illustrations of the plants that are grown, collected, studied and named by RBGE staff. The Society would also raise RBGE’s profile as an important centre of botanical art in relation to both our educational work and our art collection.

A number of statements have been made. My summary of the various aims of the proposal to create a Florilegium - which are still under discussion are - are:

to enhance and grow the collection of botanical art at RBGE - which is a statutory requirement
to produce a visual record of the living collection of plants at RBGE gardens - particularly those plants grown, collected, studied and named by RBGE staff
to reflect scientific and horticultural interests associated within RBGE
to raise the profile of RBGE as an important centre for botanical art
to make good use of its botanical art collection for both education and merchandising (income generation)

A debut at BISCOT

Artists worldwide are invited to submit work to be considered for a RBGE Florilegium category which will be displayed alongside the regular BISCOT exhibition at the John Hope Gateway venue.

The proposal to establish a Florilegium Society will publicly debut at the BISCOT Exhibition.

A separate RBGE Florilegium category will be included in the BISCOT Exhibition and the artwork selected from this Call for Entries (see below) which will sit alongside the regular multi-work, award giving BISCOT exhibition.

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Call for Entries:
How to submit art and associated documentation

The core documents are as follows:

Select a plant and access plant material

See the RBGE Florilegium Plant List for plants identified for inclusion in the Florilegium
Once you have selected a plant to illustrate you next need to contact the Artist Coordinator to express your intentions to paint a plant (see Call for Entries)
You also need to access plant material and a botanist. The Call for Entries identifies how you can access material via RBGE. If working away from Scotland you need to contact a local botanist/botanic garden for access to plant material. It's sometimes best to start with what's accessible and select from that rather than the other way around
RBGE will make regular updated information on which plants are available (e.g. plants in flower) on the RBGE Florilegium Page

Requirement for paintings - SIZE
It's not uncommon for Florilegium to have stipulated sizes for paintings. In this instance ALL paintings must conform to one of 3 window sizes, with appropriate margin, or you may wish to take your painting to the edge:

A4 (21 x 29.7cm);
A3 (29.7 x 42cm);
A2 (42 x 59.4 cm).
Paper must be at least 2 cm larger than window size all round.

Requirement for artwork - MEDIA

Only original botanical art in 2-dimensions is acceptable.
No photography, digital or 3-dimensional art.

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Call for Entries: 7th Annual Botanical Art Exhibition - Bloom in the Park 2019

24/2/2019

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The Botanical Art Exhibition at Bloom in the Park 2019 will this year stay up beyond the dates of Bloom 2019 for the very first time. The exhibition space at the Visitor Centre in the Phoenix Park, Dublin is going to house the exhibition for most of the month of June. This is really good news as it will allow many more people to see it and hopefully generate more sales as well!

The annual Bloom exhibition is a showcase for Botanical Artists (particularly those who are Irish).

It will comprise 40-50 artworks and is juried.
Medals may be awarded for works of particular merit by an independent judging panel.
A distinction is made between Botanical Art and Floral Art.

You have slightly more than a month left to submit an entry for this exhibition.

Some of the ladies who organised the show in a previous year

Call for Entries: Botanical Art at Bloom 2019

Exhibition: 7th Annual Botanical and Floral Art in Bloom (Open Exhibition)
Venue: Visitor Centre in the Phoenix Park, Dublin (as part of Bloom in the Park 2019)
Dates: Thursday, 30th May to the end of June 2019 (approximately one month)

Submit via a Digital Entry Form
Terms and Conditions need to be read before completing the form
Deadline to submit: Friday 29th March 2019
Entry Fee: €10 per painting (non-refundable) or a discounted fee of €25 for three paintings
Receiving works by couriers from international artists may involve additional fees - and all those proposing to courier work should enquire.
Insurance for the duration of the exhibition and transport of works to and from the exhibition is the responsibility of the artist

Entry Requirements

Size of Artwork images should be NOT less than 20cm and NOT more than 40cm in any dimension
Framed artwork should be no more than 75 cm. in any measurement including frame and no smaller than 25 cm in any measurement including frame.
Resolution: Images should be sent as a 300 dpi jpeg
Plant names: Botanical work should include the name of the plant or plants depicted in Latin as well as the common name.
Exhibition record: Works must not have been exhibited in any Bloom art exhibition, prior to Botanical and Floral Art in Bloom exhibition, 2019.
Age: Work submitted should have been executed within the last three years.
Entry form: The digital entry form must be COMPLETE and submitted PLUS an image of each artwork entered. (Hard copy or postal entries cannot be accepted)
Payment: The online application MUST be submitted before payment is made as per the T&C

Entry Options

You can submit up to three entries (+ one digital image per entry)

Criteria for judging
This is my interpretation of the Terms and Conditions statement about how entries are judged.

Is the drawing three-dimensional?
Are drawings of appropriate subject matter?
Is the pictorial representation of the plant botanically accurate?
Does the colour, tone and composition result in a pleasing / balanced plant portrait?
Does the artwork demonstrate competence in the application of technique?
Is the work well presented?
Does the label include a plant name that is complete and correct (i.e. Latin and common names) and spelt correctly?

Sales

All Works must be for sale
20% commission applies to all sales.
Sold artwork cannot be removed before the end of the exhibition

Artists will be notified by email of a decision about their entry after the 26th April 2019

The ladies who run Bloom are lovely. I am sure anybody entering this exhibition for the first time will get a very helpful answer to any queries posed after reading the terms and conditions and entry form.

NOTE: All accepted artwork must be delivered to the Visitor Centre, Phoenix Park on Monday 27 th May 2019 between 11.00hrs and 13:00hrs.

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Ask an expert: botanical art surgery - with Deborah Lambkin

11/2/2019

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Don't forget - next Sunday is the third and final botanical art surgery with an expert in botanical illustration at Kew Gardens.

Expert: Deborah Lambkin
Venue: Main Gallery of the Shirley Sherwood Art Gallery, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Date: Sunday 17th February 2019
Time: 11am - 3pm

It's a great way of being able to ask questions about your own work and also about life as a professional botanical illustrator.

About Deborah Lambkin

Come and see me paint in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery @kewgardens on 17 Feb. I will be there to answer questions and to chat about my favourite subject- botanical illustration! #botanicalillustration #botanicaldrawing #art pic.twitter.com/3bZfzQD48j
— Deborah Lambkin (@DeborahLambkin) February 7, 2019

Some facts about Deborah Lambkin:

born in Ireland but now lives in London
trained at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin
official orchid artist for the RHS Orchid Committee since 2005 - and has painted over 200 different orchids
an artist member of the RHS Picture Panel which judges exhibits at the RHS Botanical Art Shows
One of only two Irish artists (to date) to win a gold medal at the RHS exhibition, the other being Wendy F. Walsh. She won an RHS Gold Medal for her collection of eight paintings of nerines in 1999.
Contributes paintings to Curtis's Botanical Magazine regularly.
This is an article she wrote about Dealing with plant specimens – Deborah Lambkin

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