ABBA: Beginner's Botany for Botanical Art

The Association of British Artists is developing a resource about Beginner's Botany for Botanical Art. This post highlights what is available.

It's part of a new series of articles and videos associated with promoting learning amongst those new to botanical art. ​

A still frame from the ABBA video "Three B's Episode 2 - Complex Flowers"

Elaine Allison, the new President, has produced two excellent videos which started off as a live streaming event - plus two blog posts. The focus of both is on The three B's.... Beginner - Botany-Botanical Art​

You can find the videos on the BRAND NEW ABBA Channel called - ABBA for All. It's worth subscribing to this with your Google account if you want to follow what they produce.

I think it's an excellent idea. In my opinion, it's also something that more botanical art societies should do - although in order to emulate what ABBA is doing it does take

• knowledge of both botany and botanical art
  
• plus experience and expertise in both teaching and presenting on video.
  

Let's hope that there are some more botanical art societies out there prepared to develop similar resources.

Episode 1: Simple Flowers

There is something more important than knowing what parts of the plant are called and that is what does it really look like. This requires detailed anatomical observation. Where possible, it is really useful to see the plant growing in the wild. Get to know the habitat, location with respect to other plants and if it is the same species, how the form can change depending on where it grows.

The FIRST module focuses on simple flowers and provides a short introduction to basic descriptive botany

• this is the blog post
• this is the video - The 3 B's Episode 1- Simple Flowers (24 minutes) - which you also watch below. However you'll enjoy the big screen version on YouTube more.

Using a common native plant, the Geranium, the module considers

• The botanical knowledge needed to produce an accurate botanical illustration
• What you need to know about your plant specimen before you start drawing
• Equipment that might be useful when studying the morphology of your plant
• Examination of a single plant in terms of:
  • ​scientific name
  • environment in which it is found
  • the genus of Geranium
  • a diagram of the important parts of the plant
  • an exploded diagram of the Inflorescence - with an analysis of what is shown

Episode 2: Complex Flowers

Understanding how the flower is put together is the first step in producing a great piece of artwork that is botanically accurate. 

The SECOND module covers complex flowers in:

• a blog post The three B's - Complex Flowers
• a video Three B's Episode 2 - Complex Flowers (23 minutes) 

It focuses on complex flowers "Asteraceae" which includes daisies, sunflowers and asters and 

• examines their appearance
• identifies the features of a dissected specimen and the meaning of
  • florets,
  • receptacle, 
  • capitulum and
  • pedicel 
• further analyses the features of a floret
• provides a set of drawing tips

The video provides a complete dissection of this complex flower to help you develop an understanding of how this plant is constructed.

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More about Botany

I totally endorse the notion that it's essential for a botanical artist to understand their plant in order to portray it accurately - and learning more about botany is an excellent way of doing this - and also learning more about how to produce a scientifically accurate botanical illustration.

That's why this website includes a whole section devoted to Botany! It's in continuous development(!) and at present covers:

1. ​Why botany matters to artists
2. The Best Botany Books for Botanical Artists
3. Scientific instruction in botanical illustration
4. Plant morphology - advice about how to draw the shapes and parts of plants correctly
5. Plant evolution and taxonomy - understanding the different types of plants and the the correct terms for naming the different parts of plants
6. Plant Names and Botanical Latin for Artists 
7. ​Botanical Dictionaries and Glossaries​
8. ​Plants and Plant Life - how to identify a plant
9. Recording a Plant
10. ​Blogs about Plants and Flowers​​

I'll be adding this new ABBA material into the section about Recording a Plant

My dedicated page The Best Botany Books for Botanical Artists and Illustrators includes my recommendations about books you might find useful when starting to develop your botanical knowledge. Most, but not all, have been developed specifically for those who draw and paint plants - as opposed to botanists.

My page contains (below) summaries of three compendiums about botany for botanical artists and illustrators- with commentary

• Botany for the Artist - An Inspirational Guide to Drawing Plants by Sarah Simblet
• Understanding the Flowering Plants: A Practical Guide for Botanical Illustrators by Anne Bebington
• ​Botany for Artists by Lizbeth Leech

Plus

• A Botanist's Vocabulary by Susan K. Pell with illustrations for terms by Bobbi Angell
• Botanical Illustration: Preparation for Publication by Noel H. Holmgren and Bobbi Angell 

and

• The Botanical Wall Chart by Anna Laurent

Another page about Plants: ​Names, Terms & Botanical Latin highlights:

• The Cambridge Illustrated Glossary of Botanical Terms by Michael Hickey and Clive King
• The Kew Plant Glossary - An Illustrated Dictionary of Plant Terms ​by Henk Beentje  (text) and Juliet Williamson (Illustrator)
• Botanical Latin: History, Grammar, Syntax, Terminology and Vocabulary by William T. Stearn
• RHS Latin for Gardeners: Over 3,000 plant names explained and explored
• plus the Susan K Pell and Bobbi Angell book - which is very accessible.