NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

Oxford Florilegium Exhibition opens tomorrow

21/11/2021

The latest exhibition of the Oxford Botanic Garden & Arboretum Florilegium opens tomorrow (Monday 22nd November) at The Barn Gallery at St. John's College, St Giles, OX1 3JP.

It runs until 4th December and is open daily (12-6pm) - and there no need to book.â€‹
This exhibition helps to celebrate the 400 year anniversary of Oxford Botanic Garden.

Below you can see and find out about some of the artists contributing to both Florilegium and this exhibition.

Participating artists

The Oxford Florilegium group consists of fourteen enthusiastic painters who have worked for a decade to produce botanical illustrations that document the living collections of the Botanic Garden and Arboretum, Oxford.

Most of the artwork and exhibits are watercolour paintings but also include botanical illustrations using coloured pencils, graphite and pen & ink.

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The fourteen artists are:

Rosemary Wise - a professional botanical illustrator who has been employed by the department of Plant Sciences at Oxford University since 1965 and has received a number of prestigious awards for botanical illustration.
- In 1995, the Linnean Society awarded her the prestigious Jill Smythies Award given annually for published botanical illustration.
- To celebrate her 50 years at Plant Sciences in Oxford, she was awarded the Sibthorp Medal for 'life time services to botany'.
- She has also recently been awarded the Engler Medal in Silver, awarded annually by the International Association of Plant Taxonomy, as joint author with Terry Pennington of the monograph on The Genus Sloanea (Elaeo- carpaceae) in America (2017). Rosemary prepared over 100 detailed illustrations for the monograph including 20 new species discovered by Terry.
Maura Allen - a graduate of the Chelsea School of Botanical Painting, London, who now lives in Tasmania
Sandra Bates - Diploma in Botanical Illustration from the Society of Botanical Artists
Maureen Bayly
Janet Collett - Awarded the distance learning Diploma from the Society of Botanical Artists. Also a member of Bath Society of Botanical Artists and the Association of British Botanical Artists
Graham Furze - a pencil artist who works in both graphite and coloured pencils (see his botanical illustrations in Oxford Plant Systematics August 2021)
Sam Gallagher
Anne Girling - Has been a practising botanical artist for over 15 years. Also a member of both the Society of Botanical Artists and the Association of British Botanical Artists.
Tracy Howell - born in Australia and lives in Oxford. She studied studying Plants and Plantsmanship and Practical Horticulture at the Chelsea Physic Garden's English Gardening School. before studying Natural History Illustration with Rosemary Wise and, in 2009, Botanical Painting at the English Gardening School, Chelsea Physic Garden. She is also a member of Amicus Botanicus and the Cliveden Florilegium.
Penny Land - Became interested in botanical illustration after a two week course at Kew with Claire Dalby over thirty years ago. Subsequently completed the Diploma in Botanical Illustration with the South West Society of Botanic Art and Joined the Oxford Florilegium about 4 years ago
Cathie Lodge - Based in Maidenhead. Ttrained as a graphic designer at the Berkshire College of Art.
Barbara McLean - helps run the Florilegium with Rosemary Wise
Gaye Norman - a graduate of he Chelsea School of Botanical Art and a member of Amicus Botanicus
Diana Tubbs

You can see more of their artwork on their Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/obg_florilegium/

The aim of botanical illustration is to produce not only a picture that is pleasing to the eye but one which is botanically accurate, comprehensive and recognisable to species level. Such works broach the gap between art and science.
Rosemary Wise

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The illustrations in the Exhibition focus on themes including:

medicinal plants,
plants selected from the 1648 border, the Merton border, and
plants with a particular association with Oxford.
trees
plants from the newly planted Mediterranean rock garden.

Each piece typically features flowers, fruits, enlargements and floral dissections.

Prof. Simon Hiscock, Prof. Stephen Harris and Dr Chris Thorogood judge the annual submissions, assessing them for botanical accuracy, execution and composition.

â€‹See also my earlier post Oxford Florilegium Exhibition marks 400th anniversary of the UK's oldest botanic garden (29th October 2021)

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Finnis Scott Foundation Botanical Art Award (£10,000)

14/11/2021

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The Trustees of the Finnis Scott Foundation seek entries for a £10,000 Botanical Art Award

dedicated to the practice and promotion of botanical art; and
aimed at established botanical art groups.

Below you can find out more about:

the Finnis Scott Foundation's Botanical Art Award
History of the Award - and the project of its very first winner
How to submit an entry for the 2022 Botanical Art Award by 31st January 2022
TIPS re. applying for significant money awards.

About the Finnis Scott Botanical Art Award

This is a biennial £10,000 Award for Botanical Art Organisations based in the UK and/or Ireland. The Award is:

intended to fund discrete and collaborative projects that promote and encourage the practice and appreciation of botanical painting in the UK and/or Ireland
awarded biennially i.e. every two years.

sponsored by The Finnis Scott Foundation - a charity that was established by the will of the late Valerie Finnis to support Horticulture and Art.

Valerie Finnis (1924–2006) was a celebrated gardener and photographer, who shared her twin passions of horticulture and art with her husband, Sir David Scott. The couple owned a significant art collection which on Valerie's death and in accordance with her wishes, was sold to create a charitable fund. Since 2008 the Finnis Scott Foundation has helped to fund hundreds of projects relating to gardening, art and plant sciences.

History of the Botanical Art Award

2018: The award was launched to coincide with the Foundation's 10th anniversary.

2020: The £10,000 prize was awarded to the Gloucester Society for Botanical Illustration (GSBI) - in conjunction with the Museum of Royal Worcester. It was used to

fund an exhibition of “Botanical Treasures - Inspiration from Nature in Porcelain and on Paper" held in collaboration with the Museum of Royal Worcester from May to October 2021.
Information about their exhibition can be found on their website.

The Prize is to aid in the staging of an exhibition, ‘Botanical Treasures – inspiration from nature in porcelain and on paper’, in collaboration with the Royal Worcester Museum. This will be based on the work of Stuart Lafford, an artist working for the Royal Worcester Porcelain Factory who, as a practising botanical artist, had taught many of the Gloucestershire Society’s members. The exhibition will draw on original drawings, porcelain, and pattern books in the Factory’s archives, and will be staged at the Royal Worcester Museum.

Images associated with the exhibition sponsored by the GSBI/Museum of Worcester Exhibition associated with the Finnis Scott Foundation Botanical Art Award 2020

We held a joint exhibition at the Museum during the summer of 2021 which showed new works created in response to the beautiful, decorated porcelain and superb archive of the Museum.
We also celebrated the work of the late Stuart Lafford who was a designer at Royal Worcester in the 1980's and taught many of the Society's members. Stuart was very involved with Michael Hickey in the early days of the GSBI.

Note: GSBI grew out of members attending botanical illustration in pen and ink classes held in Cheltenham and Stroud which were taught by Michael Hickey, horticulturist, botanist, writer and illustrator for The Cambridge University Press and elsewhere. Latterly Stuart Lafford took over classes in botanical painting in watercolour and taught and inspired many GSBI members - until his death in 2016.

2022 - See below for how to enter and win this award!

How to submit an entry for the 2022 Award

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TALK: Yanny Petters in conversation

5/11/2021

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A Verre Eglomisé painting in 'Field of Vision'

There's a video of Yanny Petters - in conversation with Art historian Jean Ryan - in the midst of Yanny's current solo show of Verre Eglomisé paintings at 'Field of Vision' at the Olivier Cornet Gallery in Dublin. (details below)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: In conversation with Yanny Petters (YouTube) 58 minutes - it's absolutely fascinating!

Jean Ryan and Yanny Petters

She talks about

all the various influences on her work ranging across art history.
the history and techniques of Verre Eglomisé paintings
how different materials allow her to create art in different ways
her approach to painting plants in different formats - and how she likes painting both big and small - including a drawing on a roll of paper nearly 3 metres high.
how she approaches drawing and design when her work is contained by a specific format
making work for her exhibition during lockdown
why the glass for the paintings are the same format as a glass slide

A Verre Eglomisé painting in 'Field of Vision' - the paintings are on glass which is the same format as glasswork microscope slides

The exhibition includes 75 small Verre Eglomisé paintings proportionally similar in shape to glass slides used in the old microscope. Each plant is drawn from nature, a selection from the myriad wild plants growing on about half an acre, native plants which all too often go un-noticed, but which are part of delicate and precious habitats. They include spring flowers like Celandine, Primrose and Cowslip, summer flowers such as Bluebell, Foxglove, Poppy, Forget-me-not and Clover as well as autumnal favourites like Bramble, Rowan and Hawthorn.

Tomorrow is the last chance to see the exhibition - for those in Dublin.
All visitors are asked to book a slot that suits them before coming to the gallery.

Tomorrow is also an opportunity to meet Yanny. Saturday 6 November when a Finissage will be held for the last day of the show. Yanny will be at the gallery from 2pm to 5pm. Please book a 30-minute timeslot by emailing the Gallery.

Exhibition: 'Field of Vision', botanical treasures in focus, a solo show by Yanny Petters
Venue: Olivier Cornet Gallery
3 Great Denmark Street, (beside Belvedere College, off Parnell Square), Dublin 1
Dates: 10 October - 06 November 2021

Each painting is 21cm x 8.5cm on 4mm glass and involves acid etching, drawing, painting and gilding in the technique of Verre Eglomisé. The back of each panel is gilded to cast a glow behind the plant, emphasising its preciousness, making that which is considered common more exquisite. The paintings are presented in groups of three reflecting the season, their habitat or their relationship with each other, capturing their delightful vivacity.

MORE ABOUT YANNY PETTERS

Yanny Petters is a botanical artist from County Wicklow in Ireland. She works exclusively from life, either in her studio in Glendarragh, Newtownmountkennedy, County Wicklow, or out in the midst of her subject's habitats. Yanny paints in a variety of media, including oils and water colours, and she produces exquisite drawings and fine art nature prints. She also specialises in Verre Églomisé, or painting on glass, an old and rare technique she has been developing and adapting to suit her plant portraits since her years working as a sign writer in the 1980s. Her paintings are in a number of important collections including the Dr. Shirley Sherwood Collection at Kew Gardens, London, and the Office of Public Works in Dublin. She is a member of Visual Artists Ireland, the Irish Society of Botanical Artists (ISBA), the Water Colour Society of Ireland and the Dublin Painting & Sketching Club.
Website: https://www.yannypetters.net
More about Verre Églomisé (paintings on Glass) https://www.yannypetters.net/verre-églomisé
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YannyPettersBotanicalArtist
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/yannypetters
Yanny is represented by The Olivier Cornet Gallery, Dublin.

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