ASBA 21st International Exhibitions - best in show and profiles of participating artists

The 21st International Exhibition of the American Society of Botanical Artists opens to the public today in a new venue - at Wave Hill.

It's great to know that if you can't make it to the exhibition, you can still see all the artwork on the ASBA website (click the "The Art" Tab on https://www.asba-art.org/exhibitions/21st-annual-international. An illustrated catalogue, which includes all of the works in the show, as well as an essay by Ken Druse, is also available in Wave Hill’s Shop.

The “Artists’ Stories Behind the Art” can all be accessed via the link in the names of the artists below. This takes you to the relevant page on the ASBA website.  

Thumbnail Images from the 21st International Exhibition

This collaboration celebrates art that inspires gardeners and the vibrant, burgeoning horticulture at Wave Hill that inspires artists.

Venue: Glyndor Gallery, Wave Hill, 675 West 252nd Street, Bronx, NY  (30 minutes from midtown Manhattan)
Dates: 8 September -  2nd December 2018
Note: The elevator in Glyndor Gallery is currently out of service for major repairs and the Gallery and restroom are not accessible by wheelchair.

Founded in 1965, Wave Hill is a public garden which which overlooks the Hudson River and Palisades. It also provides an urban oasis, a cultural centre and a community resource with innovative programs in horticulture, education and the arts.

It's now also providing a home to ASBA's international exhibition in 2018 and 2020. ​Having changed location for the 21st Annual International, the exhibition is now much longer than the previous exhibitions - and it will be interesting to see the impact this has on overall sales.

The artworks in the exhibition are also available through The Shop at Wave Hill.

Below I'm highlighting

• Best in Show Award
• Profiles of participating artists + websites
• Workshops and talks during the show

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Best in Show Award

Best in Show: Double Poppy © Jean Emmons

The "Best in Show" was awarded to the Double Poppy painting painted by Jean Emmons. I'm guessing this is painted in watercolour on vellum as most of her botanical artwork is.  Her paintings on vellum are luminous.

Jean’s technique is based on medieval manuscript illumination. She learned it from the late Kevin Nicolay, a plantsman and self-taught botanical artist. It’s a difficult and time-consuming watercolor method, but an excellent way to suggest light moving through layers of plant tissue
Jean Emmons | About the Artist

Participating Artists
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 Jurors selected 48 artworks from an extremely competitive field of about 190 entries (that's a success rate of 25%)

This is very much an International Exhibition with 15 exhibiting artists coming from outside the US - from Australia (2), Canada (1), France (1), Japan (2), Russia (5), Slovenia (1), and the UK (3).

Fourteen artists have never before been included in an ASBA exhibition.

The jurors were 

• Ken Druse Garden lecturer, author, and photographer
• Karen Kluglein Botanical artist
• Eileen Jeng Lynch Curator of Visual Arts, Wave Hill

The Artists whose artwork was selected for the exhibition are listed below. The link in their name is to the page on the ASBA website which provides the story behind their specimen and artwork.  Their website address is also provided where available.

USA

• Milly Acharya | www.botanix.org (Ithaca, New York) - She is inspired by local flora as well as tropical plants of India where she grew up. Won the 2011 Diane Bouchier Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in botanical art
• Carrie Di Costanzo |  www.carriedicostanzo.com (Southern California) - Has exhibited widely in the USA and won a number of awards for her work
• Deborah Keyser Dion (Philadelphia)
• Jean Emmons | www.jeanemmons.com (Vashon Island, Washington) - an awardwinning botanical artist whose technique for painting on vellum is based on medieval manuscript illumination. She was won two RHS Gold Medals and in 2007 won “Best in Show” at the International Botanical Art Exhibition.
• Ingrid Finnan (Bronx, New York) - Born in Poland; now lives in Riverdale, New York City. Recipient of the Horticultural Society of New York Best in Show Award, 2013
• Jane Fisher | janefisherbotanicalart.com (Minnesota) - Studied botanical art at the Minnesota School of Botanical Art. Works in graphite.
• Lara Call Gastinger | www.laracallgastinger.com (Virginia) - from Charlottesville, Virginia. She is the chief illustrator for the Flora of Virginia Project. She has also won two RHS Gold Medals. (Facebook Page| Instagram)
• Wendy Hollender | www.drawingincolor.com (New York State) - works in coloured pencils and is also author, a commercial illustrator and an instructor of Botanical Art and Illustration at the New York Botanical Garden and her studio.
• Rose James - a graphic artist who took up botanical illustration in 2009
• P. A. Kessler | www.pakessler.com (Hilton Head Island, SC) - work included in the Shirley Sherwood Collection of Contemporary Botanical Art and the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation.
• Jamie Jm Kim | www.jamiejmkim.com (Suwanee, Georgia) - Worked as a fashion designer. Lectured in fashion illustration at college in Korea. Came to America 8 years ago. Teaches art at Underwood University, Suwanee, GA
• Patricia Luppino | patricialuppino.com (New York) - a lifelong resident of Long Island. Earned a Diploma in Botanical Art with distinction from the SBA in 2008 Previously exhibited in the 13th, 15th, 17th, 19th, 20th Annual International Exhibitions in New York.
• ​Lucy Martin | lucymartinart.com (Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California) - She paints in paints in gouache and watercolor, with occasional use of colored pencil. and tends to focus on the overlooked (mushrooms, lichens etc). Recently she has been developing a suite of paintings associated with the plants left 'after the fire' which swept through the woodland near her home.
• Tammy S. McEntee | www.tammysmcenteeartist.com (New York) - Previous career in career in floral design in Manhattan and New Jersey. Currently enrolled in the Botanical Art and Illustration program at the the New York Botanical Garden.
• Patricia Dale Pittard (North Carolina)
• Linda Powers (Minnesota?) - studied art at the University of Minnesota, Morris, and has worked as a graphic designer and product developer. Has contributed to the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden Florilegium. Member of the Great River Chapter of the ASBA
• Ramiro Prudencio | mygrowthinart.blogspot.com (Chicago) - Has trained with Marlene Hill Donnelly, Derek Norman and Heeyoung Kim.
• Lynne Railsback | www.LynneRailsback.com (Midwest) - degree in graphic design and a career in commercial interiors; her botamical art career began in her retirement. Exhibits widely across the USA. Work in the collections of The Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation,
• Dick Rauh (Westport Connecticut) - Doctorate in Plant Sciences (2001). Best in Show at RHS Botanical Art 2006. Paintings in the Hunt Collection, New York State Museum and RHS Lindley Library and the Shirley Sherwood Collection. Teaches at NYBG (since 1984) and on board of ASBA. Past president of both ASBA and the GNSI. Fellow of Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium​​
• Jeanne Reiner | botanicgirl.com ( Connecticut) Previous career in product design and packaging. moved to Connecticut in 2002. Completed certificate in botanical art NYBG (2014). Co-founder of the Tri-State Botanical Artists of New York Botanical Garden
• Betsy Rogers-Knox | www.rogersknoxart.com (Connecticut) - Completed the Certificate in Botanical Illustration at NYBG in 2006 and has been illustrating plants ever since. Focuses on the life cycle and  usually observes the plant for a full year before beginning a composition. Teaches drawing and watercolor.
• Olga Ryabtsova | www.olgaryabtsova.com (Southern California) - Born in Russia; Masters Degree from Moscow University of Graphic Arts. Moved to California in 2015. Exhibition Chair for Botanical Artist Guild of Southern California.
• Constance Scanlon - Known as Connie; awarded an RHS Silver Grenfell Medal for her series of paintings, Preludes and Postludes on a Stem (2013)
• Mitsuko Schultz (Southern California) Moved to Los Angeles from Japan and became interested in local plants
• Keiko Nibu Tarver (Philadelphia) - attended Powel House Botanical Art Classes on Philadelphia
• Melissa Toberer | melissatoberer.com (?) - grew up in Omaha, Nebraska; degree in Printmaking. Her  illustration of “Iris germanica” was awarded the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Award for a Print or Drawing at the 18th Annual International Juried Exhibition in New York
• Dr. Susan Tomlinson | www.susantomlinsonbotanicalart.com (Lubbock, Texas) - botanical artist, writer, and teacher (see her very helpful tips about aids for making botanical art in Prescribing eyeglasses for botanical art)
• Jeannetta vanRaalte | www.jeannettas-art-gallery.com (New York State) - Studied textile design at Parsoons and had a career as a textile designer in home furnishings. Has exhibited at the Hunt and a work is in the Hunt Collection.
• Catherine Watters | teaches around the U.S. and in France, frequently lectures on Botanical Art and has curated a number of exhibitions. 
• Faye Van Wert | fayevanwertstudios.wordpress.com (Lexington, Massachusetts) - an artist, illustrator, author, and educator
• Yuan Yuan Wang (New York)
• Carol Woodin (New York State) - Specialises in painting rare plants in watercolour on vellum. She has been awarded an RHS Gold Medal and the Diane Bouchier Award. ASBA Exhibitions Director. Facebook Page

Australia

• Rosemary Donnelly | (Melbourne - Australia) 
• John Pastoriza-Pinol | http://botanique-art.com (Australia) - completed his docturmiento in Botany at University of Vigo, Galicia, in Spain. Studied botanical illustration with Jenny Phillips in Melbourne. Won a Gold Medal at RHS 2005. Contributed to the Highgrove and Transylvania Florilegium.

Canada

• Myra Sourkes | member of the Botanical Artists of Canada

France

• Florence Gendre | florence-gendre-illustration.com (France) - works as a freelance illustrator for a number of prestigious clients in advertising, press or institutional publishing. Member of the Société Française d’Illustration Botanique (SFIB)

Japan

• Asuka Hishiki | greenasas.com (Hyogo, Japan) - Has two paintings in the show. Has exhibited at the the 12th - 21st ASBA Annual International Exhibitions in New York. Has work in the Hunt and Shirley Sherwood Collection.
• Tomoko Otomo (Japan) - exhibited at the 14th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration at the Hunt Insitute in 2013

Russia

• Natalia Alatortseva | Botanist and botanical art , she Illustrated the Atlas of the "Plants of Russia" in 2014. Teaches botanical art periodically at the Moscow State University Botanical Garden.
• Olga Gudzera | (Moscow, Russia) Retired engineer.
• Ksenia Mamonova - exhibited in Flora of Russia
• Ksenia Panferova  (Moscow, Russia) Facebook - Participated in Flora Russia
• Natalia Zueva​ |  zueva-design.ru (Saint-Petersburg, Russia) - Taught by Alexander Vyazmenskii’. Currently studying academic drawing at the 4-year courses in the Academy of Fine Arts in Saint-Petersburg. Has participated in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd St. Petersburg Exhibitions of Botanical art

Slovenia

• Anna Suprunenko | annasuprunenko.com () - born in Kazan, Russia and now lives and works in Ljubljana, Slovenia. ​Engineering degree at the Kazan National Research Technical University (KAI). Worked for a few years as an engineer in Moscow. Taught botanical art by Alexander Viazmensky.

UK

• Lizzie Sanders | lizziesanders.co.uk (Edinburgh, Scotland) - Has produced botanical paintings for the last 30 years.  Won three RHS Gold Medals. Awarded the Diane Bouchier Award for Excellence in 2004. Trained at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee. Lectured in Graphic Design at Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh Art Colleges. Currently tutors the Diploma Course in Botanical Illustration at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh.
• Liz Shippam | www.lizshippam.com (West Sussex, UK) - her preferred subject matter is fruit. Exhibits in London, New York and Sussex. She paints like a miniaturist using watercolour with tiny brushes. She has had work selected for he ASBA Annual International Exhibition in New York every year since joining
• Julia Trickey | www.juliatrickey.co.uk (Bath, UK) - Works in watercolour and lives and tutors near Bath.  She's a Fellow of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society, the SBA and ASBA. She's won four RHS Gold Medals and had her artwork on Royal Mail stamps.Won the Bates Award for Excellence, ASBA 19thAnnual International Exhibition.

This exhibition has been organized by

• Carol Woodin, Director of Exhibitions, American Society of Botanical Artists;
  
• Jennifer McGregor, Senior Director of Arts, Education and Programs at Wave Hill; 
  
• Eileen Jeng Lynch, Curator of Visual Arts at Wave Hill.

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Workshops & Talks
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The workshops are summarised below - with more details on the as foillows

A Master Class in Watercolors with Asuka Hishiki was held last week 

Family Art Project: Plant Morphology
Date: Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th September
Be inspired by the botanical illustrations in the exhibition opening in  this weekend. Observe living specimens of plants, fruits and flowers up close, then make drawings inspired by their shape, size and structure. Use watercolor pencils and paints to illustrate your plant or combine it with collaged plant images. Consider the importance of biodiversity on our planet while you conserve species in two dimensions. Free with admission to the grounds.

Fall Botanicals in Gouache
Venue: Perkins Visitor Center
Tutor: Carrie Di Costanzo
Date: Sunday 8th November 2018 (9:30am–4pm)
This botanical painting workshop will focus on seasonal fruits and foliage. Learn techniques of dry brush, glazing, and mixing and experimenting with semi-transparent and semi-opaque gouache. 

I Refer You to Nature
Venue: Glyndor Gallery
Date: Saturday 1st Decmeber 2018 (2pm)
Laura Vookles, Curatorial Chair at the Hudson River Museum, will introduce works from the museum’s collection that engage flowers and plants, along with the artist’s motives for either realism orimagination. Her talk will reference and compare these works with some of the botanical art in the 21st Annual International.

More about past ASBA International Shows

• Awards at the 20th International Exhibition in New York
• Exhibiting Artists: 20th Annual International Exhibition  by ASBA & HSNY
• Award winners at 19th Annual International Botanical Art Exhibition of ASBA & The Hort.
• Profiles of Selected Artists for 19th International (ASBA and The Hort.)