NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

Botanica 2018 at Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

26/4/2018

Botanica - Australia’s leading contemporary botanical art exhibition now in its 19th year - is the second of two botanical art exhibitions at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney until 6th May.

Venue: Lion Gate Lodge, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney
Dates: 21 May - 6 May 2018
Exhibiting artists: listed below. They include some of the best Australian and international established and emerging botanic and natural history artists

The can be viewed at the same time as the Margaret Flockton Exhibition (see Nataneal Nascimento wins Margaret Flockton Award 2018) which is a short stroll away at the Maiden Theatre)

Theme: 'Symbiosis'. The theme of this year's exhibition explores the complex and remarkable relationship we humans have with plants. Artwork reflects the symbiotic relationships some plants have with other plants and animals.

Artwork is for sale with the proceeds of original artwork and limited-edition prints going to the artists and to Foundation and Friends of the Botanic Gardens. The latter contribution helps this not-for-profit organisation support horticulture, conservation, scientific research and education programs within the Botanic Gardens.

Exhibiting Artists

The exhibiting artists include:

A

Amanda Ahmed,
Beverly Allen,
Tane Andrews,

Janette Barlow,
Samantha Bayly,
Shannon Bellamy,
Sylvia Beresford,
Samantha Blanks,
Esther Bolz,

Linda Catchlove,
Stephanie Chambers,
Yvonne Chan,
Glenys Clarey,

Barbara Davison,
Pauline Dewar,
Rosemary Donnelly,

Roslyn Earp,
Judith Edmonds,
Melinda Edstein,
Alison Ellis,

Helen Fitzgerald,
Ros Franklin,

Susan Grace-MacDonald,

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

Kerriann Indorato,

Jillian Lloyd,
Angela Lober,
Marina Lommerse,
Anna Lu,

Janet Matthews,
Lynda McPherson,
Mary Ann Mein,
Peter Mesenberg,
Mali Moir,
Elaine Musgrave,

Julie Nettleton,
Kate Nolan,
Leonie Norton,

Rita Parkinson,
John Pastoriza-Piñol,
Joy Pearson,
Vivien Pinder,
Patricia Prince,

Lauren Sahu-Khan,
Sandra Sanger,
Anne Saville,
Peter Schouten,
Shipra Shah,
Claire Stack,
Sue Stuart,

Heather Trott,

Olivia Unicomb,

Bronwyn Van de Graaff,
Anna Voytsekhovich,

Christine Weldon,
Colleen Werner,
Sue Wickison and
Sue Wilcockson.

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Nataneal Nascimento wins Margaret Flockton Award 2018

24/4/2018

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Brazilian scientific illustrator Natanael Nascimento has won the Margaret Flockton Award 2018.

This Award and Exhibition at the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney is very prestigious and attracts submissions from scientific botanical illustrators from all over the world - as demonstrated by the prizewinners below.

Margaret Flockton Award 2018
for Scientific Botanical Illustration

This is very much an award for the professional botanical illustrator since it is very much focused on the plates produced for the record and for scientific botanical publications.

What happens is that illustrators from around the world

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.

First Prize $5,000 (AUS)

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List of artists exhibited in "Abundance, seed pods and autumn fruit" at Kew

9/3/2018

This post puts on record all those artists who contributed to Abundance, seed pods and autumn fruit at the The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art in Kew Gardens before it ends on Sunday March 11th 2018.

The exhibition is open this weekend 10am to 5pm (last admission 4.45pm). It includes artwork by botanical artists and illustrators from Australia, Brazil, France, Italy, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, UK and USA.

Left: Custard Apple by Álvaro Xavier Núñez; next Pomegranates by Ann Schweizer; Right: two paintings of the Ivy Gourd and Bitter Gourd by Phansakdi Chakkaphak

Like many of the smaller exhibitions in the side corridors of the gallery Abundance, seed pods and autumn fruit does not have a catalogue and there is also no list of artists and artworks available at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery.

However I've been given a set of the labels used for the exhibition and was able to discus the plants in the exhibition with Shirley Sherwood.

This was supposed to have been written in November last year - and here we are at the last weekend! Which will teach me not to mistake uploading images of the artists with their paintings to Facebook after the Private View with the rather longer(!) task of sorting out this type of blog post.

Explanation of the exhibition - and how dispersal occurs via wind, water, animals and explosive mechanisms

How this list of artists in the exhibition works

I did think of ordering works by methods of dispersion but that would have got very repetitive in terms of artists names!

So the way it works is like this

The list is alphabetical based on (1) the country they come from and (2) the surname of the artist.
A link to their website (if they have one) is embedded in their name. Alternatively another page has been linked to if this tells you about an artist who doesn't have a website.
an asterisk * after their name indicates they are included in my current summary of artists for the country they live in - where you can read more about them. If the artist is deceased they will be listed in 20th century Botanical Artists in the history section. Those without an asterisk will be added soon!
The name is followed by basic bio data which indicates where they were born and live
This is then followed by the title of the work. The common vernacular name is very often followed by the correct latin name in italics, (for more about naming plants see Plant Names and Botanical Latin in the Botany section on this website)
Media: All paintings are watercolour on paper unless otherwise stated.
Artwork which has been published in one of Dr Sherwood's books includes the title of the book and page number (in green) after the title
Those who have more than one artwork in the exhibition have the titles of the works bullet pointed below their names.

Some of the plants have interesting stories or names and these are also highlighted.

Names of the Artists and Titles of the Artworks

Australia

Second from left is the Idiot Fruit Idiospermum australiense painting by Betty Hinton

Betty Hinton b.1935 Gin Gin, Queensland
Betty has painted a group of 'plant dinosaurs' from the tropical forest reserve at Daintree, north of Cairns

Idiot Fruit Idiospermum australiense - gouache and watercolour on paper A Passion for Plants, pg 107 AND The Art of Plant Evolution page 74 and 75

This very ancient plant has huge and heavy seeds. It was first discovered in the nineteenth century and then "lost" again as land was cleared. The fruit is classed as very poisonous by the Aborigines. If eaten by cattle they go mad. The tree is 15 metres tall and the flowers can only be retrieved by somebody climbing the tree to the top to cut off flowering branches - which is what happened in relation to this painting.

Mali Moir GM b.1960

Ovuliferous Scale Bunya Pine Nut Araucaria bidwillii 2014 Watercolour on deer vellum

Jenny Phillips GM b.1949

Corymbia ficifolia 1998 Watercolour on vellum
Sausage Tree Kigelia africana 1999

Brazil

Far Left: Seed Pod, Cardiocrinum giganteum by Robert McNeill. Far right: Two works by by Alvaro E. X. Nunes - Cybistax antisyphilitica and Zeyheria montana

Álvaro Xavier Núñez b.1945 Annapolis, Brazil
One the best known of the contemporary Brazilian botanical artists, Álvaro specialises in painting plants from all the different ecosystems within Brazil - and has seven paintings in the exhibition.

Custard Apple Annona crassiflora 2003 The Art of Plant Evolution page 72 and 73
Cybistax antisyphilitica 2008 Old and New South American Botanical Art page 134 It's a popular Brazilian tonic in the treatment of syphilis and in yaws and its leaves are used to dye cloth blue.
Kapok Tree Ceiba speciosa 2003 Old and New South American Botanical Art page 126
Dioclea violacea 2009 Old and New South American Botanical Art page 135
Fruits of Savannah A Passion for Plants page 156 This might be described as a symphony in browns, the painting displays exquisite tonal control.
"Monkey Pot" Lecythis pisonis This plant is a tropical tree in the Brazil nut family and the fruit has a tight fitting lid which burst open when ready. The common name comes from the fact Monkeys put their hand into to retrieve the nuts. Adults learn that they need to be sparing in how many they take out at one time.
Zeyheria montana 2008 Old and New South American Botanical Art page 132

Flora 2017 by the Botanical Art Society of Australia

6/9/2017

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Flora: The Art and Science of the Plant is the Annual Exhibition by the Botanical Society of Australia (BASA) at the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney. It includes both botanical art and illustration in a variety of mediums. All works are for sale.

The exhibition opened at the end of August and continues until the 12th September. (Further details at the end)

BASA yesterday added 30 new photos of the exhibition to their album Flora 2017 photos on their Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/BotanicalArtSocietyAustralia/. The exhibition includes some very striking pieces - and you can see images of individual works which won Best Painting in Show and Highly Commended awards.

It would be even better if somebody could scan the list of titles and names of the artists and also add that in! :)

If you'd like to take a look at the work being produced by Australian artists I suggest you take a look.

View of the Flora 2017 Exhibition by the Botanical Art Society of Australia at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

How to see the exhibition

Where: the Palm House, Royal Botanic Garden, Mrs Macquaries Rd, Sydney NSW 2000
Australia
When: 30 August – 12 September 2017
Hours: Open from 10 am - 4 pm
Admission: Free

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Florilegium Exhibition win Heritage Award

17/6/2017

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Presentation of the National Heritage Award 2017 for Events and Publications to ""Florilegium: Sydney’s painted garden"

The National Trust Heritage Award for Events and Publications in 2017 went to historian Colleen Morris and The Florilegium Society at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney for Florilegium: Sydney’s Painted Garden held at the Museum of Sydney in 2016.

“Florilegium: Sydney’s painted garden” was hosted at the Museum of Sydney from 30 July to 30 October 2016.
It showcased 87 contemporary artworks by more than 60 international and Australian artists.
The exhibition was part of the 200th birthday celebrations of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney in partnership with The Florilegium Society and supported by the Royal Botanic Garden and Domain Trust.
The exhibition illustrated the diversity and significance of plants grown by the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah, and the Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah, and demonstrated the botanical and horticultural development of the first botanic garden in Australia and its links with domestic gardens and the public landscapes of NSW from 1816-2016.

“The work of historian Colleen Morris is world class. Painted Garden was a complete triumph in terms of the contemporary botanical artworks it collected and then donated to our permanent collection. The other exciting aspect is that we are now working to put on a significant exhibition of a similar nature at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in 2018.”
Director, Science and Conservation Dr. Brett Summerell

A post visit survey conducted at the Museum of Sydney demonstrated that “Florilegium: Sydney’s painted garden” was highly regarded by visitors.

93% of respondents felt the exhibition met or exceeded expectations
85% of respondents found the stories of plants, people and gardens highly engaging
91% of respondents highly rated the ambience of the space

To my mind, the page devoted to the award provides a benchmark of good practice for all botanical art exhibitions of this type in terms of criteria for assessing content and value.

Those in the UK will be able to see for themselves when the exhibition comes to the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens in 2018.

Webpage for the Award

About the project teams

Worked on the project:
SLM Exhibition Project Team –

Curator: Colleen Morris (Florilegium Society);
Project Manager Bob Whight;
Project Officer Amelia Lindsay;
3D Designer Keira McDonald;
Graphic Designer Bruce Smythe;
Registrar Bronwyn McKenzie;
Editor Rhiain Hull;
Film Producer Mason Dean;
Marketing coordinator Ron Cuadra;
Publicity coordinator Hayley Gallant.

Florilegium Society Publication Project Team

Project Manager Beverly Allen;
Historical text Colleen Morris;
Botanical text Louisa Murray (Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney);
Editor Marie-Louise Taylor (contractor);
Designer Stan Lamond (contractor) .

Cover of the associated Publication

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About the National Heritage Awards

The National Trust Heritage Awards are the signature event of the Australian Heritage Festival and are now in their 23rd year of recognising heritage projects.

To view all the finalists and award recipients please visit the 2017 winner page here.

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Exhibit Gallery for Margaret Flockton Award 2017

11/6/2017

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I'm extremely pleased to see that there is now a Margaret Flockton Award 2017 Gallery on the website of the Royal Botanical Garden Sydney.

For the very first time we can now see all the exhibits by all the international artists online. The new on-line gallery includes

all Margaret Flockton Award 2017 artworks by all the international botanical illustrators
PLUS sales and artists’ details. This should help enormously in highlighting those who produce the very best in botanical illustration.

This will have happened in part because this year all submissions for the award had to be digital - and indeed some of the entries were also drawn digitally!

I've previously highlighted the award winners - see below for details.

Just some of the entries you can see in the Margaret Flockton Gallery 2017

More Information

The Margaret Flockton Award commemorates the contribution that Margaret Flockton made to Australian scientific botanical illustration.

You can find out more about the Margaret Flockton Award from the following sites and blog posts:

Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

Margaret Flockton - a page devoted to the woman who prompted this award
The Margaret Flockton Award 2017 - about this year's competition. It also includes a list of previous winners (2015-2017) and entry requirements for anybody who aspires to enter in future.

Botanical Art and Artists

The Margaret Flockton Award for Excellence in Scientific Botanical Illustration - a webpage dedicated to the award. (You can find it in the section about exhibitions in Australia and New Zealand)

These are past posts on Botanical Art and Artists News about the award:

Second Margaret Flockton Award win for Lucy T. Smith (May 2017)
Margaret Flockton Award 2017 - Exhibiting Illustrators and Feedback (May 2017)
The Margaret Flockton Award 2017 - call for entries (Jan 2017)
Pauline Dewar wins Margaret Flockton Award 2016 (April 2016)

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Botanical Art Medals awarded at RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2017

22/5/2017

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RHS Malvern Spring Festival

Every year the Royal Horticultural Society has a mini Botanical Art Show at the RHS Malvern Spring Festival in May.

This year's RHS medal winners at Malvern are listed below - and apologies for this being a week late! I'm also very happy to add in any photos by any of the exhibitors if they'd care to contact me

RHS Gold Medal

Bernard F Carter (Buxton, Derbyshire) Seed Heads - the Best Botanical Art Exhibit was awarded to Bernard F Carter for his exhibit of Seed Heads. Bernard is a former professional photographer who took up botanical art in his retirement. This is his second Gold Medal. He previous won one for a series of fruit and vegetable montages. You can also see some of his paintings in Botanical Illustration for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide by Meriel Thurstan, Rosie Martin
Lesley Randall (San Diego, USA) Native Hawaiian Flora - Lesley has previously won the ASBA Botanical Illustrator Award For Excellence in Scientific Botanical Art. She has worked as a professional scientific illustrator for many years.

RHS Silver Gilt Medal

Carol E Hardie (Worcester) Botanical Carnivores
Lynne Buckler (nr. Stratford-upon-Avon) Woodland trees, fruits, cones & seed

I have always been drawn to pattern and structure and prefer to concentrate on the gnarled shapes of plants as they enter their seed cycle and reveal linear skeletal forms.
Lynne Buckler

RHS Silver Medal

Irish Society of Botanical Artists (Ireland) Heritage Irish Plants - Plandai Oidhreachta
Jacqui Gilleland (ACT, Australia) Australian Waratahs (In 2016, Jacqui earned a Silver Gilt Medal)
Nilavan Adams (ACT AUSTRALIA) Death Becomes Them

Display of work by members of the Irish Society of Botanical Artists

Photographs by Holly Somerville

One of the things I've observed that happens often when international artists exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Shows is that they come with a friend or colleague from their botanical art society or country. That means they're not on their own and have got some help and support from somebody who speaks their language. Not an issue with Australians from ACT - but you get my drift! I think it's a really great idea.

In terms of exhibiting at Malvern, there's some jolly good reasons for exhibiting there:

Some use Malvern as a "try out" for exhibiting at the main show in the Lindley Hall. Being at a smaller exhibition is less intimidating for a first timer.
Malvern is a more attractive option in terms of accessibility for all those who live in Wales, the Midlands and the West of England given the location of The Three Counties Showground approximately 8 miles from the M5 and M50 motorways.

Many thanks to Holly Somerville (Website | Facebook) for allowing me to use her photos of the display by the Irish Society of Botanical Artists.

RHS and previous posts

2016: Botanical Art Medals at the RHS Malvern Spring Festival
RHS Botanical Art Exhibitions - dedicated page

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