NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

RHS Botanical Art Show 2025: Silver Gilt and Silver Medals

16/6/2025

Every botanical artist must be "approved to exhibit" BEFORE they can even get a place to display their art in a future annual Botanical Art Show held by the Royal Horticultural Society.

A very high standard of work (equivalent to at least a Silver RHS medal) is required to be selected to display botanical illustration, judged by the RHS. Emphasis is placed on botanical accuracy in combination with aesthetic appeal. Artists should present their work that is of the very highest quality and has been completed recently (and at least within 5 years
Botanical Art and Photography Show Artists Factsheet

As a result, I always expect to see artwork of a very high standard at the show. However, different artists's concepts of a "very high standard" can vary a lot - which is why the accreditation process exists. The RHS want to exhibit the best.

This year I got the very strong impression that some exhibitors had heard about the exhibition - but had NOT actually seen the exhibition before.

Maybe information from artists wanting to exhibit needs a very clear statement as to whether or not the applicant has seen one of the RHS Botanical Art Shows?

When the show was only two days in the RHS Lindley Hall, it could be impossible for people to visit.
Now it is held at the Saatchi Gallery over a number of weeks (13th June - 27th July in 2025), it's very much easier to visit.
Most aspiring botanical artists would find it extremely educational to visit the show and study all the artwork on display. Every aspiring botanical artist can and should use their eyes and brain and the stated criteria to work out why some exhibits got a Gold and some got a Silver. It's something I try to do every single year.

I always HIGHLY RECOMMEND that all those wanting to exhibit with the RHS in future should make a point of trying to see a show first. It's really, really important that people:

understand the nature of the exhibition - and its very high standards
appreciate the standard of the best artwork - and WHY it varies between medals
come away with a very good sense of what they might be able to achieve OR what they need to work on

Note: If you cannot get to the show you can review all the information on this website about the RHS Botanical Art Shows - which includes lots of images of Gold Medal artwork in past shows! Applications to exhibit and the numbers exhibiting have hugely increased since I first started writing about the RHS Botanical Art Show back in 2006. I've now been writing for 18 years - since RHS Gold Medal Botanical Art on February 23rd, 2007 and there's a LOT of info on this website!

Surjit Ghaley Riyait with two paintings from her exhibit of The Life Cycle Aesculus hippocastum Out of the six silver exhibits, the only one I really liked was this one.

Some context

This is a brief characterisation of what each medal represents, written after a discussion about the meaning of the colour of the different medals, back in 2018.

A Gold medal exhibit has to be outstanding in all areas and really have the ‘wow’ factor.
A Silver-Gilt medal is a very high award and still an exceptional achievement. In many cases a Silver-gilt will have only been missing a couple of elements that meant it was not quite a Gold.
The Silver medal will usually have numerous areas for improvement.
A Bronze medal is rarely awarded as the standard is generally so high, but it may be awarded if the artist has really only achieved one or two elements from the criteria.
RHS Botanical Art Show #3: Medals Awards and Feedback (2018)

ALLOCATION OF MEDALS

My post on Friday RHS Botanical Art Show 2025: Awards and Gold Medals has already covered the top awards and Gold Medals. This post is about the remaining medals.

Two Silver Gilt and six Silver Medals were awarded last week at the RHS Botanical Art Show at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea. As a result

13% of exhibitors received Silver Gilts
40% of exhibitors received Silver Medals

There were no exhibits classed as either Bronze or "no award".

It's very unusual to have so few silver gilts. I'm wondering whether it's maybe a function of

either a significant reduction in the number of exhibits i.e. 22 in 2024; 15 in 2025
and/or the number of first time exhibitors (eg 5 of the 7 medallists covered by this post were first time exhibitors)
and/or people who have previously exhibited with RHS but not in London and/or not recently and/or never visited a London show

Last year I wrote a post about RHS Botanical Art 2024: Strengths & Scope for Improvement - and I'll be doing so again this year later this week in a similar post. It's particularly relevant to all those hoping to exhibit in the future and/or improve the colour of their medal.

Silver Gilt Medals

First Time Exhibitor Juliet Rowse with her Silver Gilt exhibit of Helleborus orientalis

Two artists received Silver Gilt Medals in order of country

JAPAN

Hideko Kamoshita (previous exhibitor in 2017 and 2019 - receiving a Silver Gilt on both occasions) - Flowering Cherries in Japan

Juliet Rowse (First Time Exhibitor) - Helleborus orientalis from The National Collection at Hadlow College, Kent

Silver Medals

Six people received a Silver Medal. In order of country, these were:

AUSTRALIA

Jacqui Gilliland (previous exhibitor - receiving a Silver Gilt and 2 Silver medal) - Anigozanthos: Kangaroo Paws of Australia

KOREA

Hee-Soon Baik SBAF (First time exhibitor) - Plants connected to human survival
Korean Society of Botanical Art and Illustration (First time exhibitor - and newly formed organisation) - Traditional Cosmetic Plants of Korean Women

SPAIN

Manuel Saro (First time exhibitor) - Pinus sylvestris. From the forest of Guadarrama National Park. Madrid

Bernard F Carter GM 2012, 2017 (Previous exhibitor at RHS Malvern* ONLY in 2012, 2017 + Best Botanical Art Exhibit, 2019; and London in 2021) - Spines and Thorns
Surjit Ghaley Riyait (First time exhibitor) - The Life Cycle Aesculus hippocastanum

[NOTE: The RHS Botanical Art Show in Malvern is no longer held. RHS standards and criteria are expected to be applied in the same way at every show, whatever its location. However, I have heard the view expressed in the past that it was easier to win Gold at Malvern and I certainly know people who exhibited there based on that understanding]

One painting from the exhibit "The Life Cycle Aesculus hippocastanum" by Surjit Ghaley Riyalt

Overall, from the exhibits listed above, the exhibit I liked the best was by Surjit Ghaley Riyait (pictured at the top of this post) who portrayed the botanical and seasonal aspects of the annual life of a horse chestnut. Her aim was to exhibit an example in its prime before the onset of leaf miner moth which means it is now classified as "vulnerable".

This year it seemed to me that

the exhibits awarded Silver Gilt were very graphic - which I found odd
the standard within the Silver category this year appears to me to be extremely variable - or maybe the differences are more obvious on some criteria than others?
to the point where I actually wondered why some exhibits had NOT been awarded a Bronze.

A Silver Medal is awarded where the exhibit of six artworks - judged against the stated criteria - will "usually have numerous areas for improvement" . Each artist who attended the exhibition has had an opportunity to get feedback "face to face" from one of the Judges.

For me, a Silver Medal is a not uncommon outcome for those who:

did not do their homework in terms of researching standards
had never been to see the show before submitting (or have not seen it recently)
did not take their time (you have five years to submit an exhibit and that allowance is there for a good reason!)
rushed their painting and/or exhibit
failed to provide enough content or quality for a higher level of medal.

Interestingly, I note that most of the silver medallists have neither a website nor a social media site (and I'm very good at finding these). Hence, it also occurs to me that this maybe also limits their awareness of the standards of botanical art across the world - in online botanical art groups, via websites and/or Instagram.

TWO MORE POSTS: More later this week in two posts which follow this one about my suggestions for

how you can improve your chance of the colour of medal you win,
what makes a difference and
the scope for improvement - paying particular attention as I did last year to the criteria for assessment (see RHS Botanical Art 2024: Strengths & Scope for Improvement).

There are some messages which need highlighting - again! However I am first going back again to the exhibition to study the highs and the lows of exhibits some more - and do some counting....

More about the 2025 exhibition + previous posts

RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show is open as follows:
AT: Galleries 1, 2 and 3 at the Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s HQ, King’s Road, London, SW3 4RY
From: Daily between 13th June -27th July 2025
Hours: 10am - 6pm
Admission: Free entry with a suggested donation of £5. Pre-booking is not required.
Plan Your Visit to the Gallery

The Gallery is a short walk from Sloane Square Tube Station.

PREVIOUS POSTS

MORE INFORMATION
Pages on this website include

RHS Botanical Art Shows
ARCHIVE: RHS Botanical Art Shows 2007-2025
Exhibit Titles at RHS Botanical Art Shows
Tips from RHS Gold Medal Winners in the Education section.

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RHS Botanical Art Show 2025: Awards and Gold Medals

13/6/2025

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Botanical Artists from across the world congregated in the RHS Botanical Art Show 2025 last night to find out:

what colour of medal they had been awarded for their exhibition of six botanical artworks
whether they had won an RHS Award

....and the results are listed below - and in next post.

RHS Best Botanical Art Exhibit 2025 Mayumi Hashi with two paintings

RHS Best Botanical Art Exhibit 2025 Mayumi Hashi with two of her Magnolia paintings

The RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show opens to the public today (Friday 13th June 2025)

at the Saatchi Gallery in London and
continues until 27th July.
Entrance is free (with a suggested donation).

That's six weeks to in which you can pay it a visit and find out

WHY this is the oldest and most prestigious botanical art show in the world which has been held in various forms for nearly a 100 years; and
WHAT the standard of botanical art is which wins an RHS Gold Medal!

I highly recommend you pay it a visit if you have any aspirations to being a better botanical artist. Find out more about the artists who won medals and awards below.

Waiting for the announcements in the Photography Gallery

My RHS blog posts are usually VERY LONG - with

lots of images and
lots of useful information and tips for those aspiring to one day be exhibited in the RHS Botanical Art Show - which has been held for

However, I'm now 70 and trying to pace myself better..... and I also need to go back to have a much better look at all the exhibits in detail - which takes a few hours...

So this year, my write up will comprise FOUR blog posts over the next week.
#1: Awards and Gold Medals (today)

starts with who won the three major Awards
then covers the remaining four RHS Gold Medallists with photographs of both exhibit and artist where possible.

#2: Silver Gilt and Silver Medals (tomorrow or Sunday)

Covering the 2 Silver Gilt and 6 Silver Medals

#3: How to win an RHS Gold Medal (next week)
Covering:

who the Judges are and what experience they have
what criteria determines what colour of medal artists get - how artwork is assessed and medals awarded
why it's important to see the exhibition and the approach I recommend you use for how to see the exhibition

#4: Key Themes of the 2025 Show (next week)
This will focus on key themes around

what makes a difference - why people win Gold i.e. the strengths exhibited by the best exhibits and
areas for improvement - aspects relating to the different criteria used for judging and areas of weakness where artists could improve.

NOTE: I'm going back there today to have a longer closer look at the individual exhibits and may well update this post - TEXT AND/OR IMAGES - as a result.

NUMBER OF EXHIBITORS AND PAINTINGS

15 botanical artists and illustrators are participating in this exhibition - compared to 22 exhibits in 2024 (which I did not see as I was recovering from surgery at the time) and 23 in 2023. So a smaller show I'm not sure why there has been a reduction but will try and find out.

Each has an exhibit of six artworks and all 15 exhibits and 90 paintings were

individually assessed by the RHS botanical art judging panel (of whom more in a later post)
awarded an RHS medal - PLUS an RHS award for some.

You can find the

profiles of ALL the other artists in my previous post Introducing the Botanical Artists in the RHS Botanical Art Show 2025.
review short bios and profiles on the RHS website page

There is also a link to an artist's home website and/or instagram in their name.

RHS Botanical Art Awards 2025
- for outstanding botanical artwork

Winners of RHS Botanical Art Show Awards - Mayumi Hashi for Best Exhibit and Julia Ah-Fa for Judges Special Prize

BEST BOTANICAL ART EXHIBIT
Mayumi Hashi GN (2005, 2007, 2025) (UK) - Magnolias, Native to Japan and China

Mayumi is a previous Gold Medal Winner (this is her third as an individual) and, knowing the quality of her painting well, I was absolutely 100% certain she was going to win another Gold Medal. However the nature of this quiet botanical artist is never to assume and always to be surprised.

Her display explores six magnolias which are native to Japan and China and grow at Nymans in West Sussex. She notes she is still searching for an example of subspecies Magnolia siebodii subsp. japonica

When I saw her exhibit I was absolutely blown away. It is simply and emphatically outstanding. You need to see it in person to appreciate the quality of her painting. I was looking at magnolia buds and feeling their furry surfaces in my head and my fingers. Her leaves are all outstanding too - and I have always maintained you can always tell a Gold Medal winner by their leaves. Also look below how she never repeats a design and always designs her composition based on the nature of the magnolia

Mayumi is not a big social media person, but you can see how she developed her paintings on her Instagram where she has posted what a couple of them looked like at different stages.

PS I do like a botanical artist who dresses to complement her exhibit! That attention to detail demonstrates what sort of an artist you are.....

RHS Best Botanical Art Exhibit 2025 Mayumi Hashi with her exhibit of Magnolias native to Japan and China

BEST BOTANICAL ARTWORK
Eunike Nugroho - "Bell(a) Hoya archboldiana

RHS Botanical Art Show 2025 Best Botanical Artwork: "Bell(a)" Hoya archboldiana by Eunike Nugroho

Eunike Nugroho - Hoyas of Indonesia exhibit RHS Botanical Art Show 2025

JUDGES SPECIAL AWARD (BOTANICAL ART)
Julie Ah-Fa (South Africa) Endemic Dombeyoideae of Réunion Island: exploring the “Mahots” and “Bois de Senteur.”

Julie Ah-Fa is a French Botanical artist from Réunion - which is

an island in the Indian Ocean (due east of Madagascar) that is an overseas department and region of France.
one of the 25 biodiversity hotspots in the world!

She now lives in South Africa and is a member of the Botanical Artists Association of Southern Africa and the international group of artists contributing to the Grootbos Florilegium

Habitat destruction threatens not only these plants but also the whole ecosystem that depends on them
Narrative on exhibit

I would describe this exhibit as having excellent artwork with very strong botanical roots - and that's a formula which you can't beat.

Yet again, a botanical artist has focused on plants growing in a very specific habitat - and what they look like. The plants Julie chose are endemic on the Island and vital to Réunion's forests BUT

one is endangered
three are critically endangered

It's not at all flashy but records important information and it is also very accomplished in terms of the quality of her artwork. Her leaves are well worth a close inspection.

The Judges made it clear that one of the aspects of their judging relates to the "scale of the endeavour" and its importance in terms of telling the story of plants - and this exhibit well and truly delivers on that score.

However, my very special memory of Julie will be forever that she was so pleased to meet me and said she had read everything I'd written about RHS - and particularly the importance of selecting the right project plus watched the video of me talking about "How to exhibit at the RHS Show and win a medal!" I very nearly teared up! Feedback like that is the reason I maintain this site.

Julie Ah-Far being presented with the Judges Special Award by Charlotte Brooks the RHS Art Curator and organiser of this exhibition.

Julie Ah-Fa with her exhibit of plants growing on Reunion island

This isn’t just a personal achievement. Of course, it is the result of countless hours, deep passion. But above all, it is the result of the incredible support I received from so many amazing people: my family, my friends, and those working in the field, the true heroes who protect our unique and endangered flora: the botanists, conservationists, and nature lovers.

It was so important to me not to disappoint the people who believed in this project and supported me throughout.

To everyone who believed in me, encouraged me, stood by me, and helped bring this vision to life, thank you from the bottom of my heart. This moment belongs to all of us. 💛

We are so lucky to have such extraordinary nature in Réunion Island. I truly hope this helps more people see how privileged we are — and how worth protecting it is. 🌿
Julie Ah-Fa

Gold Medals x 7

A total of seven gold medals were awarded - which is the least for some time. I had to go back ten years to 2015 to find fewer gold medals.

While the number of medals is partly a product of how many exhibitors there are, it also suggests to me that Judges have been very careful this year about who gets the more prestigious medal. Possibly because there has been a change in who judges and who moderates? Who knows? It wouldn't be the first time....

In terms of countries, gold medals were awarded as follows:

Indonesia x 1
Japan x 1
South Africa x 1
UK x 3
USA x 1

Below you can see my photo of each exhibit - with the artist (if they were there) and I could get a photo! I'm doing the remaining artists in alphabetical order of their surnames.

Jarnie Godwin with her exhibit of Species and Botanical Class Tulips

Jarnie Godwin - TULIPA - Species and Botanical Class Tulips

I'm a big lover of tulips and knew some of these but not all. All had been grown by Jarnie in her garden and last night she was telling me about the very variable results, compared to 2024, that she's getting this year. Which just goes to show why you need five years for exhibits like this - because sometimes your plants won't perform to order!

Apparently the painting which appears to be very popular is "Persian Pearl" which is the small one next to Jarnie in the above photo of her exhibit.

Last time Jarnie exhibited she got a Silver Gilt. She obviously listened very carefully to the feedback from the Judges because this time she got a Gold! Judges feedback is one of the huge benefits of this RHS Botanical Art Show! It can be priceless!

These paintings were painted in the face of adversity. Her house had been flooded, everything had been moved upstairs and this was the context she painted in. So no excuses for not getting your paintings done!!

Susan Tomlinson - More than a Fluffy White Ball: The Surprising Diversity of Commercially Grown Cotton Cultivars

Susan Tomlinson (Texas, USA) - More than a Fluffy White Ball: The Surprising Diversity of Commercially Grown Cotton Cultivars

It's such a pity that Susan Tomlinson was not present last night - but I kept my promise to her and sat down and sent her a photo right after I'd found her exhibit and knew she'd got a gold!

This is Susan's second exhibit. She grows all the plants from seed in her greenhouse - with lots of us watching.... She then paints carefully and meticulously each one as it moves through its life cycle. Which requires pretty careful planning. Like everything else she does, (rebuild bicycles, build guitars, teach undergraduates) Susan aces pre-planning and anything else that requires meticulous attention to timing and detail. It's no wonder her cotton cultivation and associated paintings got a gold!

Pauleen Trim with her second exhibit of Deciduous Trees in the UK and their galls

Pauleen Trim (UK) - A Year in the Life of Six UK Native Deciduous Trees and their Galls

Pauleen was a first time exhibitor in 1921 when she won a Gold Medal. She's back with Part of the same subject and has won another Gold Medal.

What's amazing about Pauline's artwork is it's very much about the whole tree and its life cycle and is designed as if for a book or reproduction - plate sized and crammed full of information. It's excellent scientific botanical illustration.

Pauleen will be back! I think she would like a third Gold Medal! I've suggested she maybe goes for a habitat focus.

Whatever an expansion of focus might hold, Pauleen tells me she is definitely going to continue painting trees whatever! I suspect there's a book in there somewhere. I think there's rather a lot of places which might do something very constructive with her paintings to date

Kyoko Uchiyama ( Japan) - Ohga Lotus cultivated from a Seed after 2000 years slumber

Kyoko is a botanical artist and a graphic designer living in Japan. She received the Tpkyo Shimbun Award at the Japan Gardening Society Botanical Art Exhibition in 2019.

Kyoko Uchiyama and two of the paintings in her Gold Medal winning exhibit of a Lotus Flower.

As can happen with Japanese artists, it was difficult to converse with Kyoko because she has no English and I have not learned Japanese. Very many thanks to Masumi Yamanaka (one of the Judges) for translating. This is when I learned that Kyoko is yet another of Mieko Ishikawa's students. None of which exhibit in the UK without winning a Gold Medal!

This exhibit has connotations associated with Sleeping Beauty! I looked up "Ohga Lotus" and discovered that it's related to the discovery in 1923 of the existence of a cache of viable seeds of East Indian lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.), contained within an ancient lakebed deposit at Pulantien in southern Manchuria. I'm assuming that's the reason for the lake and sediment in the first painting.

The more normal name is Nelumbo nucifera (which I have drawn - from ones I observed in Ubud in Bali) and the more common name is the Lotus Flower.

It's an interesting story. However what's wonderful about this exhibit is the way it moves the eye from left to right and the plant changes e.g. as you move your eyes from very erect stalks to ones which become more bendy and the flowers convert to seed pods within the context of its life cycle. It doesn't jump out and shout "this is a life cycle exhibit" but that is in fact what it is. It very definitely has impact.

I am also the very fortunate recipient of a pack of postcards of each of the Lotus Flowers which was most professionally presented and very gratefully received by me. A permanent reminder of an excellent exhibit.

Kyoko Uchiyaa and the scale of her exhibit about the seed that slumbered for 2000 years

RHS Botanical Art Exhibition

START HERE Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Botanical Art & Photography Exhibitions
ARCHIVE: RHS Botanical Art Shows 2007-2024
Exhibit Titles at RHS Botanical Art Shows - categorises the titles of past gold medal winning exhibits. You may be surprised at the result....
Tips from RHS Gold Medal Winners in the Education section of this website. These include:
- an outline of the process from application to exhibit through to the exhibition
- several articles about TIPS FROM RHS Gold Medal-winning artists about how to be successful at an RHS Botanical Art Show. Every year they come up with new tips!

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SBA Plantae 2025: Awards and Certificates + Photos

8/6/2025

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We had a wonderful Private View and Awards evening at SBA Plantae 2025 on Wednesday 4th June when the following awards, prizes and certificates were announced - and received by those who were attending the PV

The awards presentation was enhanced by a visual presentation of each artwork winning an award on a big screen to the left of the presenters. A huge improvement on what I see and experience at other presentations in this gallery! For some of the awards you will see the screen version rather than my photo of the artwork in question.

We just need a little coaching for the artists so they stop and turn around to the cameras and pause for a few seconds before departing the presentation. i.e. I was sat on the front row and I've got an awful lot of photos of people's backs!

THE WINNERS ARE LISTED BELOW

Listed below are all the winners of the various awards, prizes and certificates.
I have embedded a link to a relevant website - usually their own - within the name of each artist - where you can find out more about the artist and see more of their art.

You can also see all the artwork with an award or certificate label hanging in the garden at the end of last week in my album about

SBA Plantae 2025 - Awards and people with artwork (47 items)

The audience for the Awards Ceremony at the Private View in the West Gallery of Plantae 2025

SBA Awards

The following are the traditional awards made by the Council of the Society of Botanical Artists. Where Judges are independent of the Council these are stated.

Four works by Tatiana Efimova SBAF

Joyce Cuming Presentation Award – Awarded with an inscribed glass trophy – For a body of beautiful botanical pieces

Tatiana Efimova SBAF

One of her artworks (the one on the left) was included on the cover of the Catalogue

Eryngium by Marina Kiselyova

John Waterman Awards judged by Helen Allen and Rachel Sherwood

1st prize of £750 – Marina Kiselyova SBAF for Eryngium (47) - see her Instagram post about her five awards below
2nd prize of £500 – Patricia Richards for Banana Shallot (206)
3rd prize of £250 – Toni Dade SBAF for Much Weathered Nicolai (110)

Marina Kiselyova has had a VERY GOOD exhibition. She

won 1st prize in the John Waterman Award - the top money prize (£750),
was a joint winner of the CPGFS award (£250),
was awarded two Certificates of Botanical Merit for her Hellebores and Eringium
awarded an Exhibiting Excellence in Watercolour for her Hellebores,
sold her tulip on vellum to an eminent collector (£950)

She thinks she's very lucky. I think she's extremely talented.

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RHS Botanical Art 2024: Strengths & Scope for Improvement

25/6/2024

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This post is all about some of the KEY THEMES of this year's exhibits in the RHS Botanical Art Show - particularly those which, relative to the judging criteria, displayed:

either particular strengths amongst the Gold Medallists - Why do some people win Gold - what makes a difference? i.e. the strengths exhibited by the best exhibits. I'll use examples from the Gold Medallists to demonstrate important points
or aspects which fell short of Gold Medal standard. These might be termed areas for improvement in the aspects relating specifically to the different criteria used for judging and where I think artists (generally) could improve. Note I will NOT reference individuals where I am focusing on aspects where artists could do better.

The latter provide a useful checklist for those wanting to be improve their botanical art.

It should be emphasised that all those who get to exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show have already met a high bar in being "approved to exhibit". So this post, to the extent that it considers weaknesses and aspects capable of improvement is very much focused on the tweaking and refining which is always a focus for those seeking to exhibit at the top level of this international exhibition. The only artists I name are those who won Gold Medals and the only images I show are those by Gold Medal winners.

It's another of my VERY LONG posts and it's intended for all those artists who:

aspire to enter and exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show for the first time; and
hope to return and improve the colour of their medal.

I'm bound to have forgotten something I meant to say, so this may well be revised and updated over the next couple of days. It will be added to my archive of posts about RHS Exhibits for the benefit of those who I'll be reviewing in future years.

Two paintings by Lynne Uptin from the RHS Best Exhibit 2024

Why write this post?

One of the HUGE benefits of the RHS Botanical Art Show is that each Judge provides detailed feedback to artists individually. So each artist has already had the "official view" on why they got the colour of medal that they did.

So why write this post? After all I'm not a Judge - but
I have asked questions of Judges and Gold Medal winners for very many years.

I've also viewed and viewed all the RHS Exhibits in London since 2007 - in person for the most part and via images when I had just had surgery

As a result I've learned, over time, how to recognise a Gold Medal winner. Indeed I'm proud to say I used to be able to identify most of them before the medal certificates went up. I also like to work out

WHY an exhibit won Gold
WHY others just missed out or maybe were someway short ot the Gold Standard.

When we had the RHS Botanical Art Show for just two days in the Lindley Horticultural Hall in Victoria, lots of artists from all over the world were able to attend for the entire 2.5 days involved with the hang, private view, open to the public and take down. As a result I always made a point of interviewing all the Gold Medallists who were there and able to converse in English. In doing so, I identified what were their top tips for the benefit of future exhibitors. (See various posts in my Archive of my posts about the RHS Show)

However I cannot do that any more given the very limited time to access those artists who do attend the opening of the exhibition.

So, I decided to find another way of passing on what I think may well be useful tips for others who want to exhibit - or exhibit again. Hence this post!

I'm happy for others to comment (below) on their views or what they've learned - but please be respectful of artists. I'd prefer you to highlight what you liked most!

Judging Criteria

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RHS Botanical Art Show 2024: Awards and Medals

17/6/2024

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This is about who was awarded what - in terms of awards and medals - at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2024 - which opened to the public at the Saatchi Gallery in London on Friday 14th July 2023.

The exhibition continues until 7th July 2024 and I highly recommend you pay it a visit if you have any aspirations to being a better botanical artist.

The Three Award Winners at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2024

This is a VERY, VERY LONG post - with lots of images and lots of useful information and tips.

Below is a list of all the 22 botanical artists and illustrators whose exhibits were

assessed by the RHS Picture Panel for Botanical Art and
awarded an RHS medal - PLUS an award for some.

My write up

starts with who won the three major Awards
then covers all the Gold Medallists I focus in particular on the exhibits by the Gold Medallists and Award Winners - with photographs of both exhibit and artist where possible.
followed by the rest of the medals - in order

You can find the profiles of ALL the other artists in my previous post Artists exhibiting at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2024. There is also a link to an artist's home site in their name.

At the end, I highlight

how artwork is assessed and medals awarded
the profiles of the Judges
how to see the exhibition

My next post (this week) will focus on key themes around

what makes a difference - why people win Gold i.e. the strengths exhibited by the best exhibits and
areas for improvement - aspects relating to the different criteria used for judging and areas of weakness where artists could improve.

Both will hopefully be helpful.

I'll use examples from the Gold Medallists to demonstrate important points
but will NOT reference individuals where I am focusing on aspects where artists can do better.

Awards for Outstanding Botanical Artwork

There are three awards which, in the context of the show, are all of relatively recent origin. However as the numbers of exhibitors have grown and the standard of art exhibited has improved significantly, it was felt that there was a need to recognise all those who had particularly impressed the Judges. (More about the Judges at the end!)

It's notable that all three Gold Medal winners - who also won an Award - are ALL First Time Exhibitors. This is VERY impressive - but it must be acknowledged that it is actually becoming more normal. That's because very many artists, after becoming approved to exhibit, do not apply to exhibit at a specific exhibition UNTIL they have an excellent exhibit to submit.

Best Botanical Art Exhibit
LYNNE UPTIN The Genus Richea: A Relic of Gondwana.

The Genus Richea: A Relic of Gondwana

This is a classic example of an artist who chose to do a very unusual and highly scientific project - and then produced paintings which are very complex and yet explain everything and are also very attractive. A number of them were painted from herbaria specimens - and we see examples of these in the slideshow in the gallery.

Lynne has been painting the Genus Richea since 2020. Richea is a genus of 11 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. Nine of the species are endemic to Tasmania - where she lives - and the other two are endemic to the south-east of the Australian mainland. It's also associated with the split up of the supercontinent of Gondwana as Tasmania was the last region of the continental plates to split from Antartica.

I think we can expect a second exhibit of Genus Richea from Lynne!

In 2023/24 Lynne has focussed on developing a body of works for this exhibition which is a study of 6 of the species of the genus Richea, a plant with ancient and fascinating origins. The majority of the species are endemic to Tasmania’s World Heritage temperate rainforests.

Charlotte Brooks (left) presents Lynne Uptin with her Crystal Vase for Best Exhibit

Lynne Uptin was the Director of Arts Tasmania for 20 years. She was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2010 for her services to arts administration. Prior to that she worked as an illustrator and owned two art galleries.

What's really interesting is that Lynne is relatively new to botanical art. However she has started exhibiting, became a Fellow of SBA and has won awards for her artwork.

Her first exhibition in 2022 at a prestigious gallery was a sell out.
She received an Award of Merit in Botanical Art for her painting of a Kangaroo Paw in the SBA exhibition Plantae 2024

Judge’s Special Award
There's a second award for an entire exhibit called the Judges Special Award which was introduced in 2018. This was after Dr. Hye Woo Shin GM (2013,2014,2018,2022) came back for the third time to win another Gold Medal, after she had also previously won the Best Exhibit (2013 and 2014). It's not an award which automatically goes to a Gold Medal Winner. However it is an award which is often more related to new ideas or subjects for botanical art and/or the scale of the endeavour - and exhibits which the Judges really like!

SUNANDA VERMA WIDEL Ornamental Bananas from Southeast Asia.

Ornamental bananas are very much associated with South East Asia and these particular bananas grow in Singapore Botanical Gardens which is a UNESCO Heritage Site. Her exhibit demonstrates the morphological diversity found in the Musaceae genus in Singapore.

This was a project which clearly exemplified the scale of her endeavour to record this genus. Her aim was to demonstrate their upright habit and the variety of the flower forms, the fruit and the amazing array of colours of different species. Her artwork also includes a neat row of dissections to illustrate parts of the plant. Overall she has more than succeeded, as her exhibit has great impact within the Gallery.

Her fieldwork, over several years, involved making accurate measurements, detailed drawings and colour swatches throughout the year - all while sat in the tropical heat of Singapore - and there are photographs of her doing this in the slideshow opposite her exhibit in the gallery.

Sunanda Verma Widel - with three of the paintings in her exhibit

Sunanda, who lives in Singapore, only took up botanical art after she retired from her teaching career in international schools around the world. She has a background in art and a degree in Printmaking.

On retirement from teaching, she began to study botanical art with the Society of Botanical Art's 2-year Distance Learning Diploma Course (DLDC). In 2018, she graduated with distinction. Sunanda is a Fellow of the SBA and a member of the ASBA and a founder member of the Botanical Art Society of Singapore (BASS). She has exhibited internationally and her artwork is held in the archive collections at both the RBG Edinburgh and the SBG. She will also be exhibiting in the 17th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration at the Hunt Institute in Pittsburgh this autumn. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of Sunada's artwork in future!

Best Botanical Artwork
DALEEN ROODT Eulophia horsfallii & Dissotis princeps with carpenter bees (Xylocopa flavorufa).

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Do you want to exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2024?

17/8/2023

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To be able to exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show you have to follow a lengthier process than for other international art exhibitions.

Understanding how the process works is absolutely critical:

Do your research i.e. read my page dedicated to RHS Botanical Art Shows - How to Exhibit (see more about what it covers below) which I have just given a major overhaul.
Apply to be "approved to exhibit": the deadline for the next set of applications is Tuesday 5th September. You then get five years from the date of approval to display your exhibit of six artworks on a theme
Once the RHS Selection Meeting has been held and you have been "approved to exhibit", you will be sent an invitation to "apply for space to exhibit" at the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2024 - but there is no guarantee you'll get space.

It's entirely possible that if you apply to be "approved to exhibit" and get your submission in by the 5th September, that you might be exhibiting at the Saatchi Gallery next summer. This year priority was given to

those whose five year approval was about to expire (i.e. this was their last possible show prior to expiry); and
those who had been newly approved and not exhibited before

which is how we came to see less people who had exhibited previously.

No other show requires and displays
a minimum of six botanical artworks
from each exhibiting botanical artist/illustrator.
The show always includes a significant number of international exhibitors
- mostly from from Europe, Asia, Australasia and Africa.

I've given my page dedicated to the process of exhibiting your work at the RHS Show a complete overhaul.

See RHS Botanical Art Shows: How to Exhibit / How to Visit. This

emphasises the "need to know" before you start - it's a complex process
the Regulations and Guidance which must be followed
the Judgement Criteria used for Medals and Awards
the whole process broken down into the different stages of getting from studio to the Saatchi Gallery where the exhibition is now held.

Only artists who have been accepted by the Botanical Art Judging Panel are eligible to apply for space
RHS: Selection for Exhibition

You can also read the RHS Exhibition Factsheet (7 pages) which I think might actually be longer than my page!

Subscribe to this news blog to find out more
about botanical art and illustration and associated exhibitions
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SUBSCRIBE to "Botanical Art and Artists - News" by Email

More about the RHS Botanical Art Shows

Take a look at my pages on this website dedicated to the RHS Botanical Art Show

VIEW ARCHIVE: RHS Botanical Art Shows 2007-2023 This includes:
- images from the shows
- notes about who won the Best Painting and the Best Exhibit at each show and the Gold Medals
- archive files of all Exhibiting Artists and Awards
- links to reviews of past RHS Shows in London - which include both images and interviews
VIEW Exhibit Titles at RHS Botanical Art Shows - categorises the titles of past gold medal winning exhibits. You may be surprised at the result....
READ Tips from RHS Gold Medal Winners in the Education section. These include:
- an outline of the process from application to exhibit through to the exhibition
- several articles about TIPS FROM RHS Gold Medal-winning artists about how to be successful at an RHS Botanical Art Show. Every year they come up with new tips! (This will be updated in due course for the switch from the Lindley Hall to the Saatchi Gallery)
- Practical matters e.g. how to transport your artwork

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Nominations for the Jill Smythies Award 2024

16/8/2023

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Yesterday, I received an email from somebody at the Linnean Society asking me for nominations for the Jill Smythies Award. I was very flattered as you can imagine.

However I can also highlight that you too can make a nomination. Find out more below and on:

The Jill Smythies Award | The Linnean Society
The Jill Smythies Award | Botanical Art and Artists

I've just sent off the names of three people and asked whether they might be considered suitable - in which case I'll need to complete a nomination form!

What is The Jill Smythies Award?

A medal and £1,000 to a botanical artist for outstanding, diagnostically relevant, published illustrations
Established in 1986 by the late Mr B E Smythies FLS, in honour of his wife, the late Florence Mary Smythies ("Jill"), whose career as a botanical artist was cut short by an accident to her right hand. Awarded to a botanical artist in recognition of excellence in published illustrations in aid of plant identification, with the emphasis on botanical accuracy and the accurate portrayal of diagnostic characteristics.

These are the names of the Previous Winners - so you can see the calibre of the people involved

2020-2029

2023 - Sue Wickison
2022 - Andrew Brown (UK) - see Andrew Brown awarded Jill Smythies Prize 2022
2021 - no award - see 2020

2010-2019

2020 - Alice Tangerini (presentation of the award has been postponed until 2021 because of the Pandemic)
2019 - Deborah Lambkin (Ireland / UK) - see The Linnean Society presents The Jill Smythies Award 2019 to Deborah Lambkin
2018 - Niki Simpson (UK) and Juliet Williamson - see Niki Simpson and Juliet Williamson win Jill Smythies Award 2018
2017 - Karin Douthit (USA) and David Williamson
2016 - Anita Barley (Australia / UK) - see Anita Barley wins 'Jill Smythies Award'
2015 - Claire Banks (RBG Edinburgh)
2014 - Esmee Somers Winkel (Netherlands - Naturalis Biodiversity Center)
2013 - not awarded
2012 - not awarded
2011 - Margaret Tebbs (RBG Kew)
2010 - Susan Sex (Ireland)

2000-2009

2009 - Halina Bednarek-Ochyra (Poland)
2008 - Patricia Eckel (Missouri Botanical Garden)
2007 - Jan van Os (Netherlands - National Herbarium)
2006 - Bobbi Angell (USA)
2005 - Lesley Elkan (Australia - RBG Sydney
2004 - Lucy Theres Smith (Australia/UK - RBG Kew)
2003 - Maya Koistinen
2002 - Jenny Brasier
2001 - Juan Luis Castillo (Spain - RBG Madrid)
2000 - Bo Mossberg (Sweden) and Jean Annette Paton

1990-99

1999 - Pandora Sellars (RBG Kew)
1998 - Rodella Anne Purves (Scotland)
1997 - Celia Elizabeth Rosser (Australia - Monash University)
1996 - Bent Jonsen
1995 - Rosemary Wise (Oxford BG)
1994 - Joy Claire Allison Dalby (1994) - taught Jill Smythies in 1979
1993 - Caroline Mary Bates (RBG Edinburgh)
1992 - John Mark Fothergill
1991 - Dale Edna Evans
1990 - Gillian Condy (South Africa - SANSI)

1988-89

1989 - Christabel King (RBG Kew)
1988 - Ann Farrer

Nominations

Nominations are now open.
Nominations will close on 30 September 2023
Awardees are invited to the Linnean Society’s Anniversary meeting in May 2024.
NOTE THE EMPHASIS ON PUBLISHED SCIENTIFIC BOTANICAL ILLUSTRATIONS
This page - about The Jill Smythies Award
- highlights what you need to do
- Plus provides the link to the Nominations form
You need to send your completed form to [email protected] by 30 September 2023.

PLEASE NOTE: SELF-NOMINATIONS ARE NOT ENTERTAINED.

We do not accept self-nominations

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