NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

Four botanical artists selected for residency at Oak Spring Garden

28/1/2020

Last August I wrote about the call for entries for the inaugural Botanical Artists in Residence Program (BAiR) offered by the Oak Spring Garden Foundation (see Call for Entries: Botanical Artists in Residence Program at the Oak Spring Foundation).

On Friday the Oak Spring Foundation announced that not one but FOUR botanical artists had been selected for their inaugural 2020 Botanical Artists in Residence (BAiR) program.

The botanical artists are:

Keiko Nibu Tarver (Japan/USA)
John Pastoriza-Piñol (Australia)
Maria Alice de Rezende (Brazil)
Fátima Zagonel (Brazil)

They were chosen through a competitive selection process in partnership with the American Society of Botanical Artists.

Below there's a brief bio of each of them and then an explanation of what happens during their residencies.

Four botanical artists in residence

Interestingly all but Keiko Nibu Tarver already appear in my listings of leading botanical artists on this website. (I plead the fact, as indicated, that the USA listing is still a work in progress and incomplete).

Links in their names go to either their websites or another web page about their work.

John Pastoriza-Piñol (Australia)

contemporary botanical artist based in Melbourne, Australia
completed his docturmiento in Botany at University of Vigo, Galicia, in Spain
Awards: Won an RHS Gold Medal (2005); received the ASBA Dianne Bouchier Award for Excellence in Botanical Art (2013) and a grant from The Australia Council for the Arts (2016) which enabled him to spend a 3 month residency in New York.
Collections: his work is held in numerous public and private collections around the world and is included in several major Florilgium projects including the Highgrove and Transylvanian Florilegia.
Currently represented by Scott Livesey Galleries, Australia.
Teaching: teaches intermediate/advanced classes at the Geelong Botanic Gardens and workshops around the world

Magnolia x soulangeana by John Pastoriza-Piñol

Maria Alice de Rezende (Brazil)

currently based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Graduated from the National School of Fine Arts at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Works as an art teacher as well as a botanical illustrator on projects with researchers at the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden. Her current project is involves illustrating the biodiversity of the South Atlantic Islands.
Her main creative practice is her personal work of illustration of native species of Brazilian flora.
Awards: Margaret Mee Fellowship Programme Artist Scholar (2004) at the Royal Botanic Gardens in 2004
Exhibitions: her work has been exhibited in Japan, Brazil, the UK, and the US - including the 16th International Exhibition at the Hunt Institute in 2019.

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Janie Pirie's Life in Roses - book and exhibition

3/11/2019

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Next week, gold-medal winning botanical artist Janie Pirie is having a solo exhibition at the Mall Galleries of illustrations of roses - which has taken three years to develop - and launching her new book.

Rosa is an exhibition of roses illustrated by RHS gold medallist Janie Pirie. This is a new body of botanical art to coincide with the launch of a book of the same name. "Rosa - a Life in Roses" | Mall Galleries

Exhibition: Rosa - a life in Roses

Rosa - A Life in Roses - the exhibition - comprises 36 drawings in coloured pencils of different varieties of roses. It's on display at the Mall Galleries in London and I'll be visiting later this week. It's taken three years to develop.

Venue: the North Gallery, the Mall Galleries, The Mall, London, SW1
Dates: between Tuesday 5th and Sunday 10th November 2019
Hours: 10 am to 5pm daily except 10th November when the exhibition closes at 1pm.
Sales: All work is for sale (unless previously purchased. Copies of the book will be on sale as well as the originals.

Janie Pirie or a colleague will be on hand during the exhibition to answer the questions of any visitors or purchasers.

"Rosa - A Life In Roses": some of the images by Janie Pirie - in the exhibition AND in the book

Book: 'Rosa - A Life in Roses'

Only 1,000 copies of Janie Pirie's new book are being printed.

I've not seen it yet but understand that

it's a limited edition coffee-table book measuring approx. 29cm / 11 inches square with a "lay flat" binding.
The linen-bound hardback book is presented in a slipcase with the same linen covering as the book and finished to a high quality.
almost all the roses are shown one to a double page spread.

The first edition of ROSA is a limited edition of 500 copies, priced at £100.00.
The Special Collectors' Edition will be numbered and signed by the artist and comprise the first 250 copies of the First Edition. It's priced at £120.00 however it also includes an A4 print of one of Janie's favourite rose portraits; 'Comte de Champagne'.
You can find out more here
It will be on sale at the exhibition.

About Janie Pirie

Janie Pirie has two RHS Gold Medals for her botanical illustrations.

In 2009, at RHS Malvern Show, she was awarded the accolade of ‘Best Botanical Artist in Show' and a Gold Medal for her series of paintings of orchard fruits.
She was awarded a second Gold Medal, also at Malvern, in 2014.
Janie has also exhibited at the 13th International Exhibition of the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation in Pittsburgh, USA.

Janie is:

a member of the Society of Botanical Artists and is also a tutor on their Distance Learning Course.
a member of the UK Coloured Pencil Society and shows her work at their annual exhibitions where she has been awarded "Best In Show", "Runner-up Best in Show" and "Best Botanical".

She studied illustration at the Colchester School of Art before combining a career in illustration with one involved with public relations and marketing for a leading seed company. She has worked as a professional artist for some years and also runs art workshops in her garden studio at her home in the Dedham Vale on the Essex/Suffolk borders and at other venues around the UK.

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Banks 2020: Jan Hendrix at Shirley Sherwood Gallery Kew

3/10/2019

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2020 marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Sir Joseph Banks on 19 June 1820. A number of events are planned to commemorate his contribution to science. One of these is an exhibition at Kew Gardens which will combine art with science.

Artwork by Jan Hendrix is based on the plants collected by Joseph Banks in Australia. This will feature in the major exhibition in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens between April and September 2020.

Sir Joseph Banks, Bt (1771-1773) by Sir Joshua Reynolds oil on canvas, 50 in. x 40 in. (1270 mm x 1015 mm) overall (Collection of the National Portrait Gallery)

About the 'Paradise Lost' Exhibition

Title: Paradise Lost
Venue: Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, Kew Gardens
Dates: April – 20 September 2020
Admission: Free with admission to the gardens

The Paradise Lost exhibition will feature artwork based on the collection of cuttings made by Joseph Banks while travelling around the around the world with Captain James Cook on the voyage of exploration of HMS Endeavour(1768–71) via Brazil, Tahiti, and 6 months in New Zealand and Australia

At the time, James Banks was a relatively unknown figures in British science. However his activities on Captain Cook's first expedition - taking cuttings from more than 1,000 species of plant that were previously unknown to Europe - served as a launchpad for his subsequent career as a world-renowned botanist. Later in his life he became

Kew’s first unofficial director. Under his oversight Kew Gardens began to flourish as a centre of botanical research.
the president of the Royal Society (1778–1820). He sought to improve the position of science in Britain and cultivated interchange with scientists of other nations
a night of the realm - the order of Knight Commander of the Bath was bestowed upon him in 1795

The 124 plant specimens collected and preserved in 1770 by Banks and his colleagues at the Endeavour River in Queensland, and Botany Bay in Sydney, Australia, form the foundation of Hendrix’s exhibition at Kew. Carefully pressed at the time in a copy of the poet John Milton’s Paradise Lost, these collections are now held in the Natural History Museum, London.

Map of Botany Bay

Botany Bay was named by Captain Cook in honour of Banks and fellow botanist and crew member, Daniel Solander. However, since Australia’s colonisation, Botany Bay has been transformed by development and is now part of the southern part of the city of Sydney - with Sydney airport jutting out into the Bay.

Map of the Endeavour River

The Paradise Lost exhibition will recall the memory of the area as it was documented by Banks 250 years ago and its subsequent changes.

Following this theme, Hendrix will focus on these changing landscapes in Paradise Lost, the first being the landscape that Cook and Banks encountered when they arrived.

The second is the landscape transformed by man’s intervention.

The exhibition has been conceived of two elements engaged in a dialogue

the first is some related historical material from Banks’ expedition, and
the second is the contemporary pieces created by Hendrix, including exquisite enamel plates and contemporary drawings based on Banks’ herbarium sheets.

The centrepiece of the gallery will be a ‘folly’, the Mirror Palace Pavilion, the form of which is inspired by two plant species named after Banks and Daniel Solander, Banksia serrata and Banksia solandri

Jan Hendrix's current exhibition, Tierra Firme, at the Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo in Mexico City. Credit Oliver Santana

Jan Hendrix's current exhibition, Tierra Firme, at the Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo in Mexico City. Credit Jaime Navarro

The exhibition will also feature

a series of floating wall mounted bronzes representing seed and fern forms,
silk screens on silver leaf,
a series of glass pieces and
a moving image work created by Jan Hendrix in collaboration with filmmaker Michael Leggett specifically for the show at Kew.

A book to accompany the exhibition will also be published by Kew Publishing.

“We cannot think of anyone better to highlight Joseph Banks’ contribution to botanical science through the prism of contemporary art than Jan Hendrix. Jan’s long-standing interest in the life and work of Banks coupled with his passion for plants and nature lays the foundation for what promises to be a ground-breaking exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery. The exhibition will offer an opportunity to bring to the attention of arts audiences the impact that we have as human beings on the planet, by using the example of Botany Bay and how it was irrevocably changed after 1770. We hope that our visitors will find it a thought provoking yet beautiful experience."
Maria Devaney, Galleries and Exhibitions Leader, RBG Kew

Note: None of the artwork featured above will be in the exhibition.

About Jan Hendrix

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ASBA 22nd Annual International - Awards

24/9/2019

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The American Society of Botanical Artists have now been announced the Awards for artwork in the 22nd Annual International Exhibition at the Marin Art & Garden Center in California.

BELOW you can click on:

the title of the artwork - to read the story behind its creation on the ASBA website
the artist's name - to go to her website - if one exists. (Plus Facebook Page if they have one)

Sea Holly Eryngium alpinum by Linda Medved Lufkin

Sea Holly Eryngium alpinum (Watercolor and gouache on paper, 28-1/2 X 20 inches) - copyright Linda Medved Lufkin 2018

Marin Art and Garden Center Best in Show Award ($500)

Sea Holly Eryngium alpinum
Linda Medved Lufkin
Facebook Page: Linda Medved Lufkin Botanical Art

I have to say I was hugely impressed by this painting when I saw it online for the first time and it seems a very worthy winner of Best in Show to me. I always think of this plant as a bit of a drama queen whenever I see it in gardens and Linda has caught that flavour and colour with her dynamic composition and very controlled colour palette. I also really loved her 'bad hair day' analogy about the complexity and structure of the leaves in her back story!

Her backstory provides a wonderful insight into how she approached painting a plant such as the Eryngium alpinum.

In 2018 I was shopping with Marilyn Garber at our flower wholesaler for the subject of the next class I was to teach at the Minnesota School of Botanical Art. It was entitled Enlarging Scale & Format. I was to teach my students to use a gridding system and enlarge a small subject by three times, which would use most of a full sheet of paper. I was looking for a plant that would offer my students enough complexity and detail that they would need to be very diligent in ‘mapping’ out the placement of their lines within each grid space and achieve a complex, but obtainable challenge. When I found the bouquets of Sea Holly, Eryngium alpinum, I knew that I found something that would work beautifully for our purposes. READ MORE

Linda uses the traditional technique of developing layers of transparent washes, then using a very small brush to develop detail, colour and form using the drybrush technique. She's been working as an Instructor at The Minnesota School of Botanical Art since 2016. Prior to this she worked for many years creating customised murals for clients. Linda has previously had work in and was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Portland School of Art, ME. in 1982. She has a strong exhibition record with ASBA in recent years.

ASBA's 19th and 20th International Annual Exhibitions
won The Richmond and Lili Bates Award in 2017 and The Helen Gray Garber Award in 2016
Also was selected for an exhibited in the Botanical Art World Wide: America’s Flora’ and ‘Out of the Woods: Trees in Public Gardens’ exhibitions.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Award for Print or Drawing ($500)

Fascinator Paeonia lactiflora (Graphite and colored pencil on paper, 13.5 x 19 inches) - copyright Patricia Luppino

Fascinator Paeonia lactiflora (Graphite and colored pencil on paper, 13.5 x 19 inches)
Patricia Luppino

Born in Brooklyn, New York and a lifelong resident of Long Island. Now retired from a long career as an IT professional. She started studying botanical art in 2005 and earned the SBA Diploma in Botanical Painting with Distinction in 2008. Since then she's exhibited in various juried and group exhibitions of botanical art - including (prior to this exhibition) the 13th, 15th, 17th, 19th, 20th and 21st ASBA Annual International Botanical Art Exhibitions with the Horticultural Society of New York, the 1st Triennial Botanical Art Exhibition at the New York Botanical Garden. This year Patricia is also exhibiting in the 16th International Exhibition at the Hunt.

Patricia and I were emailing backwards and forwards yesterday about another matter and she never said a word about her award!

ASBA Eleanor Wunderlich Award ($500)

Physalis Physalis peruviana (Watercolor on paper, 11-5/8 x 8-3/8 inches)
Svetlana Lanse (Vinnikova) (
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/svetlanawatercolor

Svetlana Lanse is a professional artist and art teacher living in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. She graduated from Higher School of Folk Arts (institute) where she learned about botanical art by copying artwork by Pierre Joseph Redouté and Maria Sibylla Merian. She is currently trying to popularise botanical art in Russia using Instagram (@botanical_watercolor) and has more than 85,000 followers. In May 2018 she was juror of Botanical Art Worldwide exhibition (Russia) with Alexander Viazmensky, Natalia Alatortseva, Yaroslav Bazanova and Darya Fomicheva.

Richmond and Lili Bates Award for Excellence
in recognition of an Artist by a Fellow Artist ($300)

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Samba Dancer' (Watercolor on paper, 15-1/2 x 11-½ inches)
Mitsuko Schultz (no website)

Mitsuko Schultz moved to Los Angeles from Kyoto, Japan in 1996. Her passion for plants and flowers saw her working at the UCLA Botanical Garden where she began her horticulture studies when then led to her becoming a floral designer in Los Angeles - and then eventually to her taking up botanical art.. Her work has been included in the Hunt's 16th International Exhibition of Botanical Art and Illustration, Filoli’s Annual Botanical Art Exhibitions (Roth Award recipient in 2018), ASBA Annual Internationals (received an Honorable mention in 2017, catalogue cover in 2018), Out of the Woods, Botanical Art Worldwide America’s Flora and numerous other shows in California since 2011. She is also a member of the Botanical Artist Guild of Southern California.

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Honourable Mentions

This year there are two Honourable Mentions.

Karen Kluglein has a marvellous bunch of grapes - Joie de Vivre Vitis vinifera (Watercolor on paper, 9 x 12 inches)
Tammy McEntee's very lovely coloured pencil drawing is of an Ornamental Gourd Cucurbita pepo (Colored pencil and graphite on paper, 12 x 12 inches)

The Back Stories

You can see the remaining artworks and read about their back stories by clicking the links on this list of artists selected for the exhibition (click the artists tab and then click the link in each artist's name to read the story)

The exhibition is at The Studio, Marin Art & Garden Center, 30 Sir Frances Drake Blvd, Ross, CA 94957. It opened last Sunday and continues until 17th November 2019.

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RHS London Botanical Art Show 2019 - Awards and Medal Winners

24/7/2019

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This post is about who won which award and which colour of medal at the RHS London Botanical Art Show 2019.

Below you can read about

which artists won Awards for outstanding botanical artwork
the names of artists and exhibits which won different colour medals - and some images of the Gold Medal winners

There are:

10 Gold Medals ( UK x 5; Japan x 4; Russia x 1;)
8 Silver Gilt Medals
10 Silver Medals
2 Bronze Medals

Links in the names of artists are generally to their websites where you can see more about their botanical artwork.

If you'd like to read more bout the individual artists, please refer to Exhibiting artists at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2019

Awards for outstanding botanical artwork

There are three Awards this year - which were awarded as follows:

Best Botanical Painting 2019: Mariko Ikeda GM (2017-2019): P.Tectorius ‘En Khelen’ - Mariko is developing an excellent track record. She won Best Exhibit in her first exhibit and Best Painting this time.
Best Botanical Art Exhibit 2019: Naomi Gumma GM (2019): The Lifecycle of the Shimonita Welsh Onion Naomi's art extends well beyond her botanical painting - see the video below (in the Gold Medal section) of her dance associated with her exhibit.
Judges’ Special Award 2019: Betsy Rogers-Knox: Exploring the Seasons at Beckley Bog - This was awarded because of the significant educational value about plants growing in a specific environment of Betsy's images.

Best Botanical Painting 2019: Mariko Ikeda GM (2017-2019)

Best Botanical Art Exhibit 2019: Naomi Gumma GM (2019): The Lifecycle of the Shimonita Welsh Onion

Judges’ Special Award 2019: Betsy Rogers-Knox

RHS Gold Medals 2019

There are ten Gold Medals. It's important to also note that

Four previous GM winners repeated their GM from their last exhibition and
Four previous GM winners did not win a GM this time.

Just because you have won a GM before there is no guarantee you can repeat this. The medal is awarded for a specific exhibit not the botanical Artist per se.

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How RHS medals for Botanical Art are assessed

23/7/2019

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For those coming to the RHS London Botanical Art Show this week - and those watching social media and reading online - you may be interested in how a botanical art exhibit at an RHS Botanical Art Show is assessed for

whether it should receive a medal and
what sort of medal it should get.

Gold Medals are only given for exhibits of outstanding quality, whatever their diversity of approach, or visual impact
Gillian Barlow, Chair of the RHS Picture Panel (in RHS Botanical Illustration - the Gold Medal Winners)

Candidates who have been approved to exhibit must submit at least six works - preferably on a theme.

You can earn extra marks if you illustrate a plant family.

ASSESSMENT: KEY POINTS are:

very high standards are essential
the emphasis should be on botanical accuracy with aesthetic appeal

The Picture Panel Judges always:

assess as botanical illustration
review botanical content and accuracy
review artistic and aesthetic effect
assess overall impression and how this has been achieved
assess the whole exhibit; marks are awarded for presentation of the exhibit as well as accuracy and quality of the artwork

The best botanical illustration successfully combines scientific accuracy with visual appeal. It must portray a plant with the precision and level of detail for it to be recognised and distinguished from another species.

Two of the botanical illustrations by Hye Woo Shin (RHS Botanical Art Show 2018) - which resulted in a Judges’ Special Award 2018 for ‘ Plants in Dokdo Island’

As a technical discipline, botanical illustration emphasizes the depiction of accurate information, documenting the anatomical and functional aspect of a plant throughout its life cycle.

Judges want to see.....

My suggestions of things you need to do to deliver on what judges are looking for are indicated in bullet points below.

This summary is based on discussions over time with both Judges and artists who have had feedback from Judges - and highlights some of the frequent problem areas which I hear about again and again. (I'll be updating and amending after this week's show!)

All quotes in green (except for the first above) are drawn from the Exhibitor Fact Sheet

Artwork should be life size and if not, a scale must be evident.

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BISCOT 2019 & RBGE Florilegium at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

13/6/2019

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In this post I'm sharing photos of:

BISCOT medal winning artists with their paintings - at the BISCOT Exhibition at Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh (RBGE)
paintings for the NEW RBGE Florilegium

You can see the exhibition of paintings

AT: The John Hope Gateway, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Arboretum Place, EH3 5NZ
UNTIL: 20 June 2019

About Botanical Images Scotia (BISCOT)

BISCOT is an acronym for "Botanical Images Scotia". It's an annual international exhibition in Scotland of contemporary botanical illustration which

promotes excellence in botanical painting and illustration.
gives both national and international artists an opportunity to exhibit in Edinburgh and presents new and original botanical work.

Each exhibitor creates a display of SIX artworks - and the exhibition is open to and attracts international entrants. In this respect BISCOT is the Scottish equivalent of the RHS Botanical Art Show in London - and is regarded as the top show in Scotland in terms of awards and prestige.

Below are photos of artists with their paintings after the exhibition transferred from Gardening Scotland to the RBGE John Hope Gateway last week.

Gold Medals

Fran Thomas (Scotland, UK) - Scottish Native Cladonia Lichens
Sansanee Deekrajang (Thailand) - Tropical Palm Trees
Marianne Hazlewood (Scotland, UK) - Arisaema biseasonal
Simonetta Occhipinti (Italy) - The Golden Fruits

Fran Thomas (Scotland, UK) - Scottish Native Cladonia Lichens (GOLD Medal)

Fran Thomas GM (Biscot) - Fran paints native Scottish plants. In 2017 she also won a Gold Medal at BISCOT 2017 and the Mary Mendum Medal for the Best Exhibit - for her watercolour paintings of "Native plants of the coasts and islands of the Firth of Forth". She also has two RHS Silver Gilt Medals.

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