NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

BISCOT returns!

27/5/2024

At long last, the good news is that BISCOT is coming back to Scotland!

It's been a very long time since I wrote on this website about BISCOT. My last post BISCOT 2019 & RBGE Florilegium at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh was in pre-pandemic in June 2019. I've been waiting ever since to see if it was going to be resurrected.

Which is why it gives me great pleasure to share the news that BISCOT is to resume holding exhibitions. This post tells you about:

the basics about upcoming exhibitions
Botanical Images Scotia (BISCOT)
online links to BISCOT sites

About Upcoming BISCOT Exhibitions

There is to be:

A retrospective exhibition, titled ‘BISCOT Revisited 2006-2019’, will be held at the McHattie Room, Saughton Park, Edinburgh from the 13th to the 16th of June 2024. It will feature a selection of works which were exhibited at BISCOT from the very first competitive exhibition in 2006 until the Covid lockdown in 2020.
The next juried BISCOT exhibition will be held in 2026;
- assessment for eligibility will happen in 2025.
This exhibition has been enabled by BISCOT and the Scottish Society of Botanical Artists combining their efforts to solve problems resulting from the Covid lockdown period.
The organisation that appears to be taking the lead on organising BISCOT is the Scottish Society of Botanical Artists. Hence the new contact for any inquiries is [email protected] (rather than any RBGE contact details people may have).

About Botanical Images Scotia (BISCOT)

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RIP Hazel Morris (1945 - 2020)

31/1/2020

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Hazel Morris passed away peacefully yesterday morning. This is a post which aims to remember her - with words from her SSBA colleagues and friends and Hazel herself plus my thanks for the help she gave me.

Hazel Morris (21st June 1945 - 30th January 2020)

Yesterday I received a very sad email from Kathy Munro, Secretary of the Scottish Society of Botanical Artists .

It is with great sadness that I inform you of the death of Hazel Forsyth Morris who passed away peacefully this morning in St Columba’s Hospice.

Hazel had been unwell for sometime. She was positive about her illness and determined to carry on with as much of her life as possible, without sharing her anxieties with others.

Hazel was a founder member of the SSBA in 2014 and became a Trustee and Director. She was the first Chairperson, a role that she undertook for four years with dedication and pride. She continued contributing to the SSBA as a Director and Trustee during 2019.

Her major contribution was the establishment of the SSBA annual exhibitions through her Chairing and co-ordination of the Exhibitions Committee. Most recently in November 2019 Hazel was pleased to be asked to present Mary O’Neill with the ‘People’s Award’ from the Whitehouse Gallery Exhibition. An exhibition that was a result of Hazel's hard work and negotiations.

Hazel is known to many Botanical Artists whom she met at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh and classes held by Fiona and Robert McNeill. She also met many international artists through her work with the BISCOT committee that she joined in 2010 and was latterly the artist's contact person. She always acknowledged that she learnt so much about exhibiting from her BISCOT colleagues and friends.

Hazel loved snowdrops and tulips so I thought I would share with you her painting of a snowdrop that has been on the SSBA web site for some time.

Hazel on Hazel - her SSBA profile

You can see Hazel's profile in relation to her botanical art on the SSBA website. You can read what she has to say about herself and her botanical art below.

The image at the top of this post is of Hazel at the Callander Park exhibition where her iris painting was 'Commended'.

I began my adult working life as a Home Economics teacher, and painted in watercolours, mainly landscapes, as a hobby and a way of relaxing.

After marrying, I accompanied my civil engineer husband as he worked mainly abroad, making homes and living in a number of countries in the Far East before returning to the UK to care for elderly parents. It was only after these family commitments were discharged that I was able to start thinking about taking up painting again.

I had been very interested in botanical painting for a number of years, influenced mainly, I think, by the work of Elizabeth Blackadder whose botanical paintings I saw regularly in Festival art exhibitions, and was fascinated by, complete with coffee stains, obvious alterations, and other marks on them; and yet, the marks somehow far from detracting, seemed to add to their artistic integrity.

However, it was only after picking up a booklet for educational courses at the RBGE that the possibility of studying this fascinating and complex form of art became a reality. I have now been painting botanical art for about nine years and attend Fiona Strickland’s class weekly.

In 2010 I was asked to join the committee of Botanical Images Scotia (BISCOT) and this has afforded me the opportunity of seeing at first hand, some of the best and most original work being created in botanical illustration today.

Snakes Head Fritillaries by Hazel Morris

Hazel was a perennial member of the weekly botanical art class in Falkirk held by Fiona Strickland and Robert McNeill.

Hazel centre back of Fiona Strickland's Botanical Art Ladies in the weekly class at Falkirk

Hazel Morris - drawing a specimen in her sketchbook in class

I received a contribution (below) from Fiona this morning - plus photos of:

Hazel in her weekly botanical art class - and I've had many comments that she is a very fondly remembered member of that class.
a gorgeous photo of Hazel by Fiona taken at our very first post SBA Annual Exhibition dinner in London - at Carluccios.

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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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BISCOT Medal Winners 2019

2/6/2019

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Medals and awards were made on Friday at the BISCOT display at Gardening Scotland in Edinburgh.

BISCOT is an acronym for "Botanical Images Scotia". It's annual exhibition 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.

Gardening Scotland (sponsored by the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society) (31 May - 2 June)
the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) - John Hope Gateway (5-20 June 2019)

A view of part of BISCOT at Gardening Scotland

The judges look at the individual quality of the paintings/drawings and the way they look together as a complete exhibit; and the following points are considered

The depiction of the plants should be botanically accurate
Show a high level of draughtsmanship and painting skills
Both the composition of each painting and the complete exhibit are noted
All written names, including Latin names, must be accurate and well presented
The mounts are appropriate to the exhibit,
The overall design of the exhibit enhances the paintings
Paintings have a themed subject

Below is a list of the medal and award winners and images of some of the exhibits. Links to the website or Facebook Page are embedded in the name of the artist.

Best in Show

Sansanee Deekrajang and her exhibit of Tropical Palm Trees which won a Gold Medal and the Mary Mendum Award for an exhibit of exceptional merit

Best In Show - Sansanee Deekrajang (Thailand) - Cyrtostachys Renda
The Mary Mendum Medal Mary Mendum Award for an Exhibit of Exceptional Quality - Sansanee Deekrajang - Tropical Palm Trees

Note: the Mary Mendum Award is not awarded every year i.e. it's only awarded when there is an outstanding botanical art exhibit - which excels in terms of both botanical information and artistic quality.

I first met Sansanee at the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2016 when her RHS Gold Medal-winning exhibit of Tropical Fruits astounded very many visitors. Sansanee is renowned for her complex and colourful compositions of the scientific detail of her subject. Once seen never forgotten!

Sansanee comes form Thailand and was born in Bangkok in 1980. She has also spent time living in Lothian in Scotland - hence her awareness of this exhibition. She has a degree of art and has specialised in fine art printmaking in the past. She taught herself how to create botanical art and won an RHS Gold Medal for her watercolour paintings of tropical plants in 2016. She has a particular talent for producing very bright paintings full of content with excellent compositions.

Sansanee is also exhibiting at the 16th International Exhibition of the Hunt Institute in the Autumn 2019 and planning to exhibit at the Korea Botanical Art Award exhibition. She's also planning to be back at RHS in two years time - in 2021.

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

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A Florilegium for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) - Call for Entries

25/2/2019

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We've seen a number of great gardens and botanic gardens develop arrangements to create a Florilegium since the 90s.

The latest proposal comes from the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh (RBGE) which aims to establish a Florilegium Society - see RBGE Florilegium

Proposal for an RBGE Florilegium Society

The aim of the Society would be to create a permanent, visual record of RBGE’s botanical and horticultural work through the acquisition of illustrations of the plants that are grown, collected, studied and named by RBGE staff. The Society would also raise RBGE’s profile as an important centre of botanical art in relation to both our educational work and our art collection.

A number of statements have been made. My summary of the various aims of the proposal to create a Florilegium - which are still under discussion are - are:

to enhance and grow the collection of botanical art at RBGE - which is a statutory requirement
to produce a visual record of the living collection of plants at RBGE gardens - particularly those plants grown, collected, studied and named by RBGE staff
to reflect scientific and horticultural interests associated within RBGE
to raise the profile of RBGE as an important centre for botanical art
to make good use of its botanical art collection for both education and merchandising (income generation)

A debut at BISCOT

Artists worldwide are invited to submit work to be considered for a RBGE Florilegium category which will be displayed alongside the regular BISCOT exhibition at the John Hope Gateway venue.

The proposal to establish a Florilegium Society will publicly debut at the BISCOT Exhibition.

A separate RBGE Florilegium category will be included in the BISCOT Exhibition and the artwork selected from this Call for Entries (see below) which will sit alongside the regular multi-work, award giving BISCOT exhibition.

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Call for Entries:
How to submit art and associated documentation

The core documents are as follows:

Select a plant and access plant material

See the RBGE Florilegium Plant List for plants identified for inclusion in the Florilegium
Once you have selected a plant to illustrate you next need to contact the Artist Coordinator to express your intentions to paint a plant (see Call for Entries)
You also need to access plant material and a botanist. The Call for Entries identifies how you can access material via RBGE. If working away from Scotland you need to contact a local botanist/botanic garden for access to plant material. It's sometimes best to start with what's accessible and select from that rather than the other way around
RBGE will make regular updated information on which plants are available (e.g. plants in flower) on the RBGE Florilegium Page

Requirement for paintings - SIZE
It's not uncommon for Florilegium to have stipulated sizes for paintings. In this instance ALL paintings must conform to one of 3 window sizes, with appropriate margin, or you may wish to take your painting to the edge:

A4 (21 x 29.7cm);
A3 (29.7 x 42cm);
A2 (42 x 59.4 cm).
Paper must be at least 2 cm larger than window size all round.

Requirement for artwork - MEDIA

Only original botanical art in 2-dimensions is acceptable.
No photography, digital or 3-dimensional art.

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BISCOT 2019: a change to the call for assessment

3/2/2019

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The deadline to apply to be assessed to exhibit at BISCOT 2019 in 2019 is the 14th February 2019

This year the formal Call for Assessment for BISCOT 2019 includes a major change which I've only recently become aware of - assessment can now be in the same year as the exhibition.

This post focuses on:

What is BISCOT - for the uninitiated
What the change is about - and why it's an important one
The deadline for applications for assessment - and how to download the regulations and assessment form
The TWO Exhibitions - with venues and dates

What is BISCOT?

BISCOT is an acronym for "Botanical Images Scotia". It's annual exhibition 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.

It is held annually at

Gardening Scotland (sponsored by the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society) and
the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE).

In effect, it's the Scottish version of the RHS Botanical Art Show insomuch as exhibitors have to exhibit a number of artworks on a theme.

This is the BISCOT webpage on the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society website

Call for Assessment and a change to assessment

2019 sees a change to the process of approving botanical artists to exhibit at BISCOT.

Like the RHS, BISCOT has always operated on the basis of a two stage entry
Stage 1 - approval to exhibit
Stage 2 - (for those approved/eligible to exhibit) application for a space

In 2019, BISCOT has started to allow a year round assessment to allow artists to exhibit the same year. In future calls for assessment will be periodic. As a result, there are 2 weeks left for anyone wanting to be assessed AND exhibit this year (i.e. in June 2019)
Otherwise artists need to wait for the next call for assessment to exhibit in a subsequent year.

The deadline to apply to be assessed to exhibit in 2019 is the 14th February 2019
Eligible artists in Scotland have already been encouraged to enter.
Below you can download the assessment form

biscot_ass_form.docx
File Size:	245 kb
File Type:	docx

Download File

Here's an outline of the rules for those want to be approved as eligible to exhibit

SUBMISSIONS - subject matter / media / size

UK residents are required to submit 4 original works.
The subject must be a botanical species.
Entries are to be two-dimensional, original botanical artwork. Watercolour is the preferred medium however coloured pencil, gouache, graphite and ink are also accepted.
The maximum size is 36” x 30” h x w (91.5cm x 76cm) when mounted. Larger formats will be rejected.
Non UK residents are required to send 4 jpeg images, via CD or USB (minimum 300dpi resolution).
All files must be labelled with the title, artist’s name, size of the artwork when mounted and have an arrow pointing to the top right hand corner of the work and a scale indicator if necessary.
The application form and work is to be sent to: BISCOT ASSESSMENT SUBMISSION c/o The Education Department, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Artists must send their original works in reusable packaging. Carriage / postage for the return of works is to be arranged and paid by the artist.
CDs / USBs are only returned if return postage and a self addressed envelope is supplied with the entry form.
Notes regarding insurance, packaging and labelling for exhibition can be downloaded from the BISCOT website.

JURORS are chosen from suitably experienced artists and botanists.

The BISCOT Regulations

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BISCOT Medal Winners 2018

3/6/2018

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This post is about the Medals awarded for Botanical Art at Botanical Images Scotia (BISCOT) at Gardening Scotland (1-3 June 2018) at the Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh.

This international exhibition of contemporary botanical illustration this year attracted exhibitors from Japan, Switzerland and England as well as Scotland

It is held annually at Gardening Scotland and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Which is why when it closes at the show, it transfers to the John Hope Gateway at the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh and reopens to the public on 6th June 2018 and continues until 21 June 2018 (See Facebook Event Page - the exhibition doesn't yet seem to have made it to the Exhibitions Page on the RBGE website). BISCOT is run entirely by volunteers with the support of both the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Below you'll find a list of the medals awarded together with images of some of the works and some of the artists.

The Mary Mendum Medal has not been awarded this year.

Gold Medals - BISCOT 2018

Hideko Kamoshita (Tokyo, Japan) won a Gold Medal for her display of Cirsium (Asteraceae) and the Best in Show Award for Cirsium vulgare

Cirsium vulgare won a Gold Medal and Best in Show for Hideko Kamoshita

I don't think Hideko has exhibited at BISCOT before. I certainly saw her exhibit of six works on a theme of Cirsium at the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2017 which won a Silver Gilt Medal.

Cirsium purpuratum (Asteraceae) by Hideko Kamoshita

Silver Gilt Medals - BISCOT 2018

Margaret Walty (Scotland) - Species Tulips.

Two species tulips

Margaret Walty is Scottish and lives in Scotland. She has previously won Gold Medals with both the RHS and BISCOT

RHS 2007: "Peony rockii and Gansu Mudan" (peony paintings for the book )
RHS 2010: for 15 paintings of Fritillaria
BISCOT 2010: Old and Species Roses
BISCOT 2013: Spring Flowers of the Woodland

Two more species tulips

Silver Medals - BISCOT 2018

Sarah Howard (UK) - A Norfolk Arboretum
Group Exhibit (UK) Sir Cedric Morris Iris Florilegium
Amanda Willoughby (UK) - Coal, Collapse, Colonisation: Plant Species Colonizing The Decaying Industrial Features Of An Abandoned Victorian Colliery

I've not seen the artwork so I'm certainly not the best Judge of images presented. However I am somewhat perplexed by the fact that several multiple RHS Gold Medal winners have all been awarded a Silver Medal!

I'd be very interested to hear the comments of those attending the exhibition and viewing the work - on this blog or otherwise.

For everybody else you're in the same situation as me. If you want to take a closer look, you can see larger images of the work in the Facebook Album BISCOT 2018. Otherwise read on...

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