NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

Botanical Art Medals at Bloom 2022

5/6/2022

This is about the medals awarded for botanical art at Bloom 2022 - which for those unfamiliar with it is the Irish equivalent of the RHS Botanical Art Show.

The Bloom Horticultural Show is Ireland's largest horticultural event. It has returned to Phoenix Park in Dublin at its normal time of year (June 2nd-6th, from 9am to 6pm) after a two year break for the pandemic.

Within the show, there is an exhibition of botanical and floral art at the Visitor Centre in the centre of the park. This is the Eight Botanical Art Exhibition at Bloom in Phoenix Park since it started.

You can find listings of all the exhibits and the medals awarded on this page. Below I highlights the

Botanical Art Medals and awards and
the top awards for Floral Art.

Best in Show - Botanical

'Take a Breath' - Tree Lungwort, Lobaria pulmononaria with Pertusaria multipuncta by Shevaun Doherty. GM (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 + Best in Show, 2018, 2022) )

Shevaun lives in Kildare and works full time as a professional botanical artist and tutor. She graduated with a Distinction in the SBA's Diploma course in 2012 and is now a Co-President of the Society of Botanical Artists in the UK. She has won Gold Medals at this show in previous years and also won Best in Show in 2017.

Take a Breath' - Tree Lungwort, Lobaria pulmononaria with Pertusaria multipuncta by Shevaun Doherty. GM (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 + Best in Show, 2018, 2022)

Gold Medal - Botanical

'Making Hay' - Agrostis stolonifera, Holcus mollis, Holcus lanatus and Agrostis capillaris by Lynn Stringer GM (2015, 2016, 2022) - Lives in Wicklow and is a professional artist. She is a member of The Watercolour Society of Ireland, Irish Society of Botanical Artists, American Society of Botanical Artists and an Associate Member Irish Specialist Nursery Association
Geranium sanguineum var. striatum by Olwyn Burke - GM (2022) Olwyn is a member of the Irish Society of Botanical Artists (ISBA) and has exhibited at the Botanical and Floral Art exhibition in Bloom since 2016. This is her first Gold Medal.

Patrica Butler and Deborah Lambkin

Deborah Lambkin (on the right) an Irish Botanical Illustrator who is the RHS Orchid Artist and was one of the Judges of the Show. She is pictured here with Patricia Butler (on the left) who curated “Drawn from Nature: Irish Botanical Art” at the National Gallery in Dublin celebrating three centuries of Irish botanical art and also wrote Irish Botanical Illustrators and Flower Painters
(See my blog post Drawn from Nature: Irish Botanical Art at the National Gallery of Ireland)

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Bloom 2019 - Botanical Art Medal Winners

1/6/2019

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The medals have been awarded by the Judges for both the Botanical and Floral categories at Bloom 2019 in Dublin.

The 7th Annual Exhibition of Botanical and Floral Art in Bloom is Ireland's premier botanical art exhibition and is at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre in Phoenix Park, Dublin until the end of June 2019.

Below you can find the list of medal winners in the Botanical Art Category.
At the bottom of the post is the pdf file of the complete listing of all medal winners at Bloom (including the floral category).

The Judges included Deborah Lambkin who is an Irish born artist who trained in Dublin but now lives in London and is the RHS Orchid Artist. She is also a member of the Panel that judges the RHS Botanical Art Show and has just been awarded the Jill Smythson Award by the Linnean Society.

Bloom 2019 Medal Winners - Botanical Art

You can

READ MORE about the individual botanical artists in my blog post about Bloom 2019: Selected Botanical Artists and exhibit titles
view the artists website by clicking the link embedded in their name

“Iris “Red Rum”” by Siobhan Larkin - Gold Medal and BEST IN SHOW (BOTANICAL)

Best in Category – Best in Show Winner

“Iris “Red Rum”” by Siobhan Larkin, Dublin 3

Gold Medal Winner

“Iris “Red Rum”” by Siobhan Larkin, Dublin 3 (Botanical)

Silver Gilt Medal Winners

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Bloom 2019: Selected Botanical Artists and exhibit titles

31/5/2019

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The 7th Annual Exhibition of Botanical and Floral Art in Bloom is at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre in Phoenix Park, Dublin until the end of June 2019. It's part of the annual festival of Bloom in the Park (which is the Irish version of the Chelsea Flower Show).

All artwork and a selection of cards, prints and other items by the participating artists are available to buy.

It opened yesterday and this post is about those artists selected for the exhibition. For more information about how to enter the Bloom exhibition see my blog post about the Call for Entries: 7th Annual Botanical Art Exhibition - Bloom in the Park 2019

The next post will be about the prizewinners.

Drosera rotundifolia, D. anglica, D. intermedia Sundews by Jane Stark

Selected Artists

Selected artists are listed below in alphabetical order of their surnames.
Links to the artist's website is embedded in their name

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Call for Entries: 7th Annual Botanical Art Exhibition - Bloom in the Park 2019

24/2/2019

The Botanical Art Exhibition at Bloom in the Park 2019 will this year stay up beyond the dates of Bloom 2019 for the very first time. The exhibition space at the Visitor Centre in the Phoenix Park, Dublin is going to house the exhibition for most of the month of June. This is really good news as it will allow many more people to see it and hopefully generate more sales as well!

The annual Bloom exhibition is a showcase for Botanical Artists (particularly those who are Irish).

It will comprise 40-50 artworks and is juried.
Medals may be awarded for works of particular merit by an independent judging panel.
A distinction is made between Botanical Art and Floral Art.

You have slightly more than a month left to submit an entry for this exhibition.

Some of the ladies who organised the show in a previous year

Call for Entries: Botanical Art at Bloom 2019

Exhibition: 7th Annual Botanical and Floral Art in Bloom (Open Exhibition)
Venue: Visitor Centre in the Phoenix Park, Dublin (as part of Bloom in the Park 2019)
Dates: Thursday, 30th May to the end of June 2019 (approximately one month)

Submit via a Digital Entry Form
Terms and Conditions need to be read before completing the form
Deadline to submit: Friday 29th March 2019
Entry Fee: €10 per painting (non-refundable) or a discounted fee of €25 for three paintings
Receiving works by couriers from international artists may involve additional fees - and all those proposing to courier work should enquire.
Insurance for the duration of the exhibition and transport of works to and from the exhibition is the responsibility of the artist

Entry Requirements

Size of Artwork images should be NOT less than 20cm and NOT more than 40cm in any dimension
Framed artwork should be no more than 75 cm. in any measurement including frame and no smaller than 25 cm in any measurement including frame.
Resolution: Images should be sent as a 300 dpi jpeg
Plant names: Botanical work should include the name of the plant or plants depicted in Latin as well as the common name.
Exhibition record: Works must not have been exhibited in any Bloom art exhibition, prior to Botanical and Floral Art in Bloom exhibition, 2019.
Age: Work submitted should have been executed within the last three years.
Entry form: The digital entry form must be COMPLETE and submitted PLUS an image of each artwork entered. (Hard copy or postal entries cannot be accepted)
Payment: The online application MUST be submitted before payment is made as per the T&C

Entry Options

You can submit up to three entries (+ one digital image per entry)

Criteria for judging
This is my interpretation of the Terms and Conditions statement about how entries are judged.

Is the drawing three-dimensional?
Are drawings of appropriate subject matter?
Is the pictorial representation of the plant botanically accurate?
Does the colour, tone and composition result in a pleasing / balanced plant portrait?
Does the artwork demonstrate competence in the application of technique?
Is the work well presented?
Does the label include a plant name that is complete and correct (i.e. Latin and common names) and spelt correctly?

Sales

All Works must be for sale
20% commission applies to all sales.
Sold artwork cannot be removed before the end of the exhibition

Artists will be notified by email of a decision about their entry after the 26th April 2019

The ladies who run Bloom are lovely. I am sure anybody entering this exhibition for the first time will get a very helpful answer to any queries posed after reading the terms and conditions and entry form.

NOTE: All accepted artwork must be delivered to the Visitor Centre, Phoenix Park on Monday 27 th May 2019 between 11.00hrs and 13:00hrs.

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Shevaun Doherty wins Best in Show at Bloom

1/6/2018

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Best in Show was awarded to Shevaun Doherty for Teloschistes chrysophthalmus, Golden Eye lichen.

This post highlights the botanical artists who won medals at The 6th Annual Botanical Art Show at Bloom in the Park in Dublin opened yesterday and the medals were awarded. In this post you'll find a list of the botanical artists winning medals at the Botanical Art at the Bloom Show in Dublin - plus a brief profile of each artist winning a medal.

I'll be back tomorrow to add in more award-winning images from this show.

The exhibition also includes paintings by floral artists which are listed at the end

Gold Medal Winner and Best in Show at Bloom 2018

Shevaun Doherty - Teloschistes chrysophthalmus, Golden Eye lichen.

Shevaun not only won the only Gold Medal and Best in Show Award (her second Best in Show - she won in 2017 as well) - she also sold the painting to a major botanical art collector! I can't help feeling that apart from the exquisite painting of this lichen that one of the things which appealed to the Judges was that I don't think anybody has painted a lichen before for the show - and yet lichens grow everywhere in Ireland!

I always feel some pride when Shevaun does well as it is one of my blog posts (note the first comment!) which originally stimulated her to apply to do the SBA Diploma - for which she was awarded a Distinction. Since then she has done extremely well in terms of being awarded previous Gold Medals at Bloom (2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017) and prizes elsewhere and developing workshops and tuition for aspiring botanical artists - especially those wanting to learn how to paint on vellum.

Shevaun Doherty - Gold Medal and Best in Show for Teloschistes chrysophthalmus, Golden Eye lichen

Silver Gilt Medal Winners at Bloom 2018

Fionnuala Broughan - Silver Gilt

Fionnuala Broughan - Davallia sp. , Hare's foot fern
Fionnuala is a relatively new recruit to botanical art and says she is inspired by Asuka Hishiki, Masumi Yamanaka, Siobhán Larkin, Patricia Newman, Sarah Simblet. I love the fact that her facebook account is named after a plant! https://www.facebook.com/erica.cinerea

Shevaun Doherty - Crocus vernus, Dutch crocus - watercolour on vellum
Shevaun's other entry gained a Silver Gilt medal.

Shevaun Doherty - Silver Gilt

Siobhan Larkin - Hydrangea
Siobhan works in watercolour pencils and won Best in Show in 2016 and 2015! She has also exhibited at the 15th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration at the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation in Pittsburgh, PA. She is not a fan of being online - hence no website.

Siobhan Larkin - Silver Gilt

Elaine Mackey - Silver Gilt

Elaine Moore Mackey - Arisarum probiscideum, Mousetail Plant
Elaine started Botanical Illustration in 2013 and she completed a course at the Burren College of Art in 2014. She has just graduated from the Distance Learning Diploma run by the Society of Botanical Artists (UK).

Holly Somerville - Iris 'Turkish Blue'
Holly Somerville was born in Dublin and now lives in Wicklow. She is a botanical artist, illustrator and teacher. Her academic accreditation as a botanical artist comes from scientific and artistic perspectives. She has an MA in Botany from Somerville College, Oxford and a BA in Visual Communication from Edinburgh College of Art, where she specialised in illustration and photography. In the past she has worked in the herbarium of the Botany Department of Trinity College, Dublin. She has produced very many botanically correct pen and ink drawings for publications about Irish Flora and researchers at Trinity College and other universities around the world. She's also exhibited regularly and extensively in both Ireland and Ulster.

Holly Somerville - Silver Gilt

Silver Medal Winners at Bloom 2018

Jane Stark - Silver

Jane Stark - Anthurium hybrid
Jane Stark is a botanical artist living in the west of Ireland. A graduate of the Ontario College of Art in Toronto, Canada, she has worked in graphic design and natural history illustration in Canada, the US and Ireland, specialising in high quality publication design. She is a founding member of the Irish Society of Botanical Artists (ISBA) and is currently President of ISBA. She has also been a leading light in getting the two ISBA books published Aibítir: The Irish Alphabet in Botanical Art and Plandaí Oidhreachta, Irish Heritage Plants. She is also the curator of the annual Claregalway Botanical Art Expo, held in conjunction with the Galway Garden Festival at Claregalway Castle.

Lynn Stringer
- ‘Douglas Fir’- painting sold
- 'Iris "Haute les voiles"’
Lynn is Chair of the Irish Society of Botanical Artists. She lives and works in County Wicklow. She studied Fine Art at DIT College of Marketing and Design in Dublin as a mature student and graduated with a first in painting. She regularly holds botanical art classes and exhibits her work at various plant fairs in Ireland (see website for details). She won an RHS Silver Medal in 2013 when she exhibited six paintings about Kilmacurragh and the Plant Hunters from her long term project to paint plants from Kilmacurragh (part of the National Botanic Gardens). She's a member of ISBA and ASBA. See An Interview with Lynn Stringer

Lynn Stringer with one of her two Silver Medal Paintings at Bloom 2018

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Call for Entries for 6th Annual Botanical and Floral Art in Bloom Exhibition

2/2/2018

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The Call for Entries for the 6th Botanical & Floral Art Exhibition held during the Bloom in the Park Festival in Phoenix Park, Dublin in June 2018 has been published. The exhibition is an open exhibition.

Exhibition Venue: Phoenix Park Visitor Centre (In the courtyard, opposite the Cafe)
Dates: Bloom: 31 May - 4 June 2018; the exhibition will then remain in situ for the rest of June in the Visitors Centre after Bloom closes.
Exhibition Hours: Bloom - 9.30am - 5.30pm (except 31st May - 5.30-7.30pm); Rest of June - normal visitor centre hours.

Full details and conditions of entry can be found in the Bloom 2018 Call for Entries document which can be downloaded as a PDF. It's a bit tricky trying to find it as there is no live 'home page' for the event as yet. I found out via the Irish Society of Botanical Artists' announcement

This is a summary of the key details

Importantly, this year (for the first time), the Botanical and Floral Art Exhibition will continue at the Visitors Centre after the Bloom festival closes for the month of June. (closing date likely to be in the w/c 25h June2018)
The exhibition is juried by an independent judging panel
Approximately 40 pieces of work will be shown.
Medals may be awarded for works of particular merit by an independent judging panel.
Artists are invited to submit up to three pieces of work.

In the Botanical Art category, the judging panel will look for three-dimensional drawings of appropriate subject matter where colour, tone and composition result in a pleasing and balanced portrait. Most important are botanical accuracy and the application of technique. Presentation and labelling are also considered.

What can you enter?

Eligible media: Watercolour, gouache, ink, acrylic, oil, pencil, fine art prints (but not giclee prints)
Eligible size: Works should be no more than 75 cm. in any measurement including frame and no smaller than 25 cm in any measurement including frame.

Work submitted MUST be:

executed within the last three years.
for sale
Not have been exhibited in any Bloom art exhibition, prior to 2018.
Framed to be hung: All accepted works should be ready to hang with fixings and a label with artist's name and title of work and price on verso.

How to submit an entry

In order to submit you need to:

read the Criteria for Submissions in the Call for Entries document before submitting an application.
Submit an application via the online application form on or before the deadline for entries which is Friday 30th March 2018.
You must submit a digital image of your entry/entries. This should be a 300 dpi jpeg not less than 20cm and not more than 40cm in any dimension
pay a non-refundable submission charge of €10 per painting (with a reduced fee of €25 for three paintings)
Hard copy or postal entries are NOT accepted
Incomplete applications will not be accepted
Check all details are correct - including spelling - before submitting the form.

Following the assessment of entries by the Judging Panel, you will be advised of whether or not your entries have been successful after 27 April 2018

All queries should be directed via email to [email protected]

The exhibition has a presence on Facebook. This is the:

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Medals awarded at Bloom Botanical Art 2017

4/6/2017

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In this post you'll find a list of the botanical artists winning medals at the Botanical Art at the Bloom Show in Dublin - plus a brief profile of each artist winning a medal. The exhibition also includes paintings by floral artists but this post is limited to the botanical artists.

This year, Bloom - the largest gardening festival in Ireland - was held at the OPW Visitor's Centre, in Phoenix Park Dublin between 1st and 5th June 2017. Today is the last day.

At the end, there is a commentary on how this botanical art show compares to others and a suggestion for possibly how the show might develop in future.

Gold Medals

Shevaun Doherty - Prunus domestica ‘Victoria’ - and BEST PAINTING IN SHOW
Siobhan Larkin - Gerbera x hybrida
Holly Somerville - Magnolia x soulangeana ‘Black Tulip

Best Painting in Show - Prunus domestica ‘Victoria’ - by Shevaun Doherty

I'm always pleased to see Shevaun Doherty progressing in her career as a professional botanical artist and tutor. Shevaun enrolled for the Distance Learning Diploma Course (DLDC) in Botanical Illustration run by the Society of Botanical Artists after reading A Making A Mark Interview with Margaret Stevens - my interview with Margaret Stevens PPSBA, FSBA the then President of the Society of Botanical Artists and the Course Director for the SBA Diploma. The major advantage of the course for Shevaun was that she could do the assignments while living in Egypt! On one memorable occasion she completed her assignment on carrots while Egyptian uprising (and their version of the Arab Spring) Egyptian Spring made lots of noise outside her window!

As a result I've followed her career. Shevaun graduated the DLDC with a Distinction in her Diploma and has gone on to win a number of awards and medals. She is now the vellum painting tutor for the Distance Learning Diploma Course offered by the Society of Botanical Artists.

This is her fourth Gold Medal at Bloom - and her first Best in Show.

Gerbera x hybrida by Siobhan Larkin

Siobhan Larkin was the Winner of Best in Show last year - and the year before! She has also exhibited at the 15th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration at the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation in Pittsburgh, PA. She works in watercolour pencils - but she's not a fan of being online - hence no website.

Magnolia x soulangeana ‘Black Tulip' by Holly Somerville

Holly Somerville is is an Irish botanical artist, illustrator and teacher. She has academic accreditation to be a botanical artist from both the science and artistic perspectives. She has an MA in Botany from Somerville College, Oxford and a BA in Visual Communication from Edinburgh College of Art, where she specialised in illustration and photography. In the past she has worked in the herbarium of the Botany Department of Trinity College, Dublin. She has produced very many botanically correct pen and ink drawings for publications about Irish Flora and researchers at Trinity College and other universities around the world.

Silver Gilt Medal

Lynn Stringer - Chamerion augustifolium

Chamerion augustifolium by Lynn Stringer

Lynn lives and works in County Wicklow. She studied Fine Art at DIT College of Marketing and Design in Dublin as a mature student and graduated with a first in painting. She regularly holds botanical art classes and exhibits her work at various plant fairs in Ireland (see website for details). She won an RHS Silver Medal in 2013 when she exhibited six paintings about Kilmacurragh and the Plant Hunters from her long term project to paint plants from Kilmacurragh (part of the National Botanic Gardens). She's a member of ISBA and ASBA.See An Interview with Lynn Stringer

Silver Medal

Holly Somerville - ‘Turning’
Nayana Sandur - Cocos nucifera

Nayana Sandur was born and raised in India but now lives in Limerick with her husband. She is a software engineer by profession. Her botanical watercolour paintings are completely self-taught.

Bronze Medal

Siobhan Larkin - Papaver somniferum
Lynn Stringer - Rosa ‘William Lobb’
Shevaun Doherty - Citrus reticulata
Jane Stark - Sarracenia leucophylla

Sarracenia leucophylla by Jane Stark

Jane Stark is a botanical artist living in the west of Ireland. A graduate of the Ontario College of Art in Toronto, Canada, she has worked in graphic design and natural history illustration in Canada, the US and Ireland, specialising in high quality publication design. She is a founding member of the Irish Society of Botanical Artists (ISBA) and is currently President of ISBA. She has also been a leading light in getting the two ISBA books published Aibítir: The Irish Alphabet in Botanical Art and Plandaí Oidhreachta, Irish Heritage Plants. She is also the curator of the annual Claregalway Botanical Art Expo, held in conjunction with the Galway Garden Festival at Claregalway Castle.

Future developments for Botanical Art at Bloom - a Commentary

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