NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

Worldwide Day of Botanical Art is 18th May 2018

22/4/2018

THE WORLDWIDE DAY OF BOTANICAL ART
is
A Global Initiative
in
25 Countries
on
Six Continents
with
25 Botanical Art Exhibitions portraying Native Plants
and features
LOTS OF ACTIVITIES
on
18th May 2018
which is
THE WORLDWIDE DAY OF BOTANICAL ART

If you want to find out what is happening where you live

FOLLOW the links listed below
what's happening is organised alphabetically by CONTINENT AND COUNTRY
BOOKMARK: Information will also be updated below as it becomes available.

Do let me know if you have

a banner artwork for your exhibition
and/or a list of selected artists
and/or a URL re. Activities on 18th May 2018

You can also find out more on:

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Exhibition by the Birmingham Society of Botanical Artists

21/4/2018

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The Birmingham Society of Botanical Artists are hosting an exhibition of botanical art in 2018 - which opened last week. This is their first exhibition since 2013 - because of the lack of a suitable venue.

The 2018 exhibition is being held in The Core, Courtyard Gallery, Solihull B91 3RG and the dates are 18th April – 5th May 2018. (This is how to get there)

The exhibition includes 60 artworks by 22 artists. 43% are executed using coloured pencils and 36% are watercolour paintings. The rest (20%) are graphite or mixed media.

Around 10 artists will be providing demonstrations during the course of the exhibition.

Below are some gallery views of the exhibition.

You can find a list of exhibiting artists in this exhibition in the file below - together with titles and media.

bsba_exhibition_list.pdf
File Size:	24 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

You can also see artwork by some of the members in the gallery on the BSBA website

Birmingham Society of Botanical Artists was founded in 1999 by graduates of the University of Birmingham’s Certificate of Higher Education in Botanical Illustration.

Members are drawn from an area bounded by Shrewsbury to the north, Worcester to the west, Nottingham to the east and Rugby, Nuneaton and Leicester to the south.

The aims of the Society are that

members should continue to develop skills in botanical drawing and painting;
the Society to encourage and support such development through the provision of a monthly programme of talks, workshops and practical sessions.

Details of the BSBA one year botanical illustration course can be found on the website.

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Selected Southern African Artists (Botanical Art Worldwide #9)

2/4/2018

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This post contains the names of the artists whose work has been selected for Botanical Art Worldwide - Southern Africa - an exhibition of plants indigenous to Southern Africa, as part of the Botanical Art Worldwide initiative.

What I think is the largest exhibition to date - of those who have announced details - will be hosted by the Botanical Artists Association of South Africa and held at the Everard Read Gallery in Johannesburg from 17th May to 9th June 2018.

It will officially open on 17th May.

The image chosen for the exhibition logo (below) is Mandala mundii by the Cape botanical artist Christiaan Lochner

The Exhibition and eligible artwork

The Exhibition Steering Committee comprises two representatives from each region:

Gauteng: Gillian Condy and Karen Bryden
Western Cape: Vicki Thomas
KwaZulu Natal: Snooks Cole and Elsa Pooley

Entries were invited from all BAASA members in good standing, residing in Southern Africa and from talented botanical artists working in South Africa or neighbouring countries.

Eligible artwork depicts any botanical material indigenous within the boundaries of southern Africa:

i.e. from within the boundaries of: South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique
including all types of plant material from shrubs and trees to grasses, flowers, lichen, mosses and fungi (but not cultivated hybrids)

In addition, in collaboration with the Miniature Art Society of South Africa a small collection of botanical miniature paintings will be included.

Features of the exhibition:

A printed catalogue is being produced for the exhibition.
There will be demonstrations on the 18th May by some of the participating artists.

The Selection Process

Artwork was selected as follows:

All artists were invited to submit a maximum of 4 paintings in either the large painting category or the miniature painting category or both.
Selection for this exhibition was conducted in Johannesburg and Cape Town, with artists from elsewhere submitting digitally.
83 botanical artists have been selected to display work on the exhibition
226 art works will be presented.

Selected artists re. artwork of plants native to Southern Africa

Gillian Condy Adenium boehmianum Bushman’s Poison

I have to say I was absolutely AMAZED when I got the listing of selected artists from Gillian Condy, the curator of the Botanical Art Worldwide Exhibition in South Africa. It's very evident that a lot of artists in Southern Africa have been working very hard for this exhibition.

The following list contains the names of the exhibiting artists from Southern Africa whose botanical artworks of plants indigenous to Southern Africa have been selected for the Botanical Art Worldwide Exhibition 2018 in Johannesburg.

A link to the website of the artist (or a more detailed profile of the artist) is embedded in the name (if available).
Brief profiles of the artists are summarised where available. The Plant 2016 catalogue was used for those with a profile and no website
The number of artworks by the artist in the exhibition is listed after their surname in brackets e.g. (3)

NOTE: I'm hoping to add the plant names in but need the information in a different format for that to happen

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4th ASBA Online Botanical Art Auction now live

29/3/2018

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The Fourth ASBA Annual Online Botanical Art Auction is now live to the public and will continue until 11:00 PM EDT on the 27th April 2018

Members of the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) have generously donated a stunning collection of both original botanical art, prints, places in botanical art workshops, critiques and books.

You can see four examples of the artwork above, plus you can view the works, workshops, critiques, prints and books up for auction here.

You also get to monitor how the bids are progressing relative to their value - and which works are attracting the most interest!

Of course bidders should remember that there's nothing to stop you bidding beyond the advertised value of the item if it's something you particularly want!

Some items have already reached their value - but could be exceeded.
Those already with bids exceeding the advertised value include:

Funds raised from the auction of these donated items will:

support ASBA's mission - to provide a thriving, interactive community dedicated to perpetuating the tradition and contemporary practice of botanical art.
benefit artists who sell original work
underwrite the publication of the wonderful ASBA Journal (why I'm a member!)
produce the high quality exhibitions of contemporary botanical art

About the ASBA 4th Online Auction of Botanical Art

The auction is hosted by biddingforgood.com. I'm not familiar with the auction site, but I understand from the ASBA that Bidding For Good(B4G)* is a safe and trusted online auction administrator, used and recommended by nonprofits across the country.

This page on the ASBA website tells you what you need to do in order to bid on a work, Basically you need to:

register to big on the BiddingforGood website - which includes providing your address and credit card information
complete your bid on the item of your choice by typing your bid in the MyBid box and clicking to confirm the bid

UPDATE: I apparently misunderstood how the bidding system works when I first wrote this post. I have to say I find the bidding system confusing as it appears that

what is referenced as the "leading bid" might not be a bid at all! (huh?)
there are items listed as "no bid" which appear to have had a bid (huh?) - which I really don't understand and cannot find an explanation of.

I've no connection with the auction so if you have any problems or queries I suggest you contact either the biddingforgood site (which has a support section) or the ASBA for an explanation.

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Selected Italian Artists for 'A Flourishing Heritage – Portraits of Italian Flora' (Botanical Art Worldwide #8)

27/3/2018

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The artwork has been selected for A Flourishing Heritage – Portraits of Italian Flora - the Italian contribution to the the Botanical Art Worldwide initiative taking place in May 2018.

Below you can find:

details of the exhibition and its location
a list and profile of the artists whose work has been selected for the exhibition, together with a list of the native plants of Italy to be included in the exhibition - and images of some of them.

Nuphar lutea © Angelo Speziale

A Flourishing Heritage – Portraits of Italian Flora

The exhibition details are as follows:
Venue: Orto Botanico di Padova / Padua Botanic Garden, Padua, Italy
Dates: 18th May - 18th June 2018

The exhibition has been organised:

by Floraviva, the Italian Association of Botanical Artists, established in 2004 to promote and sustain the development of the ancient tradition of botanical art. It brings together the most qualified exponents of this art in Italy today.
in collaboration with the Padua Botanic Garden
as part of the project to link people to plants through botanical art initiated by the American Society of Botanical Artists.

The exhibition in Italy will be held at the oldest botanical garden in the world, the Padua Botanic Garden (Orto Botanico di Padova) established in 1545 and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. Recently, a new modern sector called The Biodiversity Garden was inaugurated adjacent to the ancient Garden of Simples which dates back to the 16th century.

The Selection Process

Floraviva issued an invitation to submit artwork for this worldwide event was extended to independent botanical artists as well as Floraviva members.

A total of 67 artworks were admitted by 31 artists, 27 of whom are women. The majority of artists (22) are members of the Floraviva Association.

The Jury of Experts comprised:

Prof. Barbara Baldan, Director of the Padua Botanic Garden,
Prof. Fabio Garbari, former President of the Italian Botanical Society, and
Prof. Lucia Tomasi Tongiorgi, Art Historian of the University of Pisa.

They met at the end of February to carefully examine all the artworks presented by the artists.

Particular attention was given to the endemic contingent of the national flora. Out of all the native species depicted (approximately 70), only two are considered naturalised, while 18 are endemic to Italy, some are very rare and several are endangered.

This is in line with the recommendations expressed at an international level i.e. raising awareness of

the flora and biodiversity that characterise each country, and
the fundamental role they play in the landscape.

Given that botanical art and representation of the natural world went through a great development during the Renaissance, the name given to the Italian exhibition wishes to recall this legacy: A Flourishing Heritage - Portraits of Italian Flora.

Selected artists and artwork of plants native to Italy

The following list contains the names of the exhibiting artists from Italy whose botanical artworks of native Italian plants have been selected for A Flourishing Heritage, Portraits of Italian Flora - Italy’s contribution to the Botanical Art Worldwide Exhibition 2018.

A link to the website of the artist (or a more detailed profile of the artist) is embedded in the name (if available).

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Exhibition - The Leaves of the Tree

22/3/2018

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Title: The Leaves of the Tree
Venue: Winchester Cathedral
Dates: 12 April - 18 May, 2018
Theme: A diverse exhibition of calligraphy work and botanical paintings by Winchester Cathedral Scribes and invited artists highlighting

many of the beloved plants growing around the Cathedral,
botanical imagery inspired by the Bible,
plus a special display on the culinary and medicinal relevance of plants in a monastic garden.

Artists involved with the exhibition include:

Caroline Hervey-Bathurst - member of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society
Diana Everett - fellow and honorary member of the Florilegium Society at The Chelsea Physic Garden; she illustrated The Genus Tulipa - Kew’s Botanical Magazine Monograph series),
Christina Hart-Davies GM SBA - Winner of four RHS Gold Medals and founder member of the Society of Botanical Artists
Joanna Craig-McFeeley SBA ASBA
Jan Mehigan - elected elected a Fellow of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators (FSSI) in 1998 and a Fellow of The Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society (HFCLAS) in 1999

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Tulipa Tulipae 2018 at Real Jardin Botanico de Madrid

21/3/2018

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Tulipa Tulipae opened yesterday in the Villanueva Pavilion at the Real Jardín Botánico (RJB) in Madrid. The exhibition comprises:

a review of the techniques used for drawing, painting and printing tulips over the centuries - drawing on the archives and library of the RJB and drawing with images of the RJB Archive and Library
85 original artworks portraying a variety of tulips by 47 botanical artist members of The Society of Botanical Artists.
the blooms of 21,000 bulbs that have been planted at the entrance of the Botanical Garden, in the Terrace of Paintings.

The exhibition continues until the 20 May 2018. Opening hours vary by month.

You can see a video of a television segment on the local news about the exhibition - which includes an interview with Marta Chirino who has organised the exhibition and contains views of the exhibition.

There is a rather wonderful catalogue in Spanish and English and I hope to be able to find out more about how this will become accessible and/or available in the next few days.

I've been promised some pics from exhibition after the excitement of the launch activities - so there'll be another blog post

There are also a wide range of educational and outreach activities, including workshops, guided tours and live demonstrations during the next two months.

Botanical illustration courses + Meet the artist

Some of the activities are art-related. For the student of botanical illustration these include:

Botanical watercolor illustration with Diane Sutherland 12 - April 14, 2018
Botanical illustration with gouache and watercolor on dark background Shevaun Doherty 19 - 21 April 2018
Botanical drawing course Marta Chirino 3 - 5 May 2018
Children's workshop: We draw a flower 6 - 16 years old Marta Chirino May 13 2018

There are also a couple of opportunities to meet some of the artists participating in the show.

Meet the artist: Shevaun Doherty and Marta Chirino April 22, 2018
Meet the artist: Sylvia Balch, Christine Flintham, Pamela Taylor and Marta Chirino29 April 2018

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