NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

20th Botanica annual exhibition at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

31/3/2019

Botanica: The 20th Anniversary Exhibition - the annual exhibition of botanical art at the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year - and opened to the public yesterday.

Venue: Lion Gate Lodge Garden, The Royal Botanic Garden, Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney
Dates: Saturday 30 March - Sunday 14 April (10 am - 4 pm daily)
Entry: FREE
Exhibiting artists: listed below.
[UPDATE: Virtual Exhibition of all 120 artworks on Flickr ]

This leading contemporary botanical art exhibition in Australia is also on at the same time as annual exhibition of the Margaret Flockton Award. So two jolly good reasons to pay a visit to the RBG Sydney!

Exploring the complex and remarkable relationship between humans and plants, the annual showcase features work by some of the best Australian and international established and emerging botanic and natural history artists.

Artists with selected artwork

Artwork selected for the exhibition has been created by Australian botanical artists. They range from some who are recognised leaders in the world of botanical art to others who are emerging as botanical artists producing high quality artwork.

Links in names below are to the website of the artist. If you an artist listed below and your website is not included please contact me or leave a comment with the URL.

You can find out more about the leading artists on my page about Botanical Artists in Australia and New Zealand

Tulipa 'Orange Princess' by Beverly Allen 620mm x 780mm Watercolour $14,500

Nilavan Adams,
Beverly Allen
Sue Anderson

Janette Barlow,
Sylvia Beresford,
Samantha Blanks,
Susannah Blaxill

Linda Catchlove,
Yvonne Chan,
Deb Chirnside,
Elizabeth Cooper

Pauline Dewar

Ros Earp,
Melinda Edstein,
Dianne Emery

Helen Fitzgerald
Ros Franklin

Lindsey Goff,
Stephanie Goss

Anne Hayes,
Rosy Hewitt,
Cheryl Hodges,
Tanya Hoolihan,
Annie Hughes,

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

24/2/2019

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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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Ask an expert: botanical art surgery - with Deborah Lambkin

11/2/2019

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Don't forget - next Sunday is the third and final botanical art surgery with an expert in botanical illustration at Kew Gardens.

Expert: Deborah Lambkin
Venue: Main Gallery of the Shirley Sherwood Art Gallery, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Date: Sunday 17th February 2019
Time: 11am - 3pm

It's a great way of being able to ask questions about your own work and also about life as a professional botanical illustrator.

About Deborah Lambkin

Come and see me paint in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery @kewgardens on 17 Feb. I will be there to answer questions and to chat about my favourite subject- botanical illustration! #botanicalillustration #botanicaldrawing #art pic.twitter.com/3bZfzQD48j
— Deborah Lambkin (@DeborahLambkin) February 7, 2019

Some facts about Deborah Lambkin:

born in Ireland but now lives in London
trained at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin
official orchid artist for the RHS Orchid Committee since 2005 - and has painted over 200 different orchids
an artist member of the RHS Picture Panel which judges exhibits at the RHS Botanical Art Shows
One of only two Irish artists (to date) to win a gold medal at the RHS exhibition, the other being Wendy F. Walsh. She won an RHS Gold Medal for her collection of eight paintings of nerines in 1999.
Contributes paintings to Curtis's Botanical Magazine regularly.
This is an article she wrote about Dealing with plant specimens – Deborah Lambkin

Social Media Accounts

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RHS Botanical Art: NEW archive for past shows and exhibit titles

6/2/2019

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RHS Botanical Art Shows can now be found in four different places on my website:

RHS Botanical Art Shows - all about how to enter
ARCHIVE: RHS Botanical Art Shows (2007-2018)
ARCHIVE: Exhibit Titles at RHS Botanical Art Shows

I had a reorganisation of content material at the weekend followed by creating TWO NEW PAGES for

the archive material relating to past shows
the titles chosen by botanical artists for their Gold Medal winning exhibits at RHS Botanical Art Show.

What's now where is summarised below.

RHS Botanical Art Shows

RHS Botanical Art Shows - How to Exhibit

I took the opportunity of moving content around to edit and reposition some of the content on this page. It's now better organised, less repetitive but still works through the process of how to win an RHS Medal - from submitting work for approval to exhibit to the practicalities of getting

It covers:

an overview of the page
RHS Botanical Art and Photography Shows 2019 - in London and Malvern
RHS Botanical Art Shows 2020-2025 - applying to exhibit

"How to Exhibit" is then analysed in terms of

#1. Selection for new exhibitors - submission to be "approved to exhibit"
#2 The Selection Meeting - the approval process by the RHS
#3 How to apply for a space at a SPECIFIC RHS Exhibition of Botanical Art
#4 What to exhibit
#5 How botanical artwork is judged at the RHS Show
#6 How to win an RHS Gold Medal

MOVED
ARCHIVE: RHS Botanical Art Shows (2007-2018)

ARCHIVE: RHS Botanical Art Shows 2007-2018

The content relating to past RHS Botanical Art Shows is now on an entirely NEW DEDICATED PAGE.

This

provides an overview of the RHS Botanical Art Shows in recent years (2007-2018).
Lists Best Painting and Best Exhibit winners and the names of all RHS Gold Medal winners + the titles of their exhibits
Includes images of the shows and the botanical art and illustration which won prestigious awards.

In future I plan to add in all those botanical artists (and the names of their exhibits) who won Gold Medals in previous years. I plan a visit to the Lindley Library!

I'm aware I've only included the shows I've visited in London. However I'm very happy to start including all those GM winners that I know already - with exhibit title and year. Please either comment below with the data or expect to receive an email nudge in the future!

Tap pic to check out my recommendations

The Best Books about Botanical Art History, Artists & Illustrators

The Best Botanical Art Instruction Books

NEW! Exhibit Titles

Exhibit Titles at RHS Botanical Art Shows

The aim of this page is to demonstrate the range of exhibits which have been seen in the Lindley Hall in the last few years.

All the exhibit titles listed relate to the exhibits awarded an RHS Gold Medal at either London or Malvern.

I first listed all the titles and then tried to work out some categories for them - and came up with the list you see below. Exhibit titles are listed under one of the following categories:

Family or Genus Names
Exhibits related to specific locations/habitats
Habit / Lifecycle / Growth
Common and Generic Names
Medicinal Plants
Theme names related to botanical history
Unspecific Theme names
Unspecific / media related names
Mixed plant names

All the artists winning a Gold Medal are also identified by year and name.

I'm very happy to receive suggestions for how the categories might be improved. (Please comment below)

I intend to develop the page and also list the titles which were awarded different grades of medal. Speaking personally, I find it interesting to identify correlations between the exhibit title and the colour of the medal - and I've commented on this on this page.

The correlations will become more evident as I add in more exhibit titles.

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Marianne Hazlewood wins award at Visual Arts Scotland - Alight 2019

4/2/2019

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Marianne Hazlewood has two botanical artworks in the current Visual Arts Scotland open exhibition ALIGHT 2019 at the Royal Scottish Academy Edinburgh - and has won herself a solo exhibition.

Arisaema tortuosum (crop) by Marianne Hazlewood | Japanese ink paste on Lambeth Cartridge | 75 x 55 cm

The two pieces are part of her new ink Arisaema series, continuing her series of ink shoots which were inspired by Sarah Simblet teaching for a day during her RBGE Diploma Course. (See my Book review:Botany for the Artist: An Inspirational Guide to Drawing Plants by Sarah Simblet)

Marianne has been awarded the Open Eye Gallery Exhibition Award at the show. Her prize is a Solo Exhibition in their contemporary private gallery in a former Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh’s New Town.

Visual Arts Scotland

provides an opportunity to showcase national and international contemporary fine and applied artists from graduates to those with a long established practice.
has an annual open exhibition in the RSA Edinburgh building where members and non members can show alongside invited artists and new graduates.
features a variety of paintings, drawings and print work alongside artists working in wood in association with Craft Scotland and jewellery makers and silversmiths working in innovative, ethical and sustainable practise

VAS ALIGHT 2019

Venue: Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
Dates: 26 Jan – 22 Feb 2019
Time: Mon-Sat: 10am – 5pm, Sun: 12pm – 5pm

Arisaema griffithii 1:1.3 and Arisaema tortuosum 1:1.3 by Marianne Hazlewood | Japanese ink paste on Lambeth Cartridge | 75 x 55 cm | float mounted (by Detail Framing Studio, Edinburgh)

Marianne Hazlewood also recently had two of her fern paintings in the Society of Scottish Artists Annual Open Exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy Edinburgh.

It's very rewarding to see yet another contemporary botanical artist who

feels her artwork should NOT be limited to exhibitions of botanical art.
produces contemporary botanical art which meets the standards of and is selected for major open exhibitions by prominent arts organisations.

Having grown the number of botanical artists, we now need to grow the number of botanical art collectors! Having work selected for mainstream and prestigious / reputable open art exhibitions is an excellent way of exposing art collectors to botanical art - and increasing the number of botanical art collectors beyond those who are already committed to visiting existing botanical art exhibitions.

I'm always very happy to highlight the success of botanical artists who get their botanical artwork selected for mainstream art exhibitions - especially those held in prestigious open exhibitions in impressive art galleries! If this is you, you just need to contact me with the details.

Botanical art exhibitions in Scotland

You can view more details about botanical art exhibitions in Scotland on my dedicated page Botanical Art Exhibitions in Scotland which I updated this morning.

Current exhibitions include the following

Scottish Society of Botanical Artists Spring Exhibition 2019

Venue: Scottish Ornithological Centre, Donald Watson Art Gallery, Waterston House, Aberlady, East Lothian EH32 0PY
Dates: January 19th – Wednesday February 27th 2019
Hours: open daily from 10am to 4pm
Admission: FREE

The exhibition will include between 40 and 50 original paintings from our growing membership, almost all of which will be for sale.

Plants from the Woods and Forests of Chile

Venue: Dawyck Studio @ Dawyck Botanic Garden
Dates: Monday 4th February 2019 - Monday 29th July 2019

The page also includes of exhibitions being held later in 2019.

At the bottom of the page is a form which can be used to provide updates about current and future exhibitions.

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Where can you find a botanical art course in England, Scotland and Wales in 2019?

21/1/2019

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My directory of short courses, classes and workshops in botanical art and/or illustration in England, Scotland and Wales has been updated to include all those being held in 2019 that have been:

notified to me and/or
are being venues which had courses last year.

The Miller's House at Flatford Mill - now a Field Centre offering workshops and short courses

Where can you find a botanical art course in 2019?

The list is organised geographically.
Each area is prefaced by a list of botanical art tutors listed in that section.
Each course is delisted after it has been held - hence now is the best time of year to get an insight into the short courses on offer.

Places with courses, classes or workshops in 2019 include include:

England

London
East Anglia - Cambridge, Essex, Suffolk
Midlands - Birmingham
North - Cheshire, Derbyshire, North Yorkshire
South and SE England - Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey, West Sussex
South West England - Bath, Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire

Scotland - Edinburgh

Wales

Cardiff,
Gwynedd,
Powys,
Vale of Glamorgan,
West Glamorgan

Hassop Hall Hotel in Bakewell, Derbyshire

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For your information

I can only list what I'm told about or find about - hence I don't pretend that this list is comprehensive.

This page ONLY lists Botanical Art & Illustration workshops, classes and courses

by Organisations
and/or at Educational Centres in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
and NOT in a private home.

(i.e. it's a reasonably safe bet that they comply with all relevant legislative and regulatory requirements for having third parties on their premises). I'm much less sure of compliance by domestic premises - hence why they are typically excluded.

Tutors and tuition providers can tell me about their course (if it has not been included) by providing the information requested at the bottom of the page and using the dedicated form for UK Course Information.

Reputable UK-based tutors are listed in the International Directory: Botanical Art Tutors (along with tutors around the world)

West Dean College in West Sussex

For Tuition in Other Countries

I'm also updating the courses in other countries and would appreciate updates.
See separate pages for Botanical Art Tuition offered in:

North America - USA, Canada and Caribbean
Australasia - Australia
Europe and North Africa - Austria, France, Ireland, Italy, Morocco Netherlands, Romania and Spain

These also have a form at the bottom of the page for tuition updates.
Courses in Africa, Asia and South and Central America will be added on separate pages in due course

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