NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

Exploring Botany - in Kraków

18/2/2021

The exhibition "Exploring Botany - Botanical Art in the 21st Century" opened at the Manggha Museum in Kraków, Poland on 2nd February and continues until 30th June 2021.

I'm sure many of you will have seen some details about this online - but for those who haven't this blog post aims to fill in the gaps. (Dates on the poster and flyers relate to the original planned dates - but the exhibition was postponed due to the pandemic)

The exhibition features

over 30 invited contemporary botanical artists from Japan and Europe producing a variety of botanical art in the 21st century
works by old masters and patrons of botanical art from Japan and the western world.

Exploring Botany. Botanical Art in the 21st Century is Poland’s first exhibition showcasing the phenomenon of today’s botanical art, both European and Japanese. We are showing works by modern-day artists in the context of the oeuvres of old masters of botanical illustration, Basilius Besler, Crispijn van de Passe the Younger, Jacob Hoefnagel, Emanuel Sweert, Elizabeth Blackwell, and above all Maria Sibylla Merian. These are complemented by Hiroshige’s and Watanabe Seitei’s ‘pictures of flowers and birds’, which engage in surprising visual and narrative dialogue with the European works.
Exploring Botany

The artwork in the poster for the exhibition is by Robert McNeill

The artists whose work has been selected for the exhibition are listed below
I made this into a bit of a test for myself to see if I could separate artists into Past Masters and Contemporary Artists - which was easy. Then I listed them by country without checking online and on this website - and I got most of them right (i.e. all the ones I knew!)

Links in their names below are to their websites or pages on this website. Those with an asterisk are featured on one of the Contemporary Artists pages on this website.

Past Masters & Patrons

GERMANY

Jacob Hoefnagel (1573-1632) - a Flemish painter, printmaker, miniaturist, draftsman, art dealer, diplomat, merchant and politician. Became a court painter to Rudolf II and to the Swedish court. Noted for his illustrations of natural history subjects
Basilius Besler (1561-1629) - strictly speaking not a botanical artist but rather an apothecary and a patron of botanical art and the man who created the first florilegium - the "Hortus Eystettensis". You can read more about him and his book on my page dedicated to him - see About Basilius Besler
Johann Theodor de Bry (1561 -1623) - an engraver based in Frankfurt (and not somebody I associate with botanical illustration- so I'm curious as to the reason for his inclusion)
Dr. Christoph Trew (1695-1769) - a wealthy German physician and botanist lived and practised medicine in Nuremberg and became the lifelong patron and friend of Georg Dionysius Ehret from whom he commissioned drawings and paintings. Author of Plantae Selectae and other publications. He also produced a second and larger edition of Elizabeth Blackwell's A Curious Herbal (see below)

JAPAN

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) - a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. (See images of his large flowers and small flowers and sparrows)
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) - a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, considered the last great master of that tradition. See also my blog post about The Art of Hiroshige
Utamaro Kitagawa (1754-1806) - a Japanese ukiyo-e artist. Although best known for his illustrations of people, he also produced kachō-e "flower-and-bird pictures"

NETHERLANDS

Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) - a Swiss Naturalist, an Entomologist and a Botanical Illustrator who worked mostly in the Netherlands and Ditch territories eg Surinam. She is rated as being one of the greatest ever botanical artists. See About Maria Sibylla Merian on this website.
- The Manggha Museum is also hosting an exhibition of the work of Maria Sibylla Merian until 3rd May 2021 - so two great reasons to visit - if you can!
Cryspijn van de Passe the Elder (1564-1637) and Crispin Van de Passe (the Younger) (1597-1670). The latter produced most of the engravings for Hortus Floridus (1614), which was apparently the first illustrated book to apply the microscopy of magnifying lenses to botanical illustration.
Emanuel Sweert (1552-1612) - a Dutch painter and nurseryman

UNITED KINGDOM

Elisabeth Blackwell (1707-1758) - author and illustrator of A Curious Herbal - after working with plants from the Chelsea Physic Garden. About Elizabeth Blackwell on this website relates her life and the development of her Herbal.

Contemporary Artists

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"New Growth": Online Exhibition by Edinburgh Society of Botanical Artists

8/2/2021

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Edinburgh Society of Botanical Artists's very FIRST ONLINE EXHIBITION called, very aptly, New Growth launched today, Monday 8th February and continues online (on their website) until Monday 22nd March 2021

It looks like this on their website - but also opens up to reveal more!

The exhibition includes artwork developed during pandemic lockdown by the following artists:

VIEW THE EXHIBITION (note not all artwork is for sale but much is)
To view the artwork by individual artists: click the link in their name above.
The artists indicate whether the artwork is:

an original or print
what media is used
what size it is
how it is available (eg framed or matted)

Very good effort - but scope to improve

I think the presentation of the artwork is very good. The vertical scroll through the artwork very much suits those used to viewing art online via their tablets and smartphones.

It's good to see all proper information about the artwork supplied. Organising it so that sales are via the artist and not the society makes life a lot simpler for the art society given the need to observe ecommerce regulations and guidelines etc. when selling artwork online.

However whenever you do something new as there's always something you could do better. What follow are comments offered with the intention of

helping to improve the online exhibition with a view to providing more successful outcomes for artists in terms of sales.
highlighting for other societies some of the things to think about when selling online.

Both of my comments relate to the fact this is an ONLINE exhibition and not a normal one in an art gallery.

FRAMED ARTWORK
Artists might want to consider supplying original work matted to a standard size and not framed.

The reason for this are as follows:

The frame is part of what a buyer would pay for (in some instances) but the frame is not on view
The choice of frame is also a very individual choice -(e.g. I detest black frames for botanical artwork and would move on rather than buy an artwork in a black frame. By way of contrast, other people of course love black frames!)
Framed artwork can increase the cost of shipping (i.e. frames increase both size and weight) - and more information about shipping would be helpful.

For more about framing art, see Do frames help to sell art? and today's Framing your artwork - a summary on my Making A Mark blog.

My personal choice would always be to buy matted artwork properly packaged (to professional standards) - and use the money I save on not buying frames from the artist to buy more artwork!

ARTISTS EMAIL
[UPDATE: Problem now fixed - and the email link for every single picture is now very evident! I hope it bears fruit!]

Where is this? I'm puzzled by the instruction to "click on the email link" to contact the artist - but I'm unclear where this is.

Is it the "contact us" link on the website - or was each artist supposed to provide an email - or a link to an online site where they can be contacted? I note that a lot of the artists don't provide any link to their websites or any email information.

This is something that can be remedied easily - and might make a lot of difference to the number of sales.

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Nigel Pickering GM (1957 - 2021)

30/1/2021

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I met Dr. Nigel Pickering at the Private View of the last RHS Botanical Art Show in July 2019 and was very impressed with his exhibit. I came back the next morning and much as I had expected his exhibit - it had been awarded a Gold Medal

Dr Nigel John Pickering with his RHS Exhibit Treasures of the Richtersveld. This drawing is of a Pachypodium namaquanum, the iconic plant of the Richtersveld

Nigel John Pickering came to botanical illustration late in life. He was a qualified doctor who had worked as a General Practitioner, latterly at the of Malmesbury Primary Care Centre. On retirement he studied botanical illustration with Julia Trickey and subsequently joined the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society and Cirencester Botanical Artists.

I met Nigel when he showed for the first time at the RHS Botanical Flower Show in July 2019. I found out that he was very interested interested in botany, plants and conservation particularly in rare and unusual plants 'living on the edge'. (plants of mountains and desert regions). He'd travelled to South Africa for his exhibit of Treasures of the Richtersveld (in graphite and watercolour - in the tradition of Auriol Batten). The exhibit was both very unusual and very striking. He was awarded a well deserved RHS Gold Medal. I had every expectation he's be back with another exhibit as he had very obviously enjoyed the show and I was certainly looking forward to seeing his next exhibit.

He died on 14th January 2021 at home.

REFERENCE:

Gold Medal Succulent Art | British Cactus and Succulent Society - a thread by a member who was very impressed by the exhibit - it includes images of Nigel's work.

Treasures of the Richtersveld - RHS Gold Medal winning exhibit by Dr Nigel Pickering

The end of the show and time to pack up...

This is my third obituary for a botanical artist in the last two months - all relating to people who had been ill for some time - and two relate to artists who exhibited at that 2019 RHS Show.....

At this time of a pandemic, we must always remember that any death for any reason is always so very sad for those who are family and friends of the deceased. I send my condolences to Nigel's family and friends. By all accounts, he was somebody who was very much liked and appreciated by all those who knew him.

The funeral service is private and will be followed by a Memorial Service. Donations welcome for The Brain Tumour Charity or Dorothy House Hospice (see Death Notice)

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Jenny Brasier (1936 - 2020)

6/1/2021

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It's been announced that Jenny Brasier GM passed away at the end of December 2020.

Her achievements in the botanical art world included:

Five Gold Medals (1982, 1988 1989, 1994, 2000) from the Royal Horticultural Society
The Linnean Society gave her the Jill Smythies Award in 2002
Her artwork is included in the collections of the Natural History Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, the Royal Horticultural Society and the Shirley Sherwood Collection
She was one of two contemporary botanical artists whose work was included in the 'Picturing Plants' Exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1995.
Her small paintings on vellum appeared in a number of exhibitions at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery.
She exhibited internationally as well as in the UK - including at the Smithsonian Museum and the Hunt Institute in the USA
Jenny was one of the botanical artist who contributed to the Highgrove Florilegium for the 60th Birthday of HRH Prince of Wales
Past Chair of the Eden Florilegium Society
Founder member of the Society of Botanical Artists in the UK.

Cyclamen intaminatum by Jenny Brasier (Cyclamen intaminatum) Collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum

A study by Jenny Braiser in the collection of the V&A Museum.
"This is a preparatory study for an illustration showing different examples of the cyclamen species painted for publication in the Cyclamen Society Journal. Having produced several working drawings towards the finished plate, the artist decided to record this process by transferring the original work relating to the colour forms of one species--the Cyclamen intaminatum--to a single sheet."
Study Room resource: Botanical illustration | V&A

Jenny Brasier was born on 9th August 1936 in Alvechurch, England and died on 28th December 2020 in East Sussex.

She had no formal training in botanical art. However no less a person than Wilfrid Blunt encouraged her to start painting plants and flowers in her later years and became known for her small jewel like watercolour paintings on vellum.

Her artwork was published in The Art of Botanical Illustration' by Wilfrid Blunt and William Stearn (1994 version):

her pencil drawing of a leaf of Hosta tardiflora faces the Introduction to the 1994 edition and
her small watercolours on vellum of a leaf and an acorn appear below the dedication.
her painting of a Tulip Tree can be found on page 298

"Jenny Brasier is not a professional artist but was encouraged by Wilfrid Blunt and John Whitehead to draw and paint plants (Colour Plate 112); she excels at the portrayal of leaves (see the preliminary pages of this book)."
The Art of Botanical Illustration - page 300

In addition she was well known for her horticultural endeavours and she illustrated Hosta: the flowering foliage plant by Diana Grenfell (1990).

Exhibitions at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art in Kew Gardens include:

'British Artists in Shirley Sherwood Collection' (2017/18)
Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art (2019/20) - see Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art #1: British Artists

"Jenny Brasier’s work is highly versatile and very beautiful with some of her brilliant, jewel-like watercolours on vellum having the intense quality of medieval illuminated manuscripts."
Shirley Sherwood

Cyclamen pseudibericum 1993 by Jenny Brasier - on a sheet of Rory McEwen's Vellum - exhibited at the Modern Masterpieces exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew in 2019

I've moved my summary about Jenny Brasier from the Botanical Artists in the UK page to the 20th and 21st Century Artists page in the History Section.

NOTE: A Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of Jenny Brasier will be held in Cornwall later in the year "when life will hopefully be a little more normal...."

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VIDEO: Watercolour painting of a pomegranate by Lucy T Smith

3/1/2021

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Lucy T Smith was recently asked to do a video for the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
The full film - which is 40 minutes long - was produced as part of their current display of Renaissance Watercolours.

This film was produced for the Renaissance Watercolours display on until April 2021 at the V&A Museum

This is the 40 minute video - enjoy!

Sit back and relax as award winning botanical artist Lucy T Smith paints a watercolour of a pomegranate using traditional techniques.

Lucy T Smith is a highly regarded botanical illustrator who has won a number of international awards.

She has been Freelance botanical illustrator at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for the last 20 years.
She also works on commission.

You can see more of the artwork produced by Lucy T Smith on the following websites:

website http://www.lucytsmith.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/palmsmithy/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Palmsmithy/
Kew Gardens - Meet Lucy T Smith, award-winning botanical illustrator | Kew - Lucy is one of a number of highly skilled freelance botanical illustrators working at Kew to produce line drawings for scientific plant publications.

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Renaissance Watercolours - at the V&A Museum

This display presents for the first time watercolour during the Renaissance as a unified art form, highlighting its versatility and pivotal role in understanding, interpreting and documenting the natural world.

The V&A Museum is currently closed due to the Tier 4 Covid-19 Constraints in London - however you can see a number of botanical works from the Renaissance Watercolours display on the website including:

Watercolour, by Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, about 1575, England. Museum no. AM.3267W-1856. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Daffodils and a Red Admiral Butterfly, watercolour, by Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, about 1575, England. Museum no. AM.3267A-1856. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Citron, watercolour, by Vincenzo Leonardi, about 1640, Rome, Italy. Museum no. E.426-2009. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Lucy and I were planning a visit to see the exhibition just before the covid variant struck and numbers spiked in London. So now it will have to wait until it becomes safer and the Museum reopens.

Note that all visits must be booked when the V&A is open

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About Nirupa Rao - a contemporary botanical illustrator in India

9/12/2020

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Nirupa Rao is a very impressive botanical illustrator based in Bangalore, India. She has generated more press for her activities as a botanical illustrator - and for the importance of plants and tackling 'plant blindness' - than most of her peers around the world.

Her aim is to work toward promoting the cause of science communication, as well as deepening the intersections between art and science. Her work is inspired by regular field visits into the wild, and informed by close collaboration with natural scientists to achieve accuracy.

I highly recommend you watch her TED Talk (see video below) about her work - and how she tackled the illustration of

30 native species of extremely tall rainforest trees of the Western Ghats, in southern India - including the whole tree, its leaves, fruit, flowers and seeds. (Published in Pillars of Life—Magnificent Trees of the Western Ghats (2018). This debut project was undertaken in collaboration with naturalists Divya Mudappa and TR Shankar Raman of the Nature Conservation Foundation.
the fantastical plants of the Western Ghats - through the support of a National Geographic Grant and the Hidden Kingdom Project

A National Geographic Young Explorer, Nirupa received a grant to create her book Hidden Kingdom—Fantastical Plants of the Western Ghats (published in 2019).

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Other activities

In 2019, she participated in a Plant Humanities program at Harvard University's Dumbarton Oaks Research Centre, and was due to participate in a show at their museum in 2020, which has been postponed due to COVID-19.

She recently collaborated with the Centre for Wildlife Studies in India on Wild Shaale ('Wild School' in Kannada), an environmental and conservation-education program designed for rural school-going children, aimed at nurturing interest and empathy toward India’s wildlife and wild places.

one to watch out for in Forbes India - annual 30 under 30 issue

She has also been

During the COVID-19 lockdown, she

recorded art classes to be televised on the national channel Doordarshan, as part of a program coordinated by the Going to School Foundation, and
conducted a workshop for Science Gallery Bangalore's PHYTOPIA exhibition.

In addition, she has illustrated

the cover of Amitav Ghosh's latest novel, Gun Island, and
re-jacketed four of his older novels for Penguin-Random House.

You can find Nirupa Rao as follows:

website: https://www.nirupa-rao.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niruparao/

I'm also adding her into the section about Contemporary Botanical Artists and Illustrators in India (on the page about "Botanical Artists in Asia" Page)

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Remembering Janet Pope

20/11/2020

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Janet Pope with her medal winning exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2019.

I learned last night that Janet Pope MA (RCA), DipAD, FLS, FSBA, CPFGS, IAPI has passed away.

Janet has been very seriously ill in recent years. When I met her with her Potatoes exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2019 we had a very long chat. She knew full well that her condition was terminal and that she had limited time left - and she was VERY determined to make the most of it!

I remember being so very pleased for her that she could get to exhibit one of her favourite subjects at the prestigious RHS Botanical Art Show show - and win a medal. I took a photo of her to record the event - and I think both she and I knew I was very likely to use it in this sort of post.

Her extremely unusual and refreshing exhibit of Potatoes - shoots, roots, skin, flesh - Solanum tuberosum ( ‘Red Emmalie’, ‘Highland Burgundy Red’, ‘Pink Fir Apple’, ‘Violetta’, ‘Shetland Black’ and Salad Blue’. ) can be seen below - and on her website. She won an RHS Silver Medal for her exhibit

Potatoes - shoots, roots, skin, flesh - Solanum tuberosum - by Janet Pope (RHS Silver Medal 2019)

About Janet Pope

I know relatively little about Janet beyond her SBA biography, her website and what I've written about her in the past. She always seemed a very private person to me - but she was also a lovely person to get to know and talk to in the last few years.

Education and Work

Janet graduated from the Royal College of Art London in 1973, followed by a British Council Scholarship for 18 months to study traditional textile arts and crafts in Romania. Returning to England, she started a knitwear company, then a special-interest tour company, followed by a womens’ tailoring business. In 2009 Janet joined a local botanical painting class, which led to the SBA Distance Learning Diploma Course graduating in 2012, and her current interest in botanical painting.

Botanical Art and Illustration

Janet was an extremely skilled botanical artist. She had studied initially for a Diploma in Art and Design and then graduated from the Royal College of Art, London with an MA in 29173. She had also been awarded a British Council arts scholarship to to study traditional textile arts and crafts in Romania. On her return she demonstrated her entrepreneurial flair by establishing first a knitwear company, then a special-interest tour company, followed by a womens’ tailoring business.

Her interest in botanical art was stimulated by a local botanical painting class followed by the SBA's Distance Learning Diploma Course. She graduated from that in 2012

She lived and worked in rural Herefordshire where gardens, orchards and hedgerows provided her with an endless supply of plant material. Her botanical art was painted - with great attention to detail and growth habit - in watercolour.

She was also a

Fellow of the Society of Botanical Artists;
an Artist Member of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society - which is where I saw her last
a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London (elected 2015) and
a member of the Institute for Analytical Plant Illustration.

Below I'm going to record Janet's achievements in the world of botanical art beyond her RHS Medal - and my photos of her exhibits. Janet was never ever one to boast - but I think she was secretly delighted when others recognised and publicly acknowledged her artwork and achievements - and it's in that spirit that I write this post.

Society of Botanical Art Awards and Certificates

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