NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

Botanical Illustration - Books by Bobbi Angell

18/4/2018

Bobbi Angell is a name which is well known to the botanical art and illustration community in the USA - but is maybe less well known further afield.

My contribution to highlighting her contribution to scientific botanical illustration has been to create a new page about two books she co-authored which I think are particularly noteworthy. They were also published 30 years apart in 1986 and 2016. Both are very valued books in my botanical art bookcase.

Botanical Illustration - Books by Bobbi Angell is a NEW page among the group of pages which form a subset of The Best Botanical Art and Illustration Instruction Books

It focuses on:

Botanical Illustration: Preparation for Publication (1986) by Noel H. Holmgren and Bobbi Angell
A Botanist's Vocabulary: 1300 Terms Explained and Illustrated (2016) by Susan K. Pell and Bobbi Angell

The first book is 30 years old but contains an absolute wealth of information and how to prepare botanical illustrations for production and the approaches and materials used for this task

The second book is a book for a wider audience - but also has particular relevance to the student of botanical art, who needs to both understand technical botanical terms - and terms used by gardeners - and appreciate the standards in technical monochrome botanical illustration achieved by those who do it for a living.

READ MORE about them on Botanical Illustration - Books by Bobbi Angell

You'll also find the above books listed on The Best Botany Books for Botanical Artist and Illustrators.

READ MORE about Bobbi Angell on her website or on my page about the top botanical artists in the USA

Bobbi Angell in Vermont

In-depth Reviews of botanical art instruction books ad authors

Certain instruction books or authors receive in-depth reviews - and get a page all to themselves. CLICK the links below to go to those pages.

SBA Books - in-depth reviews

Books by popular botanical art tutors

Technical books about Botanical Illustration

Botanical Illustration - Books by Bobbi Angell

Botany books for botanical artists

Botany for the Artist

Subscribe to BAA News
Blog posts are emailed to you when you
Subscribe to Botanical Art & Artists - News by Email
Your subscription is ONLY activated IF you verify the link in the email you will receive
and you can unsubscribe at any time

0 Comments

Guide to Botanical Illustration using Pen and Ink - in Portuguese

23/2/2018

1 Comment

Rogério Lupo has produced another Guide to Botanical Illustration - this time using pen and ink. The Portuguese title is Apostila Bico de Pena. (© Rogério Lupo 2018 - All rights reserved. Sale prohibited. Free distribution.) The title contains the link to the page where you view it and download it.

His scientific illustration guide to equipment and materials comments on the use of a dip pen nib - which Google translate insists on calling a "feather beak" - but basically a nib which flexes when pressure is used so as to produce fine lines of different thickness and character.

HOWEVER it is not yet translated into English. I think he's hoping to get this done later this tear

So if you can read Portuguese you're fine.

If you're prepared to use Google Translate to read a bit at a time it's also fine (you can see what I made of it below!). It's a bit odd - but you can get the gist of what he's saying.

Apostila Bico de Pena de Rogério Lupo

Below are the two descriptions of the Guide in Portuguse and Google Translate English.

Guia de curso com informações completas sobre os bicos de pena mais especializados para traços precisos usados na ilustração científica. São tratados assuntos como marcas de bicos, de tintas e papéis, procedimentos para seleção do material na hora da compra, restauração, cuidados, exercícios e tudo que se precisa saber para começar a conhecer e praticar.

Course guide with complete information on the most specialized pen nozzles for precise strokes used in scientific illustration. Subjects such as nozzle marks, paints and papers, procedures for material selection at the time of purchase, restoration, care, exercise and all that one needs to know to get to know and practice are treated. (according to Google Translate)

Note that Google Translate takes the portuguese he uses and translates the word as

"nozzle" which is a term we more usually associate with a technical pen
or "beak" - it comes up sometimes a "feather beak"

rather than a specialist nib which is typically used with a dip pen holder. This is just Google Translate rather than Rogério!

20 of the 40 practice strokes using pen and ink recommended by Rogerio Lupo and provided as examples at the end of his Guide ( © Rogério Lupo 2018 )

What I like about the Guide

Note - this was all identified using Google Translate!)

What I like about this Guide is that he discusses:

buying a pen nib and very precise detail about what to look out for to get a good nib which will behave well
different brands by name and how he finds them
the best brands of paper to use for pen and ink illustration - and he comments on Bristol (plate) paper he likes and those he does not (the ones which are too abrasive on the end of the nib).
the best quality ink to use - and his recommendations plus how to keep the ink hydrated
how to protect the point of the nib
how to preserve the nib on good condition - and the use of alcohol for cleaning and the purpose of a pen wiper
how to test nibs before purchasing them - including how to test for blade crossing - this is the truly fastidious bit for the real pen and ink fan. There's a nice bit where he displays how to detect splay in the end of the nib and whether the cut is central or not.
how to sand and polish nibs to improve the flow or restore their use
what to do when the ink won't flow (the "departure problem")

He then moves on to the use of the pen

how to train yourself to deliver parallel strokes - which includes tips on breathing!
he provides some examples of pen strokes to practice. His list of 40 pen strokes is precisely explained as to what each demonstrates

All in all it's a lot more information than is often available - written by somebody who is fastidious about the use of the kit he uses for illustration. I'm a huge fan of those who really care about the quality of the materials they use - and want to share what they know with others.

You can obtain the Guide from Slideshare (as with his Graphite for Scientific Illustration Guide) - just click the link in the title. As before to access the free download you will need to be logged in to an account with Slideshare or a Linked In account also gives you access to download

You can also follow his announcements about new classes and guides on Facebook by following his Facebook Page Rogério Lupo - Ilustração Científica.

Read more about Botanical Illustration Tips: Pen and Ink on this website

Subscribe to BAA News
Blog posts are emailed to you when you
Subscribe to Botanical Art & Artists - News by Email

1 Comment

Botanical Art Seminar at RHS Botanical Art Show 2018

14/12/2017

2 Comments

Those visiting the RHS Botanical Art Show in July 2018 have the option of also attending the first Botanical Art Seminar to be held at the same time as the show.

The Botanical Art Seminar is being organised by the RHS Lindley Library Team.

What follows is an explanation of

how to plan attending the seminar in the context of the RHS Botanical Art Show.
how to book ticket(s)

First the context....

RHS Plant and Art Fair (10-12 July 2018)

From 11–12 July 2018 this London Show will celebrate the beautiful world of botanical art with an exhibition of paintings, illustration and photography from inspiring artists.

The brand new RHS Plant and Art Show 2018 - which now combines both RHS Botanical Art and RHS Botanical Photography - has changed dates. In 2018 it's being held on the following dates:

10th July 2018 (late 5pm - 9pm - no under 16s)
11th July 2018 (11am - 8pm)
12th July 2018 (11am - 6pm)

Tickets are available now via the RHS website - make sure you pick the right show as the link goes to all the RHS London Shows in 2018. The cost is

£5 for members (in advance or on the day) and it's
£8 in advance and £9 on the day at the door for everybody else.

But before you buy a ticket do check out the Botanical Art Seminar below!

I've had my show tickets booked for weeks - and I will be there on all three days so that I can get round everybody properly! (I will not forget in a hurry the year 13 Gold Medals were awarded and I had to try and interview them all for my blog posts about the RHS Botanical Art Shows!)

RHS Botanical Art Seminar (12 July 2017)

The RHS Botanical Art Seminar will explore the history and contemporary practice of Botanical Art - and is is limited to 72 places - and bookings have started!

I asked the RHS for more details this morning, so some of what is included below is not on the website

Key Features of the Seminar

The ticket price of £60 includes:

entrance to the RHS Plant and Art Fair throughout the day.
Sandwich Lunch - served in the Lawrence Hall Refectory at lunchtime
Evening Drinks reception - in the Lindley Library with invited artist demonstrators and exhibitors from the Botanical Art Show.
Tea and coffee - available during the afternoon in the Lawrence Hall Refectory.

The timetable is as follows:

10am - Registration starts
10.30am - Seminar starts
12.15-1.15pm - Lunch
5pm - Seminar finishes
6pm - RHS Plant and Art Fair closes at 6pm
6pm - 7.30pm - Drinks reception in the Lindley Library

Those attending the Seminar are asked to arrive between 10- 10.30am to register for the day and receive their wrist bands. These wrist bands will then allow them (but nobody else) access to ALL of the following:

A series of Talks in the morning - including ‘A History of Botanical Art’ by the RHS Lindley Library Art Curator. Speakers include RHS Art Curator Charlotte Brooks, Botanist Dr James Compton and RHS Gold medal-winning artist Masumi Yamanaka.
A tour of the RHS Lindley Library in the afternoon - which hopefully will include viewing some of the very special art in the RHS collection. NOTE: People need to register in the morning for a library tour in the afternoon. There will be four sessions of up to 18 people each, lasting approx. 30 mins - and no 'drop-in' access to the tours. Every ticket must be pre-booked.
visit the RHS Plant and Art Fair - see the RHS Botanical Art Show - each of the 40+ artists from around the world will be displaying a minimum of six works that will have been assessed by the Picture Panel for RHS Gold, Silver Gilt, Silver and Bronze Medals. A very educational experience for those hoping to submit in future!
View master-class demonstrations by four botanical artists including RHS Gold-medal winners, demonstrating various techniques in watercolour, pen and ink, pencil and painting on vellum. Visitors will be able to speak to the artists as well as watch them work. The artist demonstrations will take place in one of the rooms in the Conference Centre (i.e. not in the Botanical Art Show).

Location of activities: Activities will be held in the Lindley Conference Centre, the Lindley Library and the two Horticultural Halls - the Lawrence Hall and the Lindley Hall. Those with their seminar wristbands will be able to pass through the set of double doors - manned by security - between the entrance to the RHS and the Lindley Library (in Vincent Square) and the Lindley Hall where the Botanical Art Show is held (entrance in Elverton Street).

It's certainly possible to see both the Botanical Art Show and attend the Seminar - but to my mind it's a little bit of a tight squeeze.

However if you want to visit with a view to a future submission to the show and/or are a really serious botanical art fan you might want to think about very seriously about having a BOTANICAL ART BINGE and attend on two days not just one (Botanical Art Show on the 11th and Seminar on the 12th). i.e. most fans typically spend at least 3-4 hours seeing the show and the trade stands (which will include most if not all those offering botanical art courses). It's very easy to spend all day there! I never ever regret going back the next day!

That might bump the price up for those not living in London. However, in my opinion, this is an absolutely unequalled opportunity to see an abundance of top quality world class botanical art by both contemporary botanical artists from all over the world - and past masters.

If artists can fly in from all over the world to exhibit at this show, why not think about the benefit to you of investing some time visiting it for yourself - and getting some education at the same time?

View of the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2017

2 Comments

Half a million pageviews!

2/11/2017

0 Comments

This is a big THANK YOU to all those botanical art fans who have

become regular visitors to Botanical Art and Artists and
use this site as the resource it was intended to be when I set it up back in early 2015.

Number of monthly visits and pageviews since April 2015 when BA&A started

Recently, I realised that, since it started in April 2015, Botanical Art and Artists has now topped:

half a million page views (560,107 as of today to be precise) since April 2015
more than 400,000 unique visitors to the site (400,913 as of the time I'm writing).

In 2017, the monthly site traffic averages to date have been:

20,000 visitors
28,000 pageviews

and the overall trend (apart from the summer months) is ever upward

A new traffic counter

I never include counters until I've got something to 'toot my horn' about - and the achievements in terms of visits and pageviews felt like something worth tooting! My second big thank you is to Statcounter who worked out for me how I could include their counter code in the right hand column of my blog (and on the home page).

Why do I count?

Some of you will know that I qualified as an accountant (after I qualified as a teacher!). I spent most of my career involved in analysing numbers.

So, when I retired and started writing about art, it was entirely normal for me to use traffic stats to tell me whether or not what I was on the right track with what I was doing with my blogs and websites! I get instant feedback and I do like a nice upward trendline! ;)

Google analytics data on geographical reach for the last 90 days

My website traffic stats tell me

what interests you and what doesn't - in terms of traffic to individual webpages and blog posts
what the reach of a site is in geographical terms which is also very interesting and also helps tailor content - hence why I've focused on developing global content for every continent!

What amazes me is that Botanical Art and Artists is now actually accelerating in traffic faster than Making A Mark was at the same age! (MAM is coming up to 12 years old - and its next big milestone towards the end of this year will be 12 million pageviews)

How do I count?

I've got two ways of counting traffic on the site. I've always done this because it means you have a back-up if anything stops working

I use Statcounter as it provides an easy access / quick overview of my traffic stats - plus a very useful counter
I use Google Analytics as it provides depth in a much more analytical way - but is less friendly with respect to communication on the site - although it's beginning to get better!

Why is this of interest to readers?

Two reasons. I depend on people telling me about:

botanical art exhibitions in different countries around the world
botanical art diploma and certificate courses - and other workshops/courses around the world

What you can see from the stats is that having your information on this website means an awful lot of people get to see that information.

Those botanical art societies and botanical gardens that send me information PLUS AN IMAGE about their botanical exhibitions also get a free blog post about it as well as a listing on the exhibition pages!

I'd certainly RECOMMEND anybody who is trying to promote their botanical art and/or exhibitions and/or courses to get a grip of your traffic statistics and use them to refine how you promote your content.

Subscribe to BAA News
Get every blog post emailed to you when you
Subscribe to Botanical Art & Artists - News by Email

0 Comments

Amber Halsall and Angeline de Meester demo at Great Art

28/9/2017

0 Comments

Angeline de Meester with her painting "Botanic symbiosis ‘December’ Clematis vitalba climbing on hawthorn Crataegus monogyna" at the British Botanical Artists exhibition in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery (2017)

Two FREE botanical art demonstrations are scheduled next week at the GreatArt store in the heart of Shoreditch - at 41-49 Kingsland Road, London, E2 8AG on the 3rd and 4th October 2017. (Store hours 10:00 to 19:00)

Amber Halsall and Angeline De Meester will be at the store, one on each day, for a day's residency to demonstrate contemporary botanical art techniques and brief you about their tips for effective paintings.

These residencies have been organised in partnership with The Society of Botanical Artists, ahead of their annual open exhibition 'Changing Seasons' which opens on the 13th of October at Central Hall, Westminster.

I know both artists and they're both extremely competent and experienced teachers. I'm absolutely positive you'll find both very helpful in answering any of your queries about botanical art.

Amber Halsall at Florum 2016

0 Comments

Beth Chatto Gardens & Nursery

15/9/2017

0 Comments

Annie Hughes once gave me an important RHS Gold Medal winning tip - a botanical artist needs to find a good grower who specialises in a niche interest.

In other words, if you want to produce a great painting you need to have a great plant in good condition - and a grower who is both knowledgeable about the plant and can supply what you need.

I visited the Beth Chatto Gardens - just east of Colchester on Wednesday. She is one such grower.

About the Beth Chatto Gardens

Part of the Water Garden in front of the bungalow home of Beth Chatto

The gardens are located around the bungalow which is the home of Beth Chatto. She started to create the gardens in 1960 when her husband retired and they moved to a new bungalow built on land which had been part of her husband's former fruit farm but not considered suitable for growing as parts were too dry (the area has a low annual rainfall) while other parts were too boggy and water did not drain away.

She started her garden in what was essentially an overgrown wasteland which included both parched gravel and boggy ditches!

Beth Chatto OBE (b.1923) is now a plantswoman renowned for:

winning ten RHS Gold Medals for her unusual plants
having a mantra - "the right plant in the right place" based on her husband's research into the origins of different plants
developing a practice with underlying principles now commonly referred to as "ecological gardening"
creating a world renowned gravel garden as an experiment to find plants which would survive in a dry environment without ever watering them
developing a garden with specific areas for different plants. The garden now comprises the Gravel Garden, Woodland Garden plus a Long Shady Walk, Water Garden, Scree Garden and recently opened Reservoir Garden.
developing a Nursery selling plants for the different growing conditions found within her garden. The garden is now the living catalogue for the Nursery sales!
writing books and lecturing about her plants around the world.

A list of reasons why the gardens might interest botanical artists

0 Comments

The Best Botanical Art Instruction Books - UPDATED

13/9/2017

0 Comments

The Best Botanical Art and Illustration Instruction Books is the section on my website which I've devoted to developing a guide to the best instruction / "how to" books available for students and practitioners of botanical art and illustration.

There's an awful lot of books out there.

Some are well known. Others are not.
There are brand new books available at a bargain and out of print books which can only be obtained second hand at a very significant cost
Some new books have overtaken old standards.
Some older books still hold up well against newer ones that challenge their reputation.
Different books will interest different folks.

I hope you'll find my guide useful. Maybe bookmark it for later - or even link to it?

There's more below explaining how this guide to the best instruction books for botanical art and illustration actually works.

A guide to the best "how to" books for creating botanical art and illustration for students of botanical art and and those wishing to develop their knowledge and skills

What does this guide have to offer?

What I've tried to do is:

identify all the main books worth taking a look at - but I've not finished yet.
group these into areas of specific interest (see below)
provide in-depth reviews for some of the books - but I've got more to do!

As a guide I've also included the average ratings out of 5 stars for each book (in the UK and USA). Plus a guide to how to interpret these ratings as they are various factors - detailed in my guide - that influence how many ratings a book has got to date.

Some of my "how to" instruction books

These are the sections on the main page

The Society of Botanical Art Books developed by Margaret Stevens for the Diploma Course students. The three main ones each also have a detailed review on a seperate page - just click the teal coloured button to access this.
Books about botanical art and illustration - using Graphite and Coloured Pencils - four books by Ann Swan, Wendy Hollander, Sue Vize and Katie Lee
Books about Scientific Illustration - and using pen and ink - including the book considered to be the scientific illustration bible; the first book about botanical illustration ever published by Kew - which sets out how to draw for Curtis's and an old but very comprehensive and authoritative handbook
Books by leading Botanical Artists and Educators - including books by Anne-Marie Evans and Coral Guest
Books by Billy Showell - see dedicated page
Books By Rosie Martin and Meriel Thurstan (the Eden Project) - see dedicated page
Books about Botanical Painting in Goauche

I've still to develop sections for books by American Artists and Australian Artists (not otherwise included above).

These are the books or groups of books with a dedicated seperate page
for more detailed reviews

The Art of Botanical Painting by Margaret Stevens
The Botanical Palette by Margaret Stevens
Botanical Sketchbook by Mary Ann Scott and Margaret Stevens
Books by Billy Showell - four very popular books of relevance to botanical artists
Books with the Eden Project (Martin & Thurstan)
Botanical Illustration (Oxley) by Valerie Oxley
Botanical Painting with Coloured Pencils by Ann Swan
Botany for the Artist by Sarah Simblet (also see note below re. botany books)

The Best Botany Books for Botanical Artists and Illustrators can be found in the Botany section of the website. These are books written specifically to help educate artists about botany and include:

Understanding the Flowering Plants: A Practical Guide for Botanical Illustrators by Anne Bebington
Botany for Artists by Lizbeth Leech
A Botanist's Vocabulary by Susan K. Pell and Bobbi Angell

Some of my 'botany for artists' and botanical illustration books

More Books

Books also relevant to those wanting to learn more about botanical art and illustration can also be found in The Best Books about Botanical Art History, Artists & Illustrators.

Besides the dedicated pages, I've also included books about botanical art and illustration - including "how to" books - with appropriate related content on various pages of my website.

Subscribe to BAA News
Get every blog post emailed to you when you
Subscribe to Botanical Art & Artists - News by Email

0 Comments

<<Previous