NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

Nigel Pickering GM (1957 - 2021)

30/1/2021

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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40th Anniversary of the School of Botanical Art & Illustration at Denver Botanic Gardens

9/11/2020

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This is a lovely video about the activities of the School of Botanical Art & Illustration at Denver Botanic Gardens. It was made to celebrate:

its 40th anniversary
the 30th anniversary of its certificate program.

I think it must be the oldest botanical art school in the world. I'm hard put to think of one which is older. (Any suggestions?)

Below is the video on the (public) Facebook Page for the SBAI but if you prefer to view on YouTube this is the link

The video highlights how the School is only the third group to win an RHS Gold Medal (in 2017) in the history of the Royal Horticultural Society - and I was extremely pleased to be able to photograph Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski, Ph.D., D.Sc. at the time. Mervi led the School as Manager for the last 13 years until her retirement earlier this year. Much of what I have admired about the School has been down to initiatives by Mervi.

I'm looking forward to meeting up with her again when Covid lets her husband and her embark on their retirement tour of Europe!

Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski, Ph.D., D.Sc. with the RHS Gold Medal winning exhibit

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REFERENCE LINKS: The School of Botanical Art & Illustration at Denver Botanic Gardens

If you'd like to know more about the School these links tell you a lot.

WEBSITE: https://www.botanicgardens.org/education/school-botanical-art-illustration
FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/SchoolOfBotanicalArtAndIllustration/
BLOG: Botanical Illustration - which has always been open access in the past but now seems to be open to invited people only. (I'm rather surprised as I always thought his blog did the most amazing job of marketing both the school and its Diploma in Botanical Illustration and Foundation Certificate.

For educational organisations interested in submitting an exhibit to the RHS Botanical Art Show as a Group, can I refer you to:

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Roses by Rosie Sanders

14/8/2019

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Next month, in September 2019, the award-winning and best-selling artist Rosie Sanders has:

an exhibition opening of 20 new botanical paintings in watercolour at Jonathan Cooper's Park Walk Gallery in Chelsea
a book being published

Rosie Sanders has been awarded five Gold Medals for her botanical art by the Royal Horticultural Society, has been regularly exhibited in various exhibitions at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, Kew Gardens, and has exhibited at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University and has work in their collection of botanical art.

She is renowned for creating very large paintings of flowers in watercolour.

Rosie Sanders: By Any Other Name

Rosie Sanders: By Any Other Name
Venue: Jonathan Cooper, Park Walk Gallery, 20 Park Walk, London, SW10 0AQ
Dates: 26th September - 12th October 2019

Rosie has been exhibiting with Jonathan Cooper since 2002 and it is a mark of a very successful and best selling artist that in general she has a solo exhibition at his gallery every other year. Latterly these have coincided with the publication of a new book (see below)

This exhibition will include 20 new paintings - with most included in her new book. I'll be visiting this exhibition and writing a review - with images - late in September.

The exhibition will focus primarily on the beauty of the rose, and will feature many of the works included in the publication Rosie Sanders’ Roses: A celebration in botanical art, which will be released by Batsford in September 2019.

Gallery hours are 10 am – 6.30 pm (Monday to Friday) and 11 am – 4 pm on Saturdays.

You can see some of the images of her paintings which will be in the exhibition on her Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/rosiesanders.4apple/

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Rosie Sanders' Roses - a celebration in botanical art

Rosie Sanders' Roses: A celebration in botanical art is due to be published on 5 September 2019 by Batsford.

This NEW BOOK is a follow up to her very popular and successful book Rosie Sanders' Flowers: A Celebration of Botanical Art, also published by Batsford in late 2016 (UK) and early 2017 (USA).

I predict this one will be every bit as popular - if not more so - than the last. One of the most popular "how to" query about flower painting on Google is "how to paint a rose in watercolour" which generates over 90 MILLION responses.

This book focuses just on roses - however it's not a "how to" book.

It's introduced by an introduced by an extended essay on the resonance of the rose as a timeless motif - all across the world - in our art, literature, poetry, folklore and gardens.
it contains over 80 stunning paintings and sketches are shown for the first time
the text sitting next to the image of her painting includes the text from the personal letter which explains the creative and emotional process she went through to create it.

I've not seen a copy yet but I've no reason to suppose it won't be just as good as the last one which was very highly rated.

ORDER THIS BOOK

Rosie Sanders' Roses: A celebration in botanical art from Amazon UK
Rosie Sanders' Roses: A Celebration of Botanical Art from Amazon.com

These are affiliate links if you order using these links to help me pay for the cost of this website.

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RHS Botanical Art Show #3: Medals Awards and Feedback

26/6/2018

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This is the final post in my short series of posts about the RHS Botanical Art Assessment Process. Today's post covers:

how Judges decide the colour of a medal at an RHS Botanical Art Show
how the Best Exhibit and Best Painting in the show are determined
how feedback is provided

The three posts are

Seeking approval to exhibit (24 June)
The Judges and the Judging Process (25 June)
How the colour of the medal and additional awards are decided + Feedback (today's post)

What follows are:

my questions (in green) followed by responses from the RHS Picture Panel
odd comments from me (in italics)
images of RHS Gold Medal Winners who have also won either a Best Painting or Best Exhibit award.

Bridget Gillespie who won a Gold Medal for "Root Vegetables: Lifecycle" and Best Painting in Show 2017 for "Beetroot Beta vulgaris". Next month she's back with another exhibit!

How does the RHS scale standards and criteria
- so they know whether they are looking at different levels of 'performance' and what colour of medal they are looking at in terms of the particular and overall?

When judging, the Panel will look at each exhibit at least twice, sometimes three times, to ensure there is parity between the medals being awarded. There is a lot of discussion and each member votes on the medal to be awarded.

A Gold medal exhibit has to be outstanding in all areas and really have the ‘wow’ factor.
A Silver-Gilt medal is a very high award and still an exceptional achievement. In many cases a Silver-gilt will have only been missing a couple of elements that meant it was not quite a Gold.
The Silver medal will usually have numerous areas for improvement.
A Bronze medal is rarely awarded as the standard is generally so high, but it may be awarded if the artist has really only achieved one or two elements from the criteria.

NOTE (my comment): You will recall from my post RHS Botanical Art Show #1 Approval to Submit that the Picture Panel are expecting those approved to exhibit to be capable of achieving a Silver Medal. Thus an artist achieving a Bronze Medal has either misunderstood what was required or fallen short of expectations in a significant way.

Julie Nettleton (Australia) with her "Best Painting in Show 2016" titled "Xanthorrhoea and marsupial mouse". She won her Gold Medal for "Xanthorroea (Grass Trees)"

Which are "the really important bits" of the criteria?

It is all important and contributes to make the RHS shows unique.

High quality artistic skill must be coupled with botanical and horticultural understanding, correct plant names and well-presented pictures.

If any one of these elements is compromised, it lets down the whole exhibit.

For our audience, botanical art is another way of appreciating and understanding plants, therefore the information that is presented should be as accurate as possible, both visually and in written form.

The best botanical artists serve as advocates for the art form as well as for the plants they paint.

Mariko Ikeda (Japan - Tochigi) won Best Exhibit in Show 2017 with her six watercolour paintings of Pandanus (screwpine) on vellum. Her watercolour paintings were mounted on a board (unframed and unmatted) and a clear perspex sheet was fixed in front of each

The crowds around the Best Exhibit 2017 of Pandanus by Mariko Ikeda (Japan)

In reaching decisions about "Best Painting" and "Best Exhibit" what is "the best"? Can it be described?

Both of these categories are selected from the exhibits that won a Gold medal.

They are ‘show specific’ and so mean the exhibits are judged comparative to those around them, as distinct from the Gold medal that serves as an absolute standard.
The Best Exhibit is given to the one that the judges agree was outstanding in all areas,
The Best Painting is for the individual painting that stands out as exemplary.
These are voted on as the last thing the judges look at.

What happens if somebody produces an outstanding exhibit in all but one respect?

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RHS Botanical Art Show #2: The Judges and Judging Process

25/6/2018

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This is the second three posts covering RHS Picture Panel responses to my questions about the assessment process relating to the RHS Botanical Art Shows.

The three posts are

Seeking approval to exhibit (24 June)
The Judges and the Judging Process (TODAY'S post)
How the colour of the medal and additional awards are decided + Feedback (Tuesday 26th June)

I asked an awful lot of questions and the answers run to five A4 pages - hence the three blog posts!

Exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2017 - summarising the purpose of the show and the assessment process

The Judges and the Judging Process

Below you can find the questions I asked and the responses I got from the RHS Picture Panel Secretary. I've edited the format of the latter slightly (e.g. paragraphs/bullet points) to make it more readable online.

Who is involved with the judging? What experience and expertise do they bring to assessment?

The judging Panel currently includes experienced practising botanical artists and teachers, botanists, an art collector, horticultural experts and garden writing editors.
We are always looking to make sure we have the right combination of skills.

Gillian Barlow has been the Chair of the Panel for over 10 years and continues to be a respected botanical artist. She brings a wealth of experience as a practicing artist, a previous gold medal winner and a judge.

Along with other members of the judging panel, Gillian is supported by Deborah Lambkin and Helen Allen, both of whom are also practicing artists and teachers.

How are standards and criteria defined by the RHS Picture Committee - for the guidance of those assessing each year?

The judges take into account the following criteria, which is a summary of the guidance, rules and regulations detailed in the Botanical Illustration Exhibitor Factsheet (557kB pdf) :

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RHS Botanical Art Show #1 Approval to Submit

24/6/2018

A little while ago I asked the RHS whether they could provide some detailed answers to questions about various aspects of assessment relating to the RHS Botanical Art Show which are of interest to

those wanting to submit to a future RHS Botanical Art Show
those exhibiting this year or in future - and
all those wanting to know how to win a Gold Medal AND maybe a Best Exhibit or Best Painting Award.

The RHS have very kindly responded with some very informative answers to my questions via Charlotte Brooks, the Secretary to the Picture Panel.

I asked an awful lot of questions and the answers run to five A4 pages!
So I'm going to post all the questions and answers over three days as follows:

Seeking approval to exhibit (today - see below)
The Judges and the Judging Process (tomorrow Monday 25th June)
How the colour of the medal and additional awards are decided + Feedback (Tuesday 26th June)

I'll also be including images from past Botanical Art Shows and the information will also be included on my website page about the RHS Botanical Art Shows.

Every artist must be able to present six artworks forming a high quality, unified and consistent exhibit of botanical art. This photo of the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2016 includes three Gold Medal winning exhibits.

Assessment: Approval to Submit

Before you can exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show you must be approved to exhibit.

How this works:

the next section provides the RHS response to my question about what those assessing your application to exhibit are looking for
followed by my summary explanation of how you can submit an application for approval to exhibit.
More information about the RHS Botanical Art Shows on the RHS and Botanical Art and Artists websites - for those who want to find out more.

How does assessment work at the initial "approval to submit" stage?
What are you looking for?

What follows is what the RHS told me (i.e. their words).

The Selection criteria are similar to the judging criteria, but at this stage the judges are principally looking at the artist’s technical skill and the quality of their botanical illustration. Although the judges will also offer feedback on other areas if there is something that stands out as being particularly well executed, or if there are things that should be avoided.

The criteria are summarised as follows:
• Quality of botanical illustration
• Quality of the presentation
• Overall impression

The pieces that are submitted should demonstrate good draughtsmanship and the artist’s ability to handle form, texture, colour, tonal range.

The horticultural and botanical content in the pictures is also important (e.g. life-cycle stages / magnifications / habit), as it distinguishes a work as being a piece of botanical illustration.

Although artists do not have to submit the work they intend to exhibit, the submission should be representative of the overall quality of their work.

Artists are encouraged to send in examples of their best and most recent work.

If an artist works in more than one medium, for example graphite and watercolour, but is unsure which to exhibit, the judges may offer feedback on which of the examples they consider to be stronger.
The exhibit should be consistent, not a mix of pictures executed in watercolour, graphite, coloured-pencil or gouache.
However, if an artist chooses to create their work in a combination of graphite and watercolour, this is permissible.
The overall exhibit must be unified.

RHS Botanical Art Show February 2015 - BEFORE the new white Exhibit Boards were introduced. The number and size of artwork exhibited remained the same!

The feedback given at Selection stage is intended to help guide artists with any further planning and work they may wish to undertake.

We see a range of artists submitting

some are already very experienced with a high level of skill;
other artists are very much at the beginning of their journey and may need more tuition before exhibiting with the RHS.
In some cases artists are self-taught and so may be seeking support in their work but are not ready yet to exhibit.

The judges are looking to see whether the works submitted would reach a minimum standard of a Silver Medal.

If you've not yet submitted an application for approval to exhibit, you should also read the next section - based on guidance from the RHS,

Exhibiting artists at RHS Botanical Art Show 2018

28/2/2018

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These are the names of the exhibiting artists at the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2018. This year the show has changed dates and instead of February is now one between 10th and 12th July 2018 - at the RHS London Plant and Art Fair at the RHS Lindley Hall, SW1P 2QW and the RHS Lawrence Hall SW1P 2QD

Tickets are on sale now - I've already got mine!

View of the RHS Botanical Art Show 2017

RHS Botanical Art Show Exhibitors July 2018

There are 44 exhibitors in total which (I think) is a lot more than in previous years. There is going to be some serious competition - there are a number of former Gold Medal Winners (former RHS Gold Medal Winners have GM after their name).

In addition, so far I've counted at least two former winners of Best Painting (Bridget Gillespie in 2017 and Hideo Hirokoshi in 2015) and one artist who has won best exhibit twice (Hye Woo shin in )

I'm listing the exhibiting artists by country of origin to demonstrate the worldwide appeal of this very prestigious exhibition. Nobody else requires exhibitors to produce six high quality artworks on a theme. I highly recommend that those wanting to exhibit with the RHS in future visit the exhibition if they can - and if they can't take a look at my blog posts about previous exhibitions. (see the end of this blog post for more information)

The number per country is as follows:

19 x UK + 1 group
7 x Japan
4 x Korea
2 x Italy
2 x New Zealand
2 x Turkey
1 x Australia
1 x Austria
1 x Brazil
1 x Hong Kong
1 x Thailand
1 x USA

UK (19 artists and 1 group)

Sarah Howard at the 2016 Show with three of her six Horn of Africa Aloes which won her a Gold Medal

Vanda Adamson - exhibited French hedgerow flowers and fruit in 2015 and won a Silver Bedal
Margaret Bickerton - Won a bronze medal in 2016 for Artichokes
Christina Hart-Davies GM - I have one of her paintings hanging in my home! She has three previous Gold Medals for paintings of mosses and lichens plus an RHS Gold Medal and a World Orchid Conference Bronze for paintings of European and Australian Terrestrial orchids
Bridget Gillespie GM (Best painting RHS 2017) - Bridget has been a botanical artist since 1992 Last year she won a Gold for her exhibit Root Vegetables Life Cycle and won the Best Painting in Show award for her beetroot. She has two previous Gold Medals for plums and pears. She's currently featured on the RHS page about this year's show. Bridget teaches botanical art at the Helmsley Walled Garden in Yorkshire
Maureen Hallahan - (Note: I'd ignore the reference to membership of the RHS on the first page. I'm a member of the RHS because I pay my subscription. I suspect she means working towards a place in the exhibition.)
Pam Hargreaves - Note: website seems to be dead
Sarah Howard GM (2017- Sarah was the illustrator for the Flora of Ethiopia & Eritrea 1997-2000. She completed the RBGE Diploma in botanical illustration in 2014. In 2015 she won a a Silver Gilt at BISCOT and in 2016, she won an RHS GM for her Horn of Africa Aloes. (see my interview with her)
Sarah Jane Humphrey - Has a degree in BA(Hons) Scientific and Natural History Illustration and success in translating her paintings in commercial products. Published her fist book age 21 and has a track record of a steady commissions. She's represented by the Wildlife Art Company. She won a Silver Gilt Medal in 2017
Catherine Kellie - Commended at BISCOT for an exhibit of Spring flowers
Michael Lakin - Has been teaching botanical art for over 12 years. Author of a number of "how to" botanical painting books
Christianne Lim - no website
Nicola Macartney - In 2012 Nicola graduated with distinction from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh's Diploma in Botanical Illustration
Maggie Niagassas - Graduated from the SBA Diploma in 20108. Awarded an RHS Silver Medal for six watercolours of Streliztia Reginae in 2016.
Janne Richardson - Graduating with a BA Honours Graphic Design in 1980, she specialised in Medical & Scientific Illustration. In 2014 she graduated with Distinction from the RBGE Diploma Course
Surjit Riyait - no website
Laura Silburn GM (2013, 2014) - Laura is a Fellow of the Eden Project Florilegium Society. She won a gold medal Varieties of Hardy Geranium that have received the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 2013 and in Oct. 2014 won a Gold Medal and the Best in Show Exhibit for Aristolochia species from botanic gardens in England. Read her interview with me in 2014 which includes a link to her interview in The Plantsman about painting the hardy geraniums which he a Gold Medal in 2013.
Sylvia Sroka - member of the South West Society of Botanical Artists
Fran Thomas - Fran won a Gold Medal and the for best exhibit at BISCOT 2017
Simon Williams - Simon is the Director of the Society of Botanical Artists's Distance Learning Diploma Course
South West Society of Botanical Artists (SWSBA) - formed in 2006 to promote and encourage a high standard in botanical art throughout the South West of England. We had an excellent group exhibit that won a Gold Medal last year. Can SWSBA equal this performance?

Laura Silburn GM with three of her watercolour paintings of Aristolochias of British Botanic Gardens Laura is viewing her two paintings which were purchased by Dr Shirley Sherwood

Americas (2 artists)

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