NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

Two NEW exhibitions at Kew (Oct 2023 - April 24)

16/10/2023

Two new exhibitions open at the end of this week at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew

Mat Colishaw - Petrichor - which includes premieres of new artwork
Young Botanical Artist - following the competition held by the Shirley Sherwood Collection in liaison with Kew Gardens.

You can find summaries of both below. I'll be writing reviews of both after I've seen them.

The exhibitions open on 20th October 2023 and continue until 7th April 2024.

Mat Colishaw - Petrichor

Mat Colishaw is a 57 year old English artist who works in photography and video. His work includes the creation of digital artworks using NFT and AI. He became well known when his work first surfaced as part of the Young British Artists group in the late 80s.

The Petrichor exhibition at Kew will dominate Galleries 1-5 and

showcases new commissions alongside existing works,
draws on an array of evocative imagery from the natural world.
includes sculptural installations, using a variety of pioneering techniques to explore the relationship between the natural world, art history, and how representations of nature in art can impact the way in which we see the world around us.

You can also see more about the Petrichor exhibition on his website.

“Bringing Mat Collishaw’s innovative work to the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art is hugely exciting, and this exhibition promises to be an evocative and wonderfully unique experience, unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the gallery before. Drawing inspiration from the natural world and the tradition of botanical art, Mat’s use of cutting-edge technology alongside the innovations of the past makes this exhibition a tantalising prospect for visitors to Kew this autumn.”
Maria Devaney, Galleries and Exhibition Leader at RBG Kew

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Two International Botanical Art Exhibitions

31/12/2022

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I've been remiss, for various reasons, in not highlighting two international exhibitions at the end of 2022 on this blog to date. These are:

ASBA: 25th International Exhibition - at Wave Hill (finished 30th December 2022)
SBA: Online Plantae 2022 (finishes 3rd January 2023)

One of the reasons is that they were held by two long standing and prestigious botanical art societies who do an excellent job of promoting their exhibitions, member artists and the artwork in an exhibition online via Facebook.

However to maintain a record, I'm writing this post to record those who participated.

25th International Exhibition
American Society of Botanical Artists

Website: 25th Annual International Exhibition (including The artwork)
Facebook Page: American Society of Botanical Artists
Facebook Group: ASBA Members

Some of the artwork from the 25th International exhibition displayed on the ASBA Facebook Page - in individual posts

44 artworks were selected from 200 entries submitted by ASBA botanical artist members from around the world. Artists in the exhibition are from the US, Canada, Czech Republic, France, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, and the UK. Eleven have never been in an ASBA International exhibition.

The Exhibition was held at Wave Hill between 19th November and 30th December 2022.

THE ARTISTS

Artists included are:

Aislinn Adams,
Anastasiya Arvest,
Margaret Best,
Claudia Campazzo,
Hyunjin Cho,
Mary Crabtree,
Jesssica Daigle,
Mary Dillon,
Crystal Driedger,
Jean Emmons,
Akiko Enokido,
Christiane Fashek,
Ingrid Finnan,
Jane Fisher,
Lara Gastinger,
Gaye Grossman,
Damodar Lal Gurjar,
Diane Harm,
Albina P. Herron,
Asuka Hishiki,
Wendy Hollender,
Vincent Jeannerot,
Katy Lyness,
Lucy Martin,
Angela Mirro,
Sandy Morrison,
Keiko Nibu Tarver,
An Suk Park,
Sengmany Phommachakr,
Dr. Dick Rauh,
Betsy Rogers-Knox,
Kathy Schermer-Gramm,
Kaori Shimura,
Liz Shippam,
Kim Spink,
Maryna Stasyuk,
Anna Suprunenko,
Faye Van Wert,
Catherine Watters,
Kerri Weller, and
Carol Woodin.

THE AWARDS

Wave Hill Best in Show Award $500
Mary Dillon Abundance Punica granatum ‘Nana’ Watercolor on paper

Eleanor Wunderlich Award $500
Damodar Lal Gurjar Papaya Tree Carica papaya (Tempera on paper)

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Award for a Print or Drawing $500
Kathy Schermer-Gramm Common Blue Violet Viola sororia (Graphite on paper)

Honorable Mentions

Jean Emmons: Full Tilt Boogie Iris, Iris “Full Tilt Boogie’ Watercolor on vellum
Lara Call Gastinger Winter Meadow Daucus carota, Rhus copallinum, Andropogon virginicus, Agrostis sp., Phragmites sp. Watercolor on vellum
Katy Lyness Oh! My Darlin’! Triptych Citrus x clementina Colored pencil, watercolor, and gouache on paper
Lucy Martin Madrone Branch Arbutus menziesii Gouache and watercolor on paper
Liz Shippam Madresfield Court Grapes Vitis vinifera ‘Madresfield Court’ Watercolor on paper

THE JURY

Eileen Jeng Lynch, Curator of Visual Arts, Wave Hill,
Karen Kluglein, botanical artist, and
John Pastoriza-Piñol

The ASBA also organised a Virtual Artists Talk about works in the exhibition - which you can see on YouTube (see above)

The Catalog for the Exhibition is available from the ASBA website

Society of Botanical Artists

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Video: Illustrating the night time blooming water lilies

5/7/2022

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Lucy Smith at her desk in Kew - with a giant water lily bud she's just dissected

(below) Further to yesterday's post A NEW Giant Water Lily - discovered and illustrated by Lucy Smith, some of you may be interested in video of some of the challenges of illustrating water lilies

Channel 5 have been collaborating with Kew Gardens to create an excellent series called Kew Gardens - A Year in Bloom which aired for the first time last year 2021. It's about the work of the gardens - and the people who work within it - who of course include botanical illustrators.

Episode 3 included a section on the work of Lucy Smith, one of Kew's freelance botanical illustrators, and the challenges she has faced when trying to get specimens of giant water lilies to draw and then paint.

This YouTube video (below) - posted by Channel 5, is has been compiled from extracts from Episode 3 of their series and is called "Trying to catch the night-time bloom of the Waterlilies"

In it you see:

the Waterlily House at Kew Gardens - completed in 1852 and designed specifically to showcase the giant Amazon waterlily (Victoria amazonica)
the Kew Herbarium (where seven million preserved vascular plant specimens are kept) and the Library
Lucy Smith at her desk in the building dissecting a very fresh giant water lily bud - being careful to avoid the prickles - and then explaining how it works for the purposes of reproduction

and here's the bud - and you can see how big it is from Lucy's hand behind it!

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A Royal Signature Painting for the Platinum Jubilee

2/6/2022

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The RHS Libraries Page on Facebook has released a new Video which:

features Gillian Barlow, Chair of the Panel which judges RHS Botanical Art Shows
as she explains the process of how she created a new "Royal Signature" painting to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II.

A new Royal Signature

A "Royal Signature" is a painting created to commemorate the signature of a member of the Royal Family who was a Patron or Fellow of the RHS.

The Royal Horticultural Society have commissioned several of these paintings in the past which are now contained in the Archives of the RHS Lindley Library. The very first painting was completed in 1816. There is of course a very long history of various Royals who have been interested in plants and gardens - and the Queen has attended almost all the RHS Shows during her 70 year reign.

The RHS commissioned this latest painting from Gillian Barlow, who has produced two of the previous signature paintings in the collection. The intention was to mark the unique occasion of the Platinum Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II - who was crowned 70 years ago today!

The Platinum Jubilee Signature Painting

This is an excellent video of the process of creating the painting, which RHS Libraries have posted on Facebook

One of the requirements of the brief was that it should include as many plants as possible from RHS Wisley and other RHS gardens.

Gillian Barlow is especially well suited to the creation of Royal Signature Paintings. Besides being a very accomplished botanical painter she has also been a Herald painter at London's College of Arms for over 30 years. Hence, she's very well experienced and skilled in painting coats of arms.

The process included:

sketching plants from life and using past sketches of suitable plants
producing five "roughs" of possible designs which had to include the Royal Coat of Arms and the required words of the inscription
developing a watercolour painting on vellum - which started with the painting of the Royal Coat of Arms which took three days
commissioning the calligraphy for the banner inscriptions from a calligrapher at the Royal College of Arms.

Finally, the video shows Gillian with the Royal Signature Painting at the recent RHS Chelsea Flower Show being presented to the Queen in relation to the new painting.

Gillian Barlow with the new Royal Signature Painting to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee being presented to HM Queen Elizabeth II at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022

READ MORE NEWS ABOUT BOTANICAL ART AND ARTISTS

An exhibition of Royal Signature Paintings

I well remember the year when the RHS Botanical Art Show included a display of some of the Royal Signature Paintings - and somewhere I've got photos of them!

You can see of the Royal Signature Paintings near the beginning of the video - as Gillian studied them in developing ideas for how she might design the latest commissions.

The Facebook post (but not the website as yet) indicates that there will be a display of Facsimiles of the Signature Paintings at the three main RHS Libraries at Vincent Square, Wisley and Harlow Carr.

Facsimiles of the signature will be on display at the Lindley Library in London, RHS Garden Harlow Carr Library and RHS Garden Wisley Library in Hilltop throughout this month.

NOTE:
The book about The Illustrated Flora of Britain and Northern Europe - which you see in the first few seconds of the video - is also in my library and was illustrated by Marjorie Blamey who died age 101 in September 2019. You can read more about her and find out more about her very useful book on my 20th Century Botanical Artists page

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TALK: Yanny Petters in conversation

5/11/2021

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A Verre Eglomisé painting in 'Field of Vision'

There's a video of Yanny Petters - in conversation with Art historian Jean Ryan - in the midst of Yanny's current solo show of Verre Eglomisé paintings at 'Field of Vision' at the Olivier Cornet Gallery in Dublin. (details below)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: In conversation with Yanny Petters (YouTube) 58 minutes - it's absolutely fascinating!

Jean Ryan and Yanny Petters

She talks about

all the various influences on her work ranging across art history.
the history and techniques of Verre Eglomisé paintings
how different materials allow her to create art in different ways
her approach to painting plants in different formats - and how she likes painting both big and small - including a drawing on a roll of paper nearly 3 metres high.
how she approaches drawing and design when her work is contained by a specific format
making work for her exhibition during lockdown
why the glass for the paintings are the same format as a glass slide

A Verre Eglomisé painting in 'Field of Vision' - the paintings are on glass which is the same format as glasswork microscope slides

The exhibition includes 75 small Verre Eglomisé paintings proportionally similar in shape to glass slides used in the old microscope. Each plant is drawn from nature, a selection from the myriad wild plants growing on about half an acre, native plants which all too often go un-noticed, but which are part of delicate and precious habitats. They include spring flowers like Celandine, Primrose and Cowslip, summer flowers such as Bluebell, Foxglove, Poppy, Forget-me-not and Clover as well as autumnal favourites like Bramble, Rowan and Hawthorn.

Tomorrow is the last chance to see the exhibition - for those in Dublin.
All visitors are asked to book a slot that suits them before coming to the gallery.

Tomorrow is also an opportunity to meet Yanny. Saturday 6 November when a Finissage will be held for the last day of the show. Yanny will be at the gallery from 2pm to 5pm. Please book a 30-minute timeslot by emailing the Gallery.

Exhibition: 'Field of Vision', botanical treasures in focus, a solo show by Yanny Petters
Venue: Olivier Cornet Gallery
3 Great Denmark Street, (beside Belvedere College, off Parnell Square), Dublin 1
Dates: 10 October - 06 November 2021

Each painting is 21cm x 8.5cm on 4mm glass and involves acid etching, drawing, painting and gilding in the technique of Verre Eglomisé. The back of each panel is gilded to cast a glow behind the plant, emphasising its preciousness, making that which is considered common more exquisite. The paintings are presented in groups of three reflecting the season, their habitat or their relationship with each other, capturing their delightful vivacity.

MORE ABOUT YANNY PETTERS

Yanny Petters is a botanical artist from County Wicklow in Ireland. She works exclusively from life, either in her studio in Glendarragh, Newtownmountkennedy, County Wicklow, or out in the midst of her subject's habitats. Yanny paints in a variety of media, including oils and water colours, and she produces exquisite drawings and fine art nature prints. She also specialises in Verre Églomisé, or painting on glass, an old and rare technique she has been developing and adapting to suit her plant portraits since her years working as a sign writer in the 1980s. Her paintings are in a number of important collections including the Dr. Shirley Sherwood Collection at Kew Gardens, London, and the Office of Public Works in Dublin. She is a member of Visual Artists Ireland, the Irish Society of Botanical Artists (ISBA), the Water Colour Society of Ireland and the Dublin Painting & Sketching Club.
Website: https://www.yannypetters.net
More about Verre Églomisé (paintings on Glass) https://www.yannypetters.net/verre-églomisé
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YannyPettersBotanicalArtist
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/yannypetters
Yanny is represented by The Olivier Cornet Gallery, Dublin.

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VIDEO: How to paint like a botanical artist

3/5/2021

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Lucy T Smith, one of the botanical artists at Kew Gardens, who both works with the botanists and also provides tuition in botanical illustration, has created a new video.

How to paint like a botanical artist is a simple introduction to the process of botanical painting using watercolour. It provides a step-by-step guide on how to paint the perfect Primula flower.

Find out what equipment you’ll need, how to highlight the important details of your flower, and tips for bringing a botanical painting to life.

The painting is on YouTube and lasts just under 30 minutes
RBG Kew has very helpfully supplied indicators as to what comes up when in the video.

Timecodes:

00:00 - 00:20 - Intro
00:20 - 00:31 - What you'll need
00:31 - 02:25 - Preparation
02:25 - 03:55 - Painting the outline
03:55 - 04:54 - Adding initial details
04:54 - 07:55 - Laying down washes
07:55 - 09:56 - Mixing & painting the yellows
09:56 - 11:07 - Mixing & adding the orange details
11:07 - 12:21 - Mixing & painting the green stigma
12:21 - 13:18 - Building the colour using a dry brush technique
13:18 - 14:16 - Adding in another wash
14:16 - 15:27 - Mixing & painting darker colours
15:27 - 18:29 - Adding fine details
18:29 - 18:51 - The finished painting
18:51 - 19:20 - Why botanical art is important
19:20 - 19:29 - Outro

More about Lucy T Smith, her artwork and videos

Lucy T Smith tlking about creating botanical art - including botanical watercolours - at the Worldwide Day of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens in May 2018

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 her videos in my blog posts as follows

VIDEO: Watercolour painting of a pomegranate by Lucy T Smith (January 2021)
Kew Video: What is Botanical Art? (April 2019)
Lucy Smith filmed by BBC News (2018)

You can see more of her artwork 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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Exploring the Future of Botanical Image Making with Laurence Hill

24/1/2021

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HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Yesterday I sat down in front of my television - switched to YouTube, found the Linnean Society YouTube Channel - and watched an excellent video about "Exploring the Future of Botanical Image Making | Laurence Hill" - which you also can see below. It's

a slideshow video with LOTS of images and commentary by Laurence
followed by a discussion via Zoom with questions asked by those who watched it in real time.
one of their Lunchtime Lectures series

Below you can find out

why I'm highly recommending this video
where you can find out more about botanical photography
where you can find out more about the work and botanical images of Laurence Hill

Our digitally connected world is profoundly image led yet the practice of botanical image making, and types of image commissioned is little changed in several hundred years. Laurence Hill uses examples from the Fritillaria Icones Project, to look at structuring images for online use and wider uses within botanical science and science communication.

I've known Laurence for some time - having first met him at the RHS Show in 2014 where he was exhibiting his botanical photography about Fritillaria. He is a botanical researcher who happens to take photographs to reveal different ways of recording plants. (see below)

He is always pushing the boundaries and thinking about new ways in which botanical images can tell stories and be more accessible to help others tell their stories.

The reason I'm highly recommending this video to botanical artists is that some of the things Laurence has to say will, I know, stimulate some artists into rethinking what they are doing in terms of drawing / painting / displaying / sharing images of plants. It's that basic. Laurence challenges the traditional and asks us to consider ways in which the effort employed might be made informative and useful and tell stories and help people understand the world we live in rather better. I'd be very surprised if there was no change in practice as a result of all the botanical artists watching this video.

Note: One of the good things about the Linnean Society is they've been recording lectures via video for some time. I also recommend a meander through the content on their YouTube Channel

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More about botanical photography

You can read more about botanical photography on the following pages on my Botanical Art and Artists website

HISTORY: Famous Botanical Photographers
CONTEMPORARY: You can find Notable contemporary botanical photographers on my page about people working on other media - Botanical Printmakers, Photographers, Sculptors and Digital Illustrators

More about Laurence Hill

In simple terms I photograph plants and share them with others but by applying a set of carefully considered rules these photographs have a value which goes beyond this unassuming act. For more than a decade I have used digital technologies to explore new ways of recording and presenting botanical science and I am particularly interested in how a systematic photographic approach can produce new insights. Similarly how digital image ‘sets’ as voucher specimens will enhance and extend the value of research. We need to consider how we present, link and verify digital data and the Fritillaria Icones website is my contribution to this emerging field.

Laurence Hill with his intensely botanical and extremely well presented exhibit of Fritillaria affinis and a discussion and demonstration of plant variability relative to the agreed taxonomic description of one species of a wild plant

You can read more about Laurence Hill and his digital photography as follows

website: http://www.fritillariaicones.com/ - his photographic botanical database to help with the identification, research and conservation of Fritillaria. This is an Open Access web based resource, available to anyone anywhere regardless of means and without the need to travel to various libraries and herbaria.
Laurence Hill has won RHS Gold Medals for Botanical Photography as follows:
- 2014 - Kobaimo - Japanese Endemic Fritillaria - Reflections on the RHS Botanical Art Show Autumn 2014
- 2017 - Deconstructed Fritillaria (Click to download PDF (19.2MB) of images) - see RHS Awards for Botanical Photography 2017
- 2018- Species Boundaries: Fritillaria affinis - see RHS London Botanical Photography Show 2018 - Awards and Medal Winners

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