NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

Society of Botanical Artists: Plantae 2024 now online

3/6/2024

This year the Society of Botanical Artists have opted to have an ONLINE EXHIBITION in place of an annual exhibition in a gallery.

This post is about how you can see it - by thumbnail, artwork or artist!

ABOUT PLANTAE 2024

Plantae 2024 is now available to view online - until 30th June 2024.

To view the artworks you need to click the link in the TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER of the website. I found it takes rather a long time to load - but that's doubtless due to the very many images of artwork which you can see online!

You have the option to:

view by artist - which, if you have favourite artists, avoids having to page through to find your favourites. At the end of this blog post, you can see a list of all the participating artists
view by artwork - each artwork has a page to itself - and this also provides a bit more access to information about the artist (if they've provided it).
view by Thumbnail which enables you to see the range of artwork on display online

You can also view the artworks created by the students and graduates of our Distance Learning Diploma Course - on a completely seperate page on this link DLDC Plantae Gallery 2024

If you are interested in purchasing any of the artwork on display, you need to contact the artist direct via the "Enquire about this artwork" button. Note that there are variations in what's on offer:

some are selling originals drawings, paintings or fine art print - framed or unframed
some are also selling reproduction digital prints - for a very reasonable sum

Thumbnail images of some of the artwork being exhibited in SBA Plantae 2024

Participating Artists

The names of the participating artists are listed below - in alphabetic order of their (last) surname. I've taken the liberty of changing the order of some of the names (currently out of sync with the alphabetical order) so they can be found more easily

You will see that:

not all are members of SBA - and I've emboldened all those who are Fellows of the SBA
there's a LOT of international artists - with a strong bias towards those from South East Asia
many are names well known from past SBA Annual Exhibitions
some are being VERY self-effacing - as in the ones who have won an RHS Gold Medal (and MULTIPLE RHS Gold Medals!) I feel like outing them by putting their GMs in the list!
and some are very new - and hence participating for the first time.

PLUS I've spotted a number of names of artists who are participating in this year's RHS Show which opens next week (see my last post Artists exhibiting at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2024)

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SBA Plantae 2022: Award Winners

21/6/2022

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This post is the first of FOUR about the annual exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists. which took place last week at the Mall Galleries in London

These are

today's post - which is about the botanical artists receiving awards at Plantae 2022 the 2017 Annual Exhibition of It includes images of the artwork receiving awards and more information about the artists (links to their websites are embedded in their names).
tomorrow's post is about those awarded a Certificate of Botanical Merit
Friday's post is about those awarded a Certificate of Exhibiting Excellence
finally, Sunday's post will be a review of the exhibition as a whole and a commentary on its most recent development (I've been reviewing this exhibition since 2006!)
subject to caveat - see below.

For every award I'll be linking to the botanical artist who received the award and including some brief bio details and an image of the artwork which merited the award.

BELOW the various awards are divided into three categories

Society of Botanical Artists Awards
Monetary Awards
Awards sponsored by art materials companies

NOTE: Apologies for the delay in posting about the exhibition but a very close relative has been seriously ill and I've been very much preoccupied with other matters.

Society of Botanical Artists Awards

These are awards which originate within the Society of Botanical Artists and members past and present. Often as a memorial to a particular member.

Five watercolour paintings by Billy Showell in Plantae 2022 (except for the middle on right)

Suzanne Lucas Memorial Award in Recognition of Services to SBA
Billy Showell and Gael Sellwood
Recognition for the person who has given outstanding service to the Society, their name(s) is inscribed in the Memorial Book named after the first President of the SBA.

Billy Showell and Gael Sellwood are the immediate past Co-Presidents of the SBA and have been stalwarts of the team of members who make things happen behind the scenes for a number of years. They were certainly a permanent feature of the exhibition team for as long as I can remember.

For six years they served on SBA Council together and for 3½ of those they were the Co-Presidents. In doing so they both made a serious commitment to supporting both botanical art and artists via the SBA while having active careers as artists and art teachers.

They are both, of course, also well known and prizewinning botanical artists and teacher of botanical art. Both have moved further away from the home counties near to London to more rural areas in recent times. Billy has moved into the deeper depths of Kent and Gael has relocated both home and studio to Somerset.

Hornbeam by Agita Keiri

Joyce Cumming Presentation Award
Hornbeam by Agita Keiri
Silver Plate for botanical work; Certificate for the winner | Chosen by the SBA Council

Agita Keiri was born in Latvia and now lives and works in Edinburgh. Her background is not typical of botanical artists.

She's followed a traditional art school education and subsequently focused on portraiture.
Her art education included the Latvian State Academy of Art, Painting department (enrolled 1997, Bachelor's degree 2001, Master's degree in 2003).
In 2011 she completed Caravaggio master class at Angel Art Academy in Florence, Italy.
In 2018, she completed the Society of Botanical Artists distance-learning course diploma with distinction.
Since 1997 her work has been seen in numerous group exhibitions in Latvia and internationally including Artexpo New York (2010), the Florence Biennale (2011), BP Portrait Award 2011 at the National Portrait Gallery, London. In 2013, she received the second prize in ARC Salon International competition. (See also my blog post Review: BP Portrait Award Exhibition 2011 where Agita gets a mention

As a botanical illustrator, she's now been exhibited by the SSBA - where she won the Sponsor (Cass Arts) Prize in 2019 and the SBA. You can see more of her botanical illustrations on her website

Clearly Agita Keiri is one to watch for the future!
You can follow her on https://www.instagram.com/akeiri_art/ and http://www.keiriart.uk

Banksia grandis by Lynne Uptin

Margaret Granger Memorial Silver Bowl
Banksia grandis by Lynne Uptin
Silver Bowl for the best work or body of work by member elected in the last two years; Certificate for the winner | Chosen by Council

Linda Uptin is a resident of Tasmania in Australia. She trained at the National Art School Sydney and had a career as a leading illustrator in Sydney (13 years) then owned art galleries and art studios. She was also Director of Arts Tasmania, the State’s arts funding body, for 20 years and was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2010 for services to arts administration.

Linda was awarded a Distinction for her SBA Diploma and also won the Award of Excellence for the highest overall marks on the Course.

She is particularly interested in the distinctive Gondwanan plants that were isolated as Tasmania broke away from Antarctica 40 million years ago and uses her Gondwana mobile studio to travel to research and paint plants in Tasmania.

Presidents Award
Phoenix dactylifera #1 by Suha Kim.
Certificate for the winner | Chosen by the current President(s)

Suha Kim is a botanical artist from Korea who is currently based in the UAE. She is an SBA Fellow. She works in watercolour who is from Korea and has previously participated in the International Botanical art Korea Competition and was also selected for the online SBA Exhibition in 2020.

Joanne Craig-McFeeley Rose Bowl
Carroway (73) by Guy William Eves
Silver Rose Bowl for a true botanical piece of work; ; Certificate for the winner | Judged by an external Judge

Guy has been an exhibiting member of the Society of Botanical Artists since 2011 and has received numerous awards and recognition for his meticulous botanical illustrations in graphite. He also exhibits with Florilegium Groups, notably the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society and the group which illustrated the garden at the Royal College of Physicians. Royal College of Physicians

Monetary Awards (sponsored)

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Marianne Hazlewood: Fine Hair, Soft Nibs - Depictions from a Shady Bed

23/10/2020

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Tomorrow is the last day of Marianne Hazlewood: Fine Hair, Soft Nibs - Depictions from a Shady Bed exhibition at the Open Eye Gallery, 34 Abercromby Place, Edinburgh EH3 6QE.

It's just made the "hot list" Guide in The Times printed in Scotland - in the visual arts category.

This is a solo exhibition by Marianne Hazlewood of

one plant - Ariseamas - and
- 6 botanical watercolour paintings - a series which won an RHS Gold Medal in 2019.
- 12 Japanese ink paste drawings - botanically correct illustrations with a distinctly abstract and contemporary quality; and
- 5 screenprints - exploring a third medium for her passion for Arisaemas.

plus

6 watercolour paintings of ferns (Dryopterus, Asplenium, Phlebodium and Platycerium)

You need to book to gain access to the exhibition. The exhibition is open until 5pm tonight and then from 11am to 4pm tomorrow.

In addition the online exhibition is also comprehensive and provides excellent thumbnails and (if clicked) larger images of her artwork. It will also remain online under previous exhibitions after it closes in the Gallery.

READ Fine hair, Soft Nibs, depictions from a shady bed by mariannehazlewood to find out more about the exhibition. The link embedded in the title shows you the virtual exhibition - with details of titles, media, sizes and prices.

The exhibition arises out of having Marianne having won the VAS 2019 Open Eye Gallery award in 2019 - see Marianne Hazlewood wins award at Visual Arts Scotland - Alight 2019

Marianne Hazlewood with her series of six watercolour paintings of Arisaemas - at the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2019 when this exhibit won a Gold Medal.

More about Marianne Hazlewood

Website https://www.mariannehazlewood.co.uk/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mariannehazlewood/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Marianne.E.Hazlewood/
My blog posts
- RHS London Botanical Art Show 2019 - Awards and Medal Winners (July 2019) - when Marianne won her first Gold Medal (I'm sure there will be more)
- Marianne Hazlewood wins award at Visual Arts Scotland - Alight 2019 (February 2019)
- Marianne Hazlewood in Society of Scottish Artists Exhibition - opens TODAY! (December 2018) - one of a very few botanical artists who exhibits in the annual exhibitions of national art societies which show a range of fine artwork.
- Marianne Hazlewood - first solo exhibition (August 2018) - at the Pittenweem Festival on the coast of Fife in Scotland.
- RBGE Diploma Graduation Show 2017 - where Marianne won the the Eve Bennett Award for Botanical Illustration (September 2017)

PS With profuse apologies to Marianne for not posting this earlier!

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Call for Entries: Society of Botanical Artists' Annual Exhibition 2020

16/12/2019

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The Call for Entries for Plantae 2020 - the Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists has been published. Below you will find a summary of:

what you need to know if you want to enter
the deadline for entries
how to enter
the exhibition - venue and dates

plus pics from last year's exhibition

Call for Entries

You can find the details of how to enter on the dedicated website https://soc-botanical-artists.oess1.uk/

The SBA invites you to submit your best work!

Exhibiting excellence in every botanical art form

In summary:

Eligible media (2D): paintings and drawings in watercolour, oils, gouache, graphite, colour pencil, pen & ink and hand-pulled fine art prints,
Eligible Media (3D): ceramics, metalwork and glass
Ineligible media: giclee reproductions; photography; digital art.
Eligible artists: botanical illustrator, fine art printmaker, sculptor, ceramic artist, glass artist and jeweller
Size: Maximum dimension is 120cm on the longest side.
Content Criteria: Wholly original artwork with strong "wall appeal" which must have predominantly botanical content which is accurately represented.
For Sale: all artwork must be for sale.

You can view my photos of previous Society of Botanical Art Exhibitions on this page

Submissions of work are invited from visual artists working in any two or three-dimensional artwork except for photography, digital artwork or giclee printing (or similar).

View of part of the 2019 Exhibition at the Mall Galleries

You need to consult the Entry Requirements and the timeline for entries. (Comments in italics inside brackets are my additions!)

Submission is by online entry only. You need to read the Entry requirements first.

Timeline

Deadline for Entries: 29 February 2020 Midnight
Notification of selection decision: 17 March 2020 by artist logging in to website
Delivery of artwork: 18 April 2020 from 10am to 5pm (to Carlton House Terrace in London)
Collection of unsold artwork: Thursday, 11 June 2020 from 11am to 5pm

Selection

All artwork is work is pre-selected based on a voting system
8 people on the selection panel voting independently of one another
No correspondence will be entered into in relation to feedback and the selection process decisions are final.

In essence the pre-selected artworks are those which achieved the highest number of votes from the panel members, who vote independently of one another and who cannot see the scores of the other panel members.

All pre-selected works are ALSO subject to physical selection on hand in day.
Work may be rejected at physical selection stage (after delivery) due to the quality of the work, presentation or if the work does not represent or match the digital image.

How to enter

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Exhibition: Hedgerow: Stories from a linear world by Yanny Petters

31/10/2019

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HEDGEROW, stories from a linear world is a new solo exhibition of new work by Yanny Petters. Yanny is a well known botanical artist in Ireland and also a Gallery Artist at The Olivier Cornet Gallery in Dublin

“Since childhood I have loved and observed hedgerows. Whenever we kids went rambling along the lanes of our neighbourhood, to pick flowers or blackberries or just wandering to each other’s houses, we wondered at the secrets within these linear worlds...”
Hedgerow, stories from a linear world by Yanny Petters

Her work raises awareness of the wild plants of Ireland - revealing them as an evolved species living in symbiotic harmony in ancient habitats rather just a bunch of weeds.

The exhibition comprises drawings and paintings of the Hedgerow, an iconic element of the Irish countryside. These are:

a series of Verre Eglomisé paintings of hedgerow silhouettes in Gold leaf and pigment
a series of seasonal paintings in watercolour on Arches Paper (see top image)
a series of black pencil drawings of the linear nature of the hedgerow

The Black pencil drawings and the 'Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter in a Hedgerow' series are also available as Archival pigment ink prints on watercolor paper, in a limited edition of 10 each only.

Gallery: Olivier Cornet Gallery, 3 Great Denmark Street, (beside Belvedere College, off Parnell Square) Dublin 1.
Dates: 13 October - 17th November 2019
Hours: Tuesday to Friday: 11am to 6pm (till 8pm on Thursdays); Saturday and Sunday: 12 noon to 5pm. Closed on Mondays (or viewing by appointment only)

Visit the exhibition's page the gallery website for images and more information

Below is what the gallery looked like as they got ready for the opening of the exhibition.

All is ready at the @OC_Gallery for the opening of Yanny Petters’ solo exhibition at 3 pm today. Do join us pic.twitter.com/dvf4blllbG
— OlivierCornetGallery (@OC_Gallery) October 13, 2019

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Yanny Petters, 'Elder, stile, gorse and the sheep gap', black pencil on conservation board (80x120cm). Available as an archival pigment ink print on w/c paper, in a limited edition of 10 each only (40x60cm), Unframed: 175 euro, Framed: 295 euro. @OC_Gallery is open till 5pm today pic.twitter.com/JEbnODfFVI
— OlivierCornetGallery (@OC_Gallery) October 28, 2019

About the hedgerow in Ireland

Increasing concerns about both a changing climate and the need to protect biodiversity means that hedgerows need to cherished for the health of our future generations.

The hedgerow goes back a long way in history. It both divides and holds together the rich habitat that remains after our forests were cleared. Land boundaries can be traced back to Neolithic times and the circa-12th-century Townland boundaries are the country’s longest standing land divisions.

Hedgerows also serve as windbreaks, to shelter our livestock, reduce soil erosion, aid drainage and provide homes for beneficial predators who protect our food crops from pests.

At a time when farming practices are changing in scale, many of these valuable hedgerow habitats are being removed and scrubbed out of existence. New hedges can be planted but ONLY the ancient hedgerows can support up to 3000 organisms from flowers and trees, birds and animals to insects and microscopic creatures.

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Plant Cure - in collaboration with Brooklyn Botanic Garden

8/10/2019

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from the catalogue for Plant Cloud Brooklyn

Margot Glass - one of the artists whose work is being exhibited in the 16th International at the Hunt - wrote to tell me about another exhibition, in New York, which also includes her work.

EXHIBITION: Plant Cure/Brooklyn
CENTRAL BOOKING in collaboration with Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Venue: Humanities Gallery, Long Island University Brooklyn,
1 University Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Dates: September 3 - December 13. 2019
Hours: Monday to Friday 9am - 6pm
Catalogue (available on MagCloud): Plant Cure/Brooklyn Catalog

Plant Cure project continuing with group exhibit of medicinal plant-themed work. Five artists, who were artists in residence at Brooklyn Botanic Garden in the spring of 2019 are joined by additional artists working with the them of medicinal plants. Exhibit includes four watercolors and two ceramic sculptures, which were inspired by research during the Brooklyn Botanic Garden residency. Additional exhibit/project-related events upcoming.
Central Booking

Margot Glass Dandelion Field Samples, 2019 12 drawings on panel, dimensions variable

One of Margot's small dandelion drawings is being exhibited. One of her drawings also appears on the cover of Plant Cure Brooklyn exhibition catalogue published by the New York Academy of Medicine and Central Booking. It is the cover image for the Plant Cure Brooklyn catalogue as well.

Another is currently being exhibited in the 16th International Exhibition of Botanical Art at the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation in Pittsburgh. I guess I'm probably going to be meeting Margaret next week at the Artists' Reception!

The Plant Cure project began in 2017 with a collaboration of CENTRAL BOOKING with the New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM), a research library with extensive medical and science collections. Five artists were chosen by Maddy Rosenberg for Artists in Residence at NYAM to research their work for an exhibition in CENTRAL BOOKING’s space. Various documentation of their process was also displayed in vitrines in the NYAM library. Fourteen additional artists were curated into the CENTRAL BOOKING exhibition and were involved with programming as well.
News from Central Booking

The other artists participating in the exhibition are: Desiree Alvarez, Cynthia Beck, C Bangs, Marisa Benjamin, Tessa Grundon, James Martin, Agnes Murray, Maddy Rosenberg, Susan Rostow, Sarah Stengle, Kate Temple, Amanda Thackray, May Ting and James Walsh.

This is Tessa Grundon's exhibit about Medicinal Plants and creating tinctures of a place

Publicity for the Plant Cure Brooklyn Exhibition - with Margot Glass's drawing in the background

ABOUT MARGOT GLASS: Margot Glass grew up in New York City, and studied art at The Art Students' League, Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design, and Fashion Institute of Technology. Her work explores the ephemeral through still life, nature and botany, text and communication. She has exhibited widely in New York and elsewhere in the USA. Her work is on the front cover of exhibition catalogue and the "Magic Plants" Summer 2019 edition of Orion Magazine. Glass works in graphite on paper and also adds gold, using a stylus to carefully apply gold particles to her prepared paper - making it impossible to erase any mistakes.

"Margot Glass focuses on drawing grasses, weeds, and other plants considered mundane or undesireable to illuminate the hidden beauty in overlooked natural subjects, elevating them through close examination. Her choise to work in gold point and graphite allows for the play of light on the line to enhance the ornamental delicacy and ephemeral quality of the natural forms she draws."
"Magic Plants," Orion Magazine, Summer 2019

ABOUT CENTRAL BOOKING: A place for artist's books and prints and their integration into the larger art world; group exhibitions on art & science; related programming.

ABOUT BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN: A 52 acre botanical garden in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. Founded in 1910 and located in Mount Prospect Park, next to Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Museum

I'm visiting for the first time next Sunday!

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Illustrated College Herbal Exhibition at the Royal College of Physicians

21/8/2018

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I do like a botanical art exhibition which takes us back to the roots (and leaves, berries and flowers) of the original rationale for botanical illustration - within books about recipes for medicines.

A two week exhibition at the Royal College of Physicians comprises:

the ORIGINAL paintings from the recently published book The Illustrated College Herbal: Plants from the Pharmacopoea Londinensis of 1618 (see my Book Review: The Illustrated College Herbal. Plants from the Pharmacopoea Londinensis of 1618 for the history behind the project
treasures from the Herbarium of the Pharmaceutical Society.

The exhibitions are open from:

Tuesday 21 August – Friday 24 August, 10am–5pm
Tuesday 28 August – Thursday 30 August, 10am–5pm

Below you can find out more about

Illustrated College Herbal Exhibition - and pics of paintings and artists
the Artist in Residence project
The Herbarium Exhibition
The Pharmacopaeia Londinensis and the Medicinal Garden
Exhibitions & Medicinal Garden: Who's who
More about Physic & Medicinal Gardens in London

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