NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

RHS Silver Medals - Botanical Art Show 2022

21/4/2022

This is about the botanical artists and illustrators awarded an RHS Silver Medal at The RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show - on display at the Saatchi Gallery until 29th April 2022.

My two previous posts covered:

There will be one more post about the Botanical Art Show in which I will comment on themes and learning points from the exhibits

RHS Silver Medals for Botanical Art 2022

These are the RHS Silver Gilt Medallists , listed in alphabetical order by country.
UK

Georgia Danvers - Making the invisible visible
Jane Goodson - Aeonium
Yolande Muschamp - A Gloucestershire Hedgerow
Shirley Slocock - Lucian's Herbarium revisited
Wendy Smith - Running to Seed - flower seed heads

USA

Hyunjin Cho - The anatomy of flowers

Below is a profile of each artist - based on information available online.
If the artist has a website or social media site a link to this is embedded in their name.

The Anatomy of Flowers by Hyunjin Cho

Hyunjin Cho - The anatomy of flowers

Exhibit.
Her paintings show the complete flowering process from first bud to full bloom. Anatomical details are shown in a U shape below the flower, echoing the shape of a fetus in a womb

About Hyunjin Cho (First time Exhibitor)
Lives and works in California, USA. She has previously exhibited at Filoli and ASBA 24th Annual International Exhibition of Botanical Art

Georgia Danvers - Making the invisible visible

Exhibit
Her exhibit explored the diversity in structure and colour in pollen grains, relative to the plant. She collaborated with Professor David Twell who sourced and grew the plants and supplied images of the pollen from a high definition electron microscope at the University of Leicester's Department of Genetics and Genome Biology. Her exhibit comprises 12 artworks

a small painting of a macro view of the pollen grain and
a very small painting of the flower (life size?).

Both artworks lack a scale on the artwork - although the level of magnification is indicated on the label for the pollen grain.

The decision to paint pollen grains too much research and thought. To paint something which is invisible to the naked eye, to capture is structure, form, beauty, colour and shape was a deeply exciting project.

Making the Invisible visible by Georgia Danvers

About Georgia Danvers
Based in Leicestershire and trained in botanical illustration at Leicester College. Former Chair of Leicester Floral Artists Society. Previously awarded an RHS Silver Medal in 2013.

Jane Goodson - Aeonium

Exhibit
This exhibit is a response to the changing climate in the U - with many gardens experiencing increased periods of dry weather - and hence the need to review plants grown in a UK garden. Aeonium are native to Madeira, the Canary Islands and North Africa but do not thrive above 40 degrees C. However, unlike many succulents, they can tolerate increased rainfall. They can grow to 1 metre tall and exhibit dense branching rosettes of leaves up to 15 cm across.

About Jane Goodson
A botanical artist and adult education teacher who lives and works in Dorset. Awarded an RHS Silver Gilt Medal at Malvern in 2016. Fellow of the Society of Botanical Artists. Accredited Lecturer for The Arts Society. She provides courses, talks and demonstrations.

Aeonium by Jane Goodson

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Andrew Brown awarded Jill Smythies Prize 2022

20/4/2022

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The Linnean Society of London has announced that Dr Andrew Brown has won the Jill Smythies Prize 2022 for outstanding diagnostic illustrations in botanical art.

Andrew Brown developed his skill in botanical illustration through his doctoral work on palynological vegetation history and during a career as an educator in the independent school sector. After retirement, he devoted himself to illustration fulltime. His detailed paintings of Alaskan wildflowers based on drawings done from life, have been exhibited at the Society and elsewhere. Other paintings have been selected for inclusion in limited edition botanical works, such as the Highgrove Florilegium. The black and white illustrations accompanying new species descriptions and floristic treatments demonstrate his skill in depicting detail, as well as the overall aspect of a plant, ensuring they are both faithful to the specimen from which they are drawn and aid in identification. He also contributes to the promotion of excellence in botanical illustration through his participation in societies and in botanical illustration workshops.
Citation for 2022 Jill Smythies Award

His award - and medal - will be officially presented at the Society’s AGM/Anniversary Meeting in May 2022.

About Andrew Brown

Dr. Andrew Brown

Dr Andrew P. Brown GM

has been awarded four Gold Medals by the Royal Horticultural Society - in 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999
His watercolour drawings of wildflowers in Alaska were made during the Westminster School 1985 Expedition to the Gates of the Arctic National Park in the Brooks Range of Alaska. These were exhibited at:
- 1987: the Linnean Society of London
- 1995: the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation in Botanical Watercolors by British Artists Andrew P. Brown and John Wilkinson
graduated from both Oxford and Cambridge Universities and taught botany and biology as a career. Prior to his retirement, he was Head of Biology at Westminster School, London
In his retirement he has continued to be very active and has been
- Secretary of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society
- author and Editor of the books associated with exhibitions by the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society.
He now works as
- a freelance botanical illustrator for Kew Gardens;
- a member of the Picture Panel Judges for the RHS Botanical Art Show
- an educator

RHS Judge Andrew Brown providing feedback to Jackie Isard on her RHS Gold Medal winning exhibit - at the RHS Botanical Art Show preview day earlier this month.

his scientific illustrations form part of the Kew Collection and he has given talks at Kew about how to prepare a complete scientific illustration through meticulous observation, planning and execution.

Dr Andrew Brown giving a talk - From Plant to Plate - at Kew about producing a scientific illustration on the Worldwide Day of Botanical Art 18th May 2018

his watercolour paintings are in the collection of the Shirley Sherwood Collection, The Transylvania Florilegium, The Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society
his paintings have been exhibited at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art Kew Gardens - including in the "British Artists in the Shirley Sherwood Collection" exhibition in 2016

Andrew Brown with his Voodoo Lily in the 'British Artists in the Shirley Sherwood Collection' exhibition at Kew in 2016

About the Jill Smythies Prize - and the Linnean Society

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RHS Silver Gilt Medals - Botanical Art Show 2022

10/4/2022

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This is about the botanical artists and illustrators from all over the world who were awarded an RHS Silver Gilt Medal at the The RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show last Friday.

My last blog post was about the Botanical Art Gold Medallists
My next blog post is about the Botanical Art Silver Medallists

If you'd like to visit the show at the Saatchi gallery, read RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show 2022 at the end of this post for more information about venue, dates, hours and tickets.

NOTE: Most of the photos and text in this post has been provided to me by the botanical artists exhibiting in the RHS Botanical Art Show. I'd love to expand to fill the gaps - and if I've got any details wrong please do not hesitate to contact me

Some of the exhibits with interesting stories will be highlighted in more depth in subsequent posts.

The hanging format picture provided to RHS by Melinda Edstein for her exhibit "Red flowering, bird pollinated Australian flowers"

RHS Silver Gilt Medals for Botanical Art 2022

I always think the Silver Gilt Medal exhibits are really interesting to study in some depth. These are the exhibits which are within the spectrum of

EITHER just missing out on a Gold Medal;
OR adding something extra which elevated their work beyond Silver.

This is the group for which the oft repeated mantra (at least by me) is particularly relevant.

An exhibit is only as good as the weakest painting.

In other words, errors and weaknesses are what lead an exhibit to lose points in the scoring of the different criteria used for judging the exhibits.

I can see people in this list who, for me, obviously have the capacity to come back and get a Gold Medal. Can you spot them?

These are the RHS Silver Gilt Medallists , listed in alphabetical order by country.

AUSTRALIA

Andrew Carr - Two Western Australia Eucalypts
Melinda Edstein - Red flowering, bird pollinated Australian flowers

ROMANIA

Irina Neacsu - On Transylvania's botanical remedies - Winter Berries

TAIWAN

Annie Chen - Jewels in the Amazon Rainforest

Catherine Day - Species Lilies
Margaret Fitzpatrick - Threats to the Hose Chestnut Tree documented in 2020
Julia Groves - Seeds of Hope
Maureen Hallahan - Plant Lore

Rui Jiang - Violas (Violaceae)

Pamela Taylor - Trees: Form and Structure
Julie Whelan - Passiflora

USA

Susan Tomlinson - From Field to T-Shirt: Diversity in modern elite cotton bolls (see image below)

The botanical artists and illustrators below are listed alphabetically by surname.

Each profile includes something about the exhibit and something about the artist.
Links to their websites (or other social media site) is embedded in their name IF a link is available

Some of the exhibits will be covered in more depth at a later date.

Andrew Carr - Two Western Australia Eucalypts

Two Western Australia Eucalypts by Andrew Carr

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RHS Gold Medal Winners - Botanical Art Show 2022

10/4/2022

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This week I'm going to be writing about the artists who have won RHS Medals at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2022 - with one post for each medal colour. In the posts I'll be

showing you what the exhibit looks like
writing about the artist and the exhibit
providing link(s) to where you can see more of their art. (Links to their website are embedded in their name)

The artists are helping me by providing images and some are also telling me more about their exhibits.

I'll also be writing about some of the exhibits in more depth as it's interesting to understand how much research is required and how long it takes to prepare BEFORE you start drawing or painting.

Below you'll find profiles of the artists, information about their exhibit and links to their website or social media site. This post will be updated as more information comes in.....

I'd like to thank both the artists and those who took photos for me for the images in this post, together with the profile and exhibit information.

Details about how to see the exhibition can be found at the end of this post

The RHS Special Awards

This post highlights the botanical artists and their exhibits which won

one of the three Special Awards.
five RHS Gold Medals at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2022

Each artist who wins an RHS Gold Medal is also included in my listings of international artists in the ARTISTS section of this website (if not already included).

Best Botanical Artwork 2022

Yoko Harada with Shirley Sherwood on Friday.

The Best Botanical Artwork in the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2022 is Arisaema thunbergiai subsp. urashima - one of the six painting in "The Genus Arisaema" by Yoko Harada (Japan).

Exhibit
Her very pleasing exhibit is about "The Genus Arisaema" which interestingly has been the subject of a Gold Medal Winners at previous shows in 2014 and 2015 (see my ARCHIVE: RHS Botanical Art Shows 2007-2021 and specifically my page about Exhibit Titles at RHS Botanical Art Shows).

I understand Shirley Sherwood had bought one of Yoko's paintings for her collection.

Yoko has written to me to say she'll let me have more information about her exhibit when she gets home to Tokyo - so this blog post will be updated.

The Genus Arisaema in Japan by Yoko Harada

About Yoko Harada
I've based my profile of Yoko on the information provided for her 2018 Exhibit at RBGE and some brief information that Yoko sent me about her teachers.

Yoko Harada is based in Tokyo. She began learning about botanical art in 2010 and her first teacher was Elaine Searle. Yoko Harada studied for her Diploma in Botanical illustration at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh and graduated in 2018. Students are required to develop a portfolio of five artworks on a theme for their Graduation Show as part of the final year of the Diploma. I've previously featured Yoko on this blog in my post about the RBGE Botanical Illustration Diploma Graduation Show 2018. Since then her local teacher in Japan is now Mieko Ishikawa - who I know has coached a lot of Japanese botanical artists for their RHS Exhibit.

Although I wasn't at the Preview last Friday I've actually met Yoko, having been introduced to her by Elaine Searle when we all attended the ASBA Conference in Pittsburgh.

I'm guessing we'll be seeing an entry from Yoko to the next International Exhibition in 2023.

my first tutor is Elaine Searle and I have graduated RBGE diploma course and my local teacher now is Mieko Ishikawa in Japan.
Yoko Harada

Best Botanical Art Exhibit 2022

Viola montagnei by Nigel Pickering (1957 - 2021). RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show 2022

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RHS Botanical Art Awards 2022

8/4/2022

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Below is a list of all the botanical artists, illustrators and photographers whose exhibits were

assessed yesterday by the RHS Picture Panel for Botanical Art and
whose RHS medals were announced today.

The list excludes the "big awards" which will be announced at 8pm tonight and which will be included in my later posts next week which will look in more details at:

the artists
the exhibits
how they to be chosen and how they came about
PLUS images!
AND how you can get in touch with them.

Since I can't get to the show right now (still recovering from surgery and unable to walk), I'm seeking to try a twist on ways to make these posts educational.

So I'm asking the botanical artists if they would:

send me a photo of themselves with their artwork (see yesterday's post for TIPS!)
tell me about their submission i.e. send me the original text for their submission of SIX paintings / drawings and/or tell me
- why this topic was chosen for an exhibit
- when they started and finished
- how they went about it
- what's important about the exhibit in terms of content

In this way I can continue to stimulate yet more good quality submissions in the future to this elite and internationally renowned exhibition of botanical art.

The RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show
Venue: Saatchi Gallery
Dates: Saturday 9th April - Friday 29th April 2022.
Hours: open from 10am to 6pm each day
Tickets

RHS Botanical Art Awards 2022

Twenty three (23) botanical artists and illustrators are exhibiting in the RHS Botanical Art Show ( compared to 15 artists in 2021)

23 medals have been awarded compared to 14 in 2021. These comprise:

Gold Medals: 5 (2021: 5)
Silver Gilt: 12 (2021: 7)
Silver: 6 (2021: 2)
Bronze: zero (2021: 0)
No Award: zero (2021: 1)

GOLD MEDALS

Of the Gold Medals, the geographical split is:

Japan x 2
Korea x 1
UK x 2

Tsunami plants by Mitsuko Kurashina - a very special exhibit which I've been looking forward to seeing for years!

JAPAN

Yoko Harada - The Genus Arisaema in Japan
Mitsuko Kurashina - Tsunami Plants (see above image)

KOREA

Dr. Hye Woo Shin - Seeds of Korean Island Dokdo

Dr. Nigel Pickering (1957 - 2021) - Rosulate Viola of the Patagonian Andes
Jackie Isard - Wet meadow wildflowers - their pollinators and as food plants (see image below)

"Wet Meadow Wildflowers - their pollinators and as food plants" by Jackie Isard

SILVER GILT MEDALS

I'm trying to remember the last time we had this many Silver Gilts. Commiserations to these artists and illustrators on just missing out. Pay attention to your feedback and come back next time and win a Gold!

Andrew Carr - Two Western Australia Eucalypts
Annie Chen - Jewels in the Amazon Rainforest
Catherine Day - Species Lilies
Melinda Edstein - Red flowering, bird pollinated Australian flowers
Margaret Fitzpatrick - Threats to the Hose Chestnut Tree documented in 2020
Julia Groves - Seeds of Hope
Maureen Hallahan - Plant Lore
Rui Jiang - Violas (Violaceae)
Irina Neacsu - On Transylvania's botanical remedies - Winter Berries
Pamela Taylor - Trees: Form and Structure
Susan Tomlinson - From Field to T-Shirt: Diversity in modern elite cotton bolls (see image below)
Julie Whelan - Passiflora

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RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show 2022

6/4/2022

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The RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show opens to the public at the Saatchi Gallery on Saturday 9th April and continues until Friday 29th April 2022.

The exhibition is open from 10am to 6pm each day
Tickets must be booked via the Saatchi Gallery website. Entry is £5, however....
Admission is free for members of the RHS and the Saatchi Gallery - on production of your membership card.
- Pre-booking for RHS Members: use the code provided by RHS in the right hand column of the booking page (below) to get free access.
- (You can find the code in the RHS Magazine sent to members and in emails recently sent to members about upcoming events).
This is the direct link to book tickets for timed entry slots. A valid membership card must be shown on arrival.
For more information on the show, please click here: www.saatchigallery.com/exhibition/rhs2022 and www.saatchigallery.com/visit

The Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea where the exhibition is being held.

I've been contacted by artists from all over the world who want me to know they're exhibiting and can they meet up with me!

If I'm really really lucky I'll get to see this exhibition.
However, right now in week 10 post ankle fusion surgery, despite the fact I am now allowed to put my foot on the ground (lightly!) I can still only move a few steps each day and travel is very, very difficult with a knee scooter :(

I just want to confirm that despite the doubts about me being able to get there I will still be doing ALL my normal blog posts about the exhibition focusing on

RHS Botanical Art Awards 2022
RHS Botanical Photography Awards 2022
Commentary on the exhibitions and arrangements in 2022 - which will probably be towards the end of the month assuming I can work out how to get there after (hopefully) being signed off at my 12 week review - and getting out of my horrible walker boot!

What I need all exhibitors to do!

I need photos for my blog posts - and you can help!

I've got the RHS Press People helping me out with photos - and I've primed one or two other people. However if YOU want the best shot of you next to your exhibit, you need to take the photo!

Tips for taking photos of Botanical Artwork and Botanical Artists

DON'T GET IN FRONT OF THE ART! Do not stand in front of your exhibit I cannot emphasise this enough!) Instead make sure you stand close to one of your artworks without obscuring it - preferably the one you like the best - and smile! The one below is of Dr. Nigel Pickering who won a Gold Medal in July 2019 - and sadly passed away on 14th January 2021. (see Nigel Pickering GM (1957 - 2021). His widow is exhibiting a portfolio of his artwork at this year's exhibition - and I hope he wins another Gold.
FILL THE FRAME: Make sure that whoever is taking the photo knows how to fill the frame with you and your artwork. This means minimise the amount of other detail in the image. We don't need photos of the floor, walls or ceiling! For example: Take pics of your portfolio in a series of pics eg
- 3 x 2 artworks - if they are quite widely spaced; or
- 2 x 3 artworks - if they are hung closer together
- the one below - of half of Kimiko Miyahara's Best Exhibit in Show in 2021 - has been cropped to a 3:1 format but I've only had to crop the top and bottom because my photo filled the frame side to side with three of her paintings.

Treasures of the Richtersveld by Nigel Pickering. This drawing is of a Pachypodium namaquanum, the iconic plant of the Richtersveld

Endemic Plants of Japan's Ogasawara Islands, A Unesco World Heritage Site by Kimiko Miyahara (Japan) - awarded Best Exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2021

CHECK THE PICS AFTER TAKING THEM - You might need to have another go. I found last year that there is some very odd lighting at the Saatchi Gallery which makes everything look subdued and grey. So I stopped using my camera and started using my iPad Pro as it was able to absorb more light and, as a result, produced a much better picture. Aim for the best you can do with whatever you've got available to take photos.
SEND ME THE PICS if you want to be featured in my blog posts! This is how to contact me and I'll send you an email to send them to.

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Plantae 2022: Call for Entries for the SBA's Annual Open Exhibition

24/2/2022

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Call for entries poster with REVISED DEADLINE for entries

This is a guide to the OPEN Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists in 2022 and

who can enter,
what you can enter
how to enter

The Call for Entries for Plantae 2022 - the Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists - and the first held in a gallery since 2019 - went out the middle of this month.

UPDATE: The deadline for entries has been CHANGED (from 15th March 2022) and is now midnight on Thursday 31st March 2022.

The Society invites artists to submit their very best work to our open exhibition. Whether an artist working in watercolour, oils, gouache, graphite, colour pencil or pen & ink, a botanical illustrator, a printmaker, ceramic artists, sculptor, jeweller or glass artist, we are seeking work with a strong exhibiting presence to be part of our show at the Mall Galleries.

NOTE: I'm going to try and get back into the swing of 'normal posting' following my surgery at the end of January. Three weeks later I've adjusted to life on one leg and wanting to do more - albeit from my sofa with my ankle elevated!

The ORIGINAL call for entries deadline - which has been changed to 31st March 2022

The Annual Exhibition
of the Society of Botanical Artists

In common with a lot of other art societies, the last two exhibitions (in 2020 and 2021) have had to be virtual due to the constraints on art exhibitions.

Consequently, this is very likely to be the first SBA annual exhibition in a gallery since 2019 - when it moved to the Mall Galleries on The Mall in London. (That's the road which has Buckingham Palace at one end!).

Venue for Plantae 2022 Exhibition: Mall Galleries in The Mall
Dates: Opens to the public on 15-18th June 2022. A Private View for members, artists and their guests will be held on 14th June.

I've been visiting and reviewing this annual exhibition since 2006 - to start with on my art blog Making A Mark and latterly on this website. My posts contain a lot of images of artwork selected for hanging if you've not submitted before and want to get an idea of the standard of work that gets selected. See the end for how to access my reviews.

The entrance to the new exhibition venue - at the Mall Galleries on The Mall in London (right next to Admiralty Arch and just up the road from Buckingham Palace

Who can enter?

THIS IS AN OPEN EXHIBITION - That means that any visual artist, anywhere in the world, can enter if they produce botanical artwork in two or three dimensions - which meets the eligibility criteria (see below).

Botanical artists from other countries around the world frequently submit entries to this exhibition - and get selected for exhibition.

Prizes and Certificates of Botanical Excellence are awarded.

You do not have to be a member of the Society of Botanical Artists to submit an entry.

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