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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About Nirupa Rao - a contemporary botanical illustrator in India

9/12/2020

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Nirupa Rao is a very impressive botanical illustrator based in Bangalore, India. She has generated more press for her activities as a botanical illustrator - and for the importance of plants and tackling 'plant blindness' - than most of her peers around the world.

Her aim is to work toward promoting the cause of science communication, as well as deepening the intersections between art and science. Her work is inspired by regular field visits into the wild, and informed by close collaboration with natural scientists to achieve accuracy.

I highly recommend you watch her TED Talk (see video below) about her work - and how she tackled the illustration of

30 native species of extremely tall rainforest trees of the Western Ghats, in southern India - including the whole tree, its leaves, fruit, flowers and seeds. (Published in Pillars of Life—Magnificent Trees of the Western Ghats (2018). This debut project was undertaken in collaboration with naturalists Divya Mudappa and TR Shankar Raman of the Nature Conservation Foundation.
the fantastical plants of the Western Ghats - through the support of a National Geographic Grant and the Hidden Kingdom Project

A National Geographic Young Explorer, Nirupa received a grant to create her book Hidden Kingdom—Fantastical Plants of the Western Ghats (published in 2019).

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Other activities

In 2019, she participated in a Plant Humanities program at Harvard University's Dumbarton Oaks Research Centre, and was due to participate in a show at their museum in 2020, which has been postponed due to COVID-19.

She recently collaborated with the Centre for Wildlife Studies in India on Wild Shaale ('Wild School' in Kannada), an environmental and conservation-education program designed for rural school-going children, aimed at nurturing interest and empathy toward India’s wildlife and wild places.

one to watch out for in Forbes India - annual 30 under 30 issue

She has also been

During the COVID-19 lockdown, she

recorded art classes to be televised on the national channel Doordarshan, as part of a program coordinated by the Going to School Foundation, and
conducted a workshop for Science Gallery Bangalore's PHYTOPIA exhibition.

In addition, she has illustrated

the cover of Amitav Ghosh's latest novel, Gun Island, and
re-jacketed four of his older novels for Penguin-Random House.

You can find Nirupa Rao as follows:

website: https://www.nirupa-rao.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niruparao/

I'm also adding her into the section about Contemporary Botanical Artists and Illustrators in India (on the page about "Botanical Artists in Asia" Page)

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The 15th Biennial Art of Botanical Illustration Exhibition at RBG Melbourne

26/9/2020

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The 15th Biennial Exhibition of The Art of Botanical Illustration 2020 (TABI) is presented by The Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne.

This year for the first time it is a Virtual ONLINE Exhibition. I guess, whichever country we live in we're now getting used to these in the age of the Pandemic.

The Friends are to be congratulated on producing a well constructed and beautiful online exhibition. I particularly like the fact that we get a profile for each artist included in the exhibition. It not only helps the artist with raising their profile - it also helps the buyers who often want to know more about "who painted this?"

About the 15th Biennial TABI Exhibition

The Virtual Exhibition is online from 19 September – 31 December 2020. All artworks are for sale and all profits from this exhibition assist the Friends to support the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne.

You can:

download the catalogue to see the full list of artwork selected for the exhibition. (Vicki Philipson painted the Agapanthus Seed Head used for the front cover)
view the exhibition online
review artists profiles and artwork per artist
purchase artwork in the exhibition
read about the History of the Art of Botanical Illustration Exhibitions

If you click the image of the artwork it takes you to a seperate page which lists more details about the artwork and includes the price. Postage is not included - but a link provides more information. All transactions are between the artist and the art collector.

Selection, Participating Artists and Prizes

SELECTION

Artwork is selected for the exhibition by a panel which includes a botanist, an artist and the head librarian at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne to ensure that the highest standards are met.

All artwork exhibited must adhere to the following criteria:

it must provide an accurate representation of the form and botany of the chosen subject;
the characteristics of the species or variety must be adequately conveyed;
the representation should be an artistically pleasing, balanced and a considered work of art;
it must be identified and named accurately according to standard botanical practices; and
it must have been completed within the previous two years.

Below is a video of the opening of the exhibition and the announcement of the awards.
The awards and the artworks purchased for the State Botanical Art Collection are detailed below - against the artists name.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS

The artists whose artwork was selected for the exhibition are as follows. Links in their name got to the exhibition website.

Amanda Ahmed
Haya Alketbi - Celia Rosser Honourable Mention for Pyrus sp
Beverly Allen - Celia Rosser Honourable Mention for Corymbia ficifolia cv.
Sally Armfield
Kelly Bassett
Amanda Blake-Sutterby Amyema linophylla - Buloke Mistletoe - purchased by the RBG Victoria for the State Botanical collection
Ila Blyth
Marie Bogoyevitch
Helen Burrows
Lucy Chapman
Brian Cheung
Deb Chirnside
Pratistha Chitrakar
Thea Clark
Niki Coates
Simon Deere
Sue Dixon
Rosemary Donnelly
Dianne Emery - Celia Rosser Award Winner for Amanita muscaria - fly agaric (SEE BELOW)

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Rosane Quintella (1959 - 2020)

13/9/2020

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Brazilian botanical illustrator and teacher Rosane Quintella passed away on Friday 11th September age 61.

Rosane Quintella in 2018 at the Worldwide Exhibition of Botanical Art in Brazil.

Rosanne was born on 25th February 1959 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Her studies included:

Graduated in Plastic Arts at Escola de Música e Belas Artes do Paraná (the School of Music and Fine Arts of Paraná) - EMBAP, 1982.
Bachelor and Degree in Biology from Biologia PUCPR (the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná - PUC), 1992.
Botanical Illustration Course at the Illustration Center of Paraná - CIBP

In 2005, she travelled to London to became the 17th Margaret Mee Fellow in Botanical Illustration at Kew Gardens in 2005. (see her below with some of her fellow "Fellows")

One of her works completed in 2005 forms part of the Shirley Sherwood Collection.

Rosane Quintella front second from left - with her fellow Margaret Mee Scholars in in Curitiba, Brazil: Back row: Maria Alice Rezende, Alessandro Cândido, Gustavo Marigo, Marcos A. Silva-Ferraz, and Paulo Ormindo. Front Row: Carol de Bassi, Rosane Quintella, Diana Carneiro and Fatima Zagonel

When she returned to Brazil she became a permanent member of the teaching staff at Centro de Ilustração Botânica do Paraná (CIBD) and taught botanical illustration there for the next 14 years - and was apparently much loved by her students and peers.

She also continued to complete her own scientific botanical illustration works in ink and watercolour and was affiliated to UNIC - National Union of Scientific Illustrators.

Rosanne passed away on Friday 11th September 2020. There are tributes to her on:

her Facebook account https://www.facebook.com/rosane.quintella.7 - I'm very sure any teacher would be proud to read the comments left
the Centro de Ilustração Botânica do Paraná website is also carrying a tribute to Rosane (see below)

O Centro de Ilustração Botânica do Paraná está de luto.
Uma grande amiga nos deixou hoje pela manhã.
Querida Rosane, que falta vamos sentir daquela sua risada contagiante!
Um caminho de muita luz é o que nós, seus amigos, desejamos pra você.
Vá em paz, Flor do Dia!

Rosane Quintella (1959 - 2020)

The Paraná Botanical Illustration Center is in mourning.
A great friend left us this morning.
Dear Rosane, we will miss that contagious laugh from you!
A path with lots of light is what we, your friends, wish for you.
Go in peace, Flower of the Day!

Note: Photographs of Rosanne Quintella:

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The first ever Virtual GNSI Conference!

15/7/2020

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The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators is this year holding its first ever Virtual Conference. This offers the opportunity for scientific illustrators from all over the world - - to attend the conference without needing to fly or pay hotel costs!

What is the GNSI?

The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators is an association of individuals who communicate science visually and clarify scientific ideas. GNSI brings together these individuals and provides networking and professional development opportunities.

What is the GNSI Virtual Conference?

The normal (52nd) Anniversary Annual Conference has been postponed until 2021because of covid-19

Instead, GNSI have organised a one-of-a-kind gathering of science illustrators.
This offers the opportunity to:

discuss working in this new environment in the coming months and years.
present thought leaders and practitioners wrestling with the challenging new landscape of the covid world
a chance to experiment with different ways of doing science communication so that everybody can learn and grow.
PLUS an unprecedented opportunity to share our vibrant annual conference with a global audience.

Who can attend?

The GNSI Virtual Conference is open to anyone with an interest in visual science communication, including GNSI members, non-members, illustrators, animators, science artists, researchers, writers, publishers, and more.

Basic Details

Conference Dates August 8th & 9th, 2020
Cost: $50/member | $80/non-member**
Registration is now open for the first-ever GNSI virtual conference!
Those who register by July 31st are guaranteed a seat to all events.

Main Sessions: 2 days of presentations and interactive activities

Session 1: Creativity in the Time of Covid: 12:00 - 3:00 pm EDT, Saturday, August 8th on Crowdcast.
Session 2: Science Communicators, Where Next?: 5:00 - 7:00 pm EDT, Saturday, August 8th on Remo.
Session 3: Adaptive Practices for Visual Creatives: 12:00 - 3:00 pm EDT, Sunday, August 9th on Crowdcast.
Session 4: Online Teaching and Learning: 5:00 - 7:30 pm EDT, Sunday, Aug 9th on Crowdcast.

PLUS After party: 8 pm EDT, Sunday, August 9th.

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REFERENCES:

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2021 Botanical Artists in Residence at Oak Spring Garden Foundation

8/7/2020

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You have until Wednesday 12th August 2020 to apply:

for the 2021 Botanical Artists in Residence Program (BAiR)
offered by the Oak Spring Garden Foundation - in Upperville, Virgina, USA.

The OSGF Botanical Art Residency Award

This program supports exemplary botanical artists working nationally and internationally who can create beautiful and scientifically accurate depictions of plant species. Residents selected for this award will reside at Oak Spring when spring is underway and the gardens and landscape are in bloom. This residency provides botanical artists time and space to work on their own projects, utilizing materials from our formal garden or the broader 700-acre landscape, and to visit our rare book library that includes many exquisite examples of historical botanical art.
from the "More" button after you click the "apply now"

The opportunities offered by BAiR and the requirements for applications are detailed below, followed byhow to find out more about the Oak Spring Garden Foundation and its gardens, library and botanical art.

The Botanical Art Residency Award 2020 includes:

a 1 – 3 week residence at the Oak Spring estate in Upperville, Virginia - with
- accommodation in nicely appointed homes where they will have a private bedroom and bathroom, and share a living room and kitchen.
- Botanical artists will also have a dedicated 24-hour access to studio space in close proximity to their accommodation.
a $1,000 individual grant (to cover expenses)
an offer to purchase one final work on paper for $500 that will be accessioned into the OSGF Florilegium, and
Residents who complete this program will be able to apply to our annual Alumni Residency.
This is the website https://www.osgf.org/
This is a copy of the 2020 OSGF Residency Handbook
This is a link to the Oak Spring Foundation's page on Google Arts and Culture which demonstrates some of the artwork in the Library.

If successful you will need to arrange and pay for transportation to Dulles International Airport. Oak Spring will then arrange and pay for ground transportation to/from Oak Spring (from either Dulles Airport or Union Station).

The Oak Spring Foundation website

Criteria for applications

WHO CAN APPLY?

You can apply if you are a botanical artist with

an established track-record and
a well-developed body of work.
with a visa to travel to the USA (if a non-resident/citizen)

Our residents are selected through a competitive process by relevant specialists. We recognize that individuals may be at different stages in their lives when they arrive at a point where a dedicated period of focused activity may be helpful for their work. Our goal is to support individuals who pursue excellence and who can become preeminent in their chosen field. Through our residencies, we are building a network of individuals who know the importance of humankind's relationship to the natural world and appreciate the need for responsible earth stewardship.

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VIDEO: Lara Call Gastinger and how to keep a perpetual journal of botanical illustrations

3/7/2020

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This is about a recently published video of American botanical illustrator Lara Call Gastinger talking about how her botanical sketching and illustration work is produced.

Plus an opportunity to see more videos of Lara working on her perpetual journal and botanical art

I last saw Lara Call Gastinger with her Gold Medal winning exhibit of plants across the months at the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2018

ABOUT LARA CALL GASTINGER (GM 2007, 2018)

graduated from the University of Virginia in 1998 with a degree in Biology. She subsequently achieved a Masters in Plant Biology.
she was the Chief Botanical Illustrator for the Flora of Virginia Project - which involved drawing some 1300 illustrations (about 90% of the illustrations in the Flora of Virginia book)
RHS Gold Medal winner in 2007 for a very impressive series on Plants of Virginia - 10 Walks in Virginia which is one of my 'all time favourite' exhibits.
She won a second RHS Gold Medal for Seeing Plants; a year in Virginia" - her suite of 12 sepia watercolour paintings of plants she has found on her walks in different months of the year.
She frequently draws and paints a compendium of plants with a particular connection eg habitat or season.
She keeps a Perpetual Sketchbook Journal

ABOUT THE VIDEO: In the Studio with Lara Call Gastinger

This video - which you can see below - has two parts

The first part is a video record of her work. It covers and focuses on

her seasonal sketchbook journal which has a double page spread for each week of the year - and new sketches are added year by year. This then illustrates the changes in seasonality across the year and from year to year
how the dating system works - and how she adds sketches and observations every week
her art materials and supplies for creating entries in the perpetual journal -
- her sketchbooks,
- micron pens - in black or sepia. She prefers 003
- her paints and palettes and containers and brushes,
- a magnifying lens to help you see plant features
- a field guide to help identify plants
her own more developed artwork - created using watercolour paints
the benefits of keeping a perpetual journal
- become more skilled at observation
- improve your drawing skills and techniques
- note the changes in plants due to changes in season and the changes in climate
- use your perpetual journal as a resource to develop your own botanical art and illustrations (and win an RHS Gold Medal!)

Pay attention, be astonished and tell about it.
a quotation which has influenced Lara

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