NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

Plantae 2022: Exhibiting Excellence Awards

22/6/2022

The Exhibiting Excellence Awards were introduced by SBA to highlight

excellent artworks in different media or
excellent artwork in relation to colour or composition.

The recipient receives a rather amazing Certificate of Exhibiting Excellence for their work

Exhibiting Excellence: Colour & Composition

Inspiring Use of Colour
Brassica (145) by Edwina Keene

I was pleased to see this award for inspiring use of colour. For me, one of the signs of whether a botanical artist is excellent or not is the effort employed in painting leaves and the quality of the result. Invariably only the best pay the same attention to leaves as they do to blooms. This painting is an excellent example of meticulous attention to the transitions of both colour and tone in the leaves of a brassica.

Edwina Keene has worked as a freelance illustrator for over 40 years. Her career has involved moves to the Middle East and Australia and her studio is now in the heart of the Blue Mountains near Sydney - next to a plot of land where she cultivates her plants. Her botanical/horticultural artwork has featured in various publications including ones by Harper Collins and Readers Digest. In March 2022 she was awarded the Best In Show at BASA's exhibition in Melbourne.

Inspiring Use of Colour
Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’ (34) by Youngran Choi

Youngran Choi (Korea?) also won the William Cowley Parchment and Vellum Makers Award for the best use of vellum with this painting. She's recently started teaching classes in botanical art. She's also focusing on an exhibit for a future RHS Botanical Art Show.

Most innovative composition
Acanthus spinosus (248) by Julia Patience

Julia lives in Tunbridge Wells. She graduated with a BA (Hons) degree in Visual Communication from Brighton Polytechnic in 1977 and subsequently worked as a magazine designer and illustrator in London. She moved to Hong Kong with her husband in 2007 and returned to the UK in 2012 and was awarded full membership of SBA in 2016 and is now a member of the SBA Council.

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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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Summer 2022 Banner: Victoria regia - the Royal Water Lily

1/6/2022

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Tomorrow is the Platinum Jubilee - the 70th anniversary of the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

As today is the day I change the seasonal banner on this website - and linked sites - I thought it might be appropriate if I could find an image with a Royal link.

Which is why the new image is of one of my favourite botanical illustrations - the illustration of Victoria regia - the Royal Waterlily at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew - by Walter Hood Fitch.

"Victoria regia" (1851) by Walter Hood Fitch - an Illustration of a specimen of the Royal water-lily, flowering at Kew.

About Victoria regia / Victoria amazonica

Victoria regia / amazonica is a member of the genus Victoria. It is the largest waterlily species (of the family Nymphaeaceae) in the world due to its enormous lily pads (leaves).

On its classification by John Lindley in 1837, the plant was originally named Victoria regia in honour of Queen Victoria, who had recently ascended to the throne. It's still known by this name in Guyana, where it is the national flower.

Since then it has been renamed Victoria amazonica. This is because it is a native of the shallow waters of the Amazon River.

TIMELINE:

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Call for Entries: "The Art of Botanical Illustration" at RBG Victoria

20/5/2022

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This year sees the 16th Biennial 'Art of Botanical Illustration' (TABI) Exhibition at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria in Melbourne.

This is one of the most prestigious botanical art exhibitions in Australia
Entry is open to international botanical artists.
It takes place at the same time as 7th Botanic Gardens Congress and will be an event which is part of the Friends 40th anniversary celebrations

Below you can find out more about the official Call for Entries for the Exhibition which will open on 16th September 2022. The deadline for entries is 1st August 2022.

My version reorganises the information for artists provided to make it rather easier to grasp some of the critical issues which will help you with decision-making about whether or not to enter. There's a little surprise about the cost for those not resident in Victoria...

Exhibition

The exhibition will take a hybrid format this year - with ALL artworks exhibited in both:

a physical exhibition held at Domain House, Melbourne
a virtual exhibition online.

It's considered that this hybrid approach will help capture a wide audience and in turn provide greater exposure to the artworks of nationally and internationally based botanical artists.

Venue: Domain House, Royal Botanic Gardens, Victoria
Virtual: Exhibition: - link to be provided at a later date
Dates: 16 September through to 2 October 2022

TABI 2022 will coincide with the 7th Global Botanic Gardens Congress (26th – 30th September 2022), which will be hosted by the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria , RBGV, ( https://www.7gbgc.org/).

The theme of the Congress is Influence and Action: Botanic Gardens as Agents of Change with a particular focus on the response of Botanic Gardens to climate change, including plant conservation and climate resilience.

Call for Entries

The Friends of the Royal Botanical Gardens Victoria organise host the exhibition and organise the Call for Entries. They are inviting entries for the exhibition from all botanical artists.

You can find out more on:

the TABI 2022 page.
Information for Artists - which I'm summarising below.

The Selection Process will be based on DIGITAL images (i.e. no need to send your artwork to Melbourne) and the Information for Artists provides useful guidelines for how best to deliver these.

TABI 2022: Information for Artists

1. SELECTION CRITERIA

The artwork must adhere to the following selection 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.
It must have been completed since TABI 2020.

The artworks selected for TABI 2022 must be both scientifically accurate and artistically pleasing. Each artwork is carefully selected against strict selection criteria by a panel of three professional judges, including a botanist and an experienced artist, to ensure the highest standards are met.
Information for Artists (Section 8: Selection process)

2. WHO CAN ENTER:

The Information for Artists could be less than somewhat opaque on this topic. Or maybe just a lot more transparent?

Essentially

anybody can submit entries
only those who are Friends of the Royal Botanic Garden Victoria - in a financial sense - can have their work hung in the exhibition. (See "Cost of Submission" below)

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RHS Silver Medals - Botanical Art Show 2022

21/4/2022

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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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