NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

Botanical Painting Courses at The Prince's School of Traditional Arts

11/12/2018

The Prince's School of Traditional Arts provides a range of workshops and short, practical courses in traditional arts and crafts as part of its Open Programme. Between March and May 2019 these will include some rather unusual courses in different kinds of botanical painting.

The art courses listed below are a variation of those normally provided to students of botanical painting. They offer an opportunity to explore how to paint plants and flowers using different media and approaches to botanical painting

All the courses are held at The Prince's School of Traditional Arts, 19-22 Charlotte Road, London EC2A 3SG (Nearest tube stations are Old Street or Liverpool Street; absolutely no parking!)

This five-day practical course will introduce you to the basics of botanical morphology so students will know what to look for when drawing and painting flowers. It will also reveal the development of botanical art through time.https://t.co/BXkMORxl3e pic.twitter.com/bYrcMlFarb
— School of Traditional Arts (@princesschool) November 19, 2018

Botanical Painting and Taxonomy
Dates: 11 March 2019 - 15 March 2019
Time: 10:30 - 17:30
Tutor Jessica Shepherd
Course Fee: £385

This five day course will

introduce the basics of botanical morphology
reveal the development of botanical art through time
demonstrate how drama can be created through thoughtful lighting,
examine the importance of composition
explore the colours and techniques needed when painting flowers and leaves.
develop a painting including the techniques learned on the course.

Jessica Shepherd trained in botany at the University of Plymouth and University of Edinburgh before she became a botanical painter

Persian Miniature Painting: Flowers and Trees
Dates: 11 March 2019 - 15 March 2019
Time: 10:30 - 17:30
Tutor: Farkhondeh Ahmadzadeh
Course fee: £385 (concessions)

This course focuses on the details of nature in Persian miniature paintings.

covers trees, rocks, and different types of flowers,
practice how to draw and paint them using Persian miniature techniques.
Through a series of practical demonstrations, including traditional paper treatments, pigment preparation, and brush techniques, students will prepare their own papers and paints to be used for their paintings.

Farkhondeh Ahmadzadeh is an Iranian artist based in London. She graduated with distinction from The Prince's School's MA programme in 2011 and was awarded the Jerwood prize for Islamic traditional art.

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Botanical Indian Miniature Painting
Dates: 6 April 2019 - 11 May 2019
Time: 10:00 - 16:30
Tutor: Samantha Buckley | £350

This course is inspired by examples of Mughal botanical paintings and focuses on

the process of creating an Indian miniature painting,
the traditional method of transferring the image to burnished wasli paper using ink and squirrel hair brushes.
the use of handmade pigments from India and how to prepare, apply and then burnish these colours in preparation for the detailed work of miniature painting.
the special technique of prataj to create the detail associated with these beautiful paintings.

Botanical Indian Miniature Painting - At The Prince's School Of Traditional Arts (Day 1) is an excellent blog post by somebody who took the miniature painting course with Sam Buckley in 2016.

Samantha Buckley completed her MA at The School in 2006, receiving a distinction for her studies in miniature painting. In 2011 she was invited to undertake a one-year apprenticeship in India to extend her knowledge and technique of miniature painting,

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Margaret Mee 1909-1988: 30th Anniversary

30/11/2018

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Today marks the 30th anniversary of the tragic death of Margaret Mee (1909 - 1988) the renowned painter of the flora of the Amazon Forest and dedicated environmental conservationist.

She and her husband had returned to England in November 1988 for a major exhibition of her paintings at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew coupled with the launch of a book Margaret Mee in Search of Flowers of the Amazon Forest (1988) based on Margaret's diaries - and discussion about the future of her paintings.

Very sadly she was killed at the age of 79 in a car crash in Leicester on 30 November 1988 a few months after her last expedition to the Amazon.

Those attending her memorial service, held at Kew on 16 January 1989, included representatives of the Duke of Edinburgh, the Brazilian government, and the world of botany.
In May 1989, her ashes were scattered in the Amazon Forest by her husband and close friends. A plaque was fixed to a tree to record her passing.

Paintings by Margaret Mee at the the "Brazil: a powerhouse of plants: Margaret Mee, pioneering artist and her legacy" Exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery (20 February 2016 to 29 August 2016)

About Margaret Mee

About Margaret Mee is my page about this remarkable and very petite woman, who was

a famous and important botanical artist, who specialised in painting the flora of the Amazon Forest. 
an ardent conservationist who highlighted the way in which the forest was being destroyed; and
a botanical painter who inspired a number of botanical artists around the world - notably a number of Brazilian botanical artists.

In Search of Flowers of the Amazon Forest

from Amazon UK

Her legacy includes

images from her 15 expeditions into the Amazon Rainforest
nine new plants - previously unknown to botanical record
400 folios of gouache illustrations, 40 sketchbooks and 15 diaries - many now archived at Kew Gardens
her diaries and three books about her work and her paintings
a heightened awareness of the importance of conservation of habitat in the Amazon rainforest.
inspiration for a number of Brazilian artists - notably the Demonte family, Marlena Baretto, Patricia Villela and Alvaro Nunes
The Margaret Mee Amazon Trust (closed 1996) followed by a Fellowship Programme which enables Brazilian artists to train at Kew Gardens
3,000 dancers paraded to a Margaret Mee theme at the Rio Carnival in 1994!

Plus a number of plants are named after her, including:

Heliconia chartacea var. meeana - which has vivid blue berries
Aechmea polyantha - a vaselike Bromeliad discovered by Margaret Mee

On About Margaret Mee you can find out about:

A Timeline of her life and work
Margaret Mee and the Amazon Flora
Margaret Mee's Paintings - and her approach to painting
Exhibitions of Margaret Mee's paintings - in the UK, USA and Brazil
The Margaret Mee Trust and Fellowship Programme

Videos and Slideshows of her work

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Trees, Tropical Plants & Theatre in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art (October 2018 - March 2019)

12/10/2018

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On Monday I went to see the four new botanical art exhibitions at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew Gardens. I'll be reviewing them all individually on this blog in future but today I thought I'd give you a taster of what can be seen - so you start planning a visit!

The four new exhibitions run from 6 October 2018 – 17 March 2019 and have a couple of over-arching themes

Orchids and tropical plants

Orchids and tropical plants are featured in the first two exhibitions

Rankafu: Masterpieces of Japanese Woodblock Prints of Orchids (Galleries 1 and 2) - this is the first exhibition as you walk in through the main entrance
Botanical Theatre: The Art of Pandora Sellars (1936-2017) (Galleries 3 and 4) - This is very likely to be extremely popular with all experienced botanical artists and aspiring students. Her works features a lot of tropical plants and orchids (and cyclamens, lilies and arum) and a lot of foliage.

The Botanical Theatre of watercolour paintings by Pandora Sellars

Mark Frith: A Legacy of Ancient Oaks (Gallery 5) 7 of the 20 oaks on display

Trees

The tree theme is particularly relevant to the Charter of the Forest in its 800th anniversary year.

Mark Frith: A Legacy of Ancient Oaks (Gallery 5) - in the large square central gallery
Trees: Delight in the Detail (Gallery 6) - the first exhibition you encounter when approaching from the Marianne North Gallery.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: This is one of the best combination of exhibitions that I've seen here. There's a lot of excellent quality art to look at - I found it quite overwhelming - and it's really difficult to take it all in on one visit. So think very seriously about:

planning enough time for your visit
or maybe even planning more than one visit!

I know one artist who has already visited twice on one day and wants to go again!

PS You will need a magnifier or a loupe to properly appreciate some of the paintings in these exhibitions. If you forget yours, you can borrow one from reception.

Rankafu: Masterpieces of Japanese Woodblock Prints of Orchids

View of the exhibition of Rankafu wood block prints of orchids

These impressive and very beautiful woodblock prints of orchids are based on the watercolours of Zuigetsu Ikeda. They were first published in 1946.

Rankafu means as ‘Orchid Flower Album’. These prints are on loan from the Collection of Stephen Kirby and this is first major exhibition of the Rankafu woodblock colour prints outside of Japan.

Woodblock printing of this quality is technically demanding and the exhibition includes a display explaining how they are produced.

Botanical Theatre: The Art of Pandora Sellars

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - This is an exhibition NOT TO BE MISSED.
It's unlikely you'll ever see its like again.

Many experienced botanical artists will need no introduction to the late Pandora Sellars. She has been described by Shirley Sherwood as “One of the most important botanical artists of all time[1]” and “the best leaf painter ever”. Others would characterise her as being one of the best botanical artists when it comes to tackling a complex composition which shows off the botanical features of a plant to best effect.

However very few will have ever seen more than a few examples of her artwork in person.

This exhibition is unique and a wonderful opportunity to

view a retrospective of c. 50 artworks and items produced from her art - just a small percentage of the artwork she produced over a period of nearly 40 years.
note how her artwork developed over the years - between 1972 and 2007
see the scope of her work - from botanical illustration commissions for Kew and other publishers to botanical artworks produced for her own pleasure.

Those who do not know about Pandora Sellars can read all about her and her botanical artwork in About Pandora Sellars (1936-2017) my dedicated page on this website.

The artwork is on loan from:

Kew Collection (17 works)
Shirley Sherwood Collection (8 works)
RHS Lindley Library (1 work)
Cyclamen Society (7 works)
Postal Museum (5 works)
Private Collections (12 works - plus her painting materials
Plus a selection of books containing botanical illustrations by Pandora Sellars

Mark Frith: A Legacy of Oaks

Six of the Veteran Oaks drawn by Mark Frith - in Gallery 5

This is an exhibition of a series of 20 highly intricate, large-scale graphite drawings of Britain’s most characterful veteran oaks, many of which are more than 1,000 years. The trees are shown in winter - devoid of all leaves and new growth.

They were drawn by Mark Frith who studied Fine Art at Bristol before becoming a BAFTA award-winning filmmaker before starting to draw his first tree in 2011.

The series were commissioned by publisher, poet, and philanthropist, Felix Dennis. After he died, ten trees were gifted to the Kew Collection and ten are now owned by the Heart of England Forest - founded by Felix Dennis.

Trees: Delight in the Detail

View of "Palms" - one small section of "Trees: Delight in Detail"

This exhibition leans very much towards looking at the details of trees rather than the tree as a whole - and different approaches used to paint the details of trees.

The artwork represents trees from all over the world - from temperate areas and the tropics - and the detail of their leaves, cones, flowers, fruits, seeds and nuts.

Sizes vary enormously according to real life but also due to enlargement employed to show the detail of a particular aspect.

The artwork comes from the Shirley Sherwood Collection - collected from artists from all over the world. Artists include:

UK: Jenny Brasier, Brigid Edwards, Annie Farrer (2 works), Flappy Lane Fox, Katherine Manisco, Rory McEwen (2 works), Margaret Mee (2 works), Barbara Oozerally, Jess Shepherd, Julie Small (2 works)
Australia: Jenny Phillips
Austria: Jakob Demus
Brazil: Maria Alice de Rezende, Alvaro Nunes (7 works)
Germany: Regine Hagedorn,
India: Arundhati Vartak
Japan: Mariko Ikeda, Mieko Ishikawa, Kimuyo Maruyama (2 works), Michiko Toyota
Philippines: Emmanuel Cordova
Russia: Olga Makrushenko
South Africa: Gill Condy, Ann Schweizer, Vicki Thomas
Thailand: Phansakdi Chakkaphak
USA: Monika de Vries Gohlke; Anne Ophelia Dowden, Ingrid Finnan, Hillary Parker,

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Florentia International Exhibition of Botanical Art

28/9/2018

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Botanical art enthusiasts in Italy can visit the Florentia International Exhibition of Botanical Art (29th September - 7th October 2018).

It's the first international exhibition of contemporary botanical art in Florence. It will showcase

approximately 80 original botanical watercolours
by well known botanical artists coming from Italy and 11 different countries (Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, The Netherlands, Russia, United Kingdom, United States).

Poster for the First International Exhibition of Botanical Art in Florence

Title: Florentia International Exhibition of Botanical Art
Catalogue: available
Venue: Villa Bardini, Costa S. Giorgio, 2-4, 50125 Firenze FI, Italy
Dates: September 29 - October 7, 2018
Opening hours: 10.00am - 7.00pm, Tuesday to Sunday. Free entry on the first Sunday of the month.
Sponsors: Società Toscana di Orticultura/Tuscan Horticultural Society - on the occasion of the traditional "Autumn and Plant Market Exhibition"

Purpose of the Exhibition

Florentia is intended as an opportunity to foster collaboration and sharing between participating artists, raise awarness of this artistic genre and demonstrate the contemporary botanical art renewed vitality, especially in Florence, in the wake of an ancient and prestigious tradition.

In the Medicean Florence, thanks to the interest of the Grand Dukes both for botany and art, great artists such as Jacopo Ligozzi and Giovanna Garzoni, were called to represent, in beautiful watercolor and gouache, the best of the floral and fruit crops and the most precious medicinal plants.

Organisers

The Florentia exhibition is co-organized by two Tuscan botanical artists:

Simonetta Occhipinti GM who lives and works in Florence, and
Giuliana Gallo who was born in the island of Elba but lives in The Netherlands and is a member of the Dutch Society of Botanical Artists

Simonetta Occhipinti GM with part of her Gold Medal winning exhibit of The Citrus of the Medici Family

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Flowers and Fruit - solo show by Kathy Pickles

23/9/2018

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Kathy Pickles GM's new solo show "Flowers and Fruit" opened yesterday in the Exhibition Room of the Old Library in Kirkwall on the Isle of Orkney in Scotland. It continues until 13th October 2018 and is open Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm.

Her solo exhibition contains 64 botanical paintings in watercolour - mostly on paper but with some on vellum. 24 paintings were sold at the Preview Evening and another 8 in the gallery yesterday morning so Kathy got to the half way mark in terms of sales after the preview and 3 hours of being open to the public! I gather her paintings on vellum are going fast!

If you're starting a collection, I'd very much recommend you take a close look....
My experience of Kathy's paintings in the past are they priced to sell - and she almost always sells nearly all of them!

You can also read more about Kathy Pickles at the end of this post.

Flowers and Fruit

While not everybody can get to Orkney to see the exhibition, you can see most of the work in the show on Kathy's Facebook Page - Kathy Pickles Botanical Art or her website at www.kathypickles.co.uk. Plus she is a regular participant in the Botanical Artists Facebook Group where she also posts her new work.

Kathy works - very fast - from observation (and never from photographs) and her paintings follow the seasons and what she's growing in her garden!

Crops of Botanical Paintings by Kathy Pickles - on her website

About Kathy Pickles

Kathy Pickles GM - with her 7th Gold Medal exhibit at the RHS London Botanical Art Show 2017

Kathy Pickles was born in London but has lived on Orkney since 1981. Her art education started with a Foundation Course at Canterbury College of Art. She also studied textile design at Winchester School of Art before going to Sussex University where she gained a degree in the History of Art.

She has won seven RHS Gold Medals (1991-94, 1996, 2015, 2017) - which is more than any other botanical artist I know!

Her Gold Medal in 2015 was for 16 paintings of Fritillaria and Helleborus
The Gold Medal in 2017 was for 12 paintings of Clematis. Rachel de Thame bought one of her paintings!

You can view my Video Interview with Kathy Pickles at the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2015

Other achievements in the botanical art world include:

She has also exhibited in a three person show at the Kew Gardens Gallery (1995-96)
She designed the 1997 Chelsea Flower Show Plate which celebrated the Golden Wedding Anniversary of Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip. Later that year she was invited by Orkney Islands Council to meet the Prince of Wales and show him her original painting while he was in Orkney viewing the work of a number of local artists and craftsmen.
her study of Mertensia maritima was one of the paintings of endangered species included in the special 250th anniversary edition of Curtis’s Botanical Magazine

Prestigious Botanical Art Collections which own her work include:

The Royal Botanic Garden Kew
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh,
the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation in Pittsburgh and
the Shirley Sherwood Collection.

Her professional combines fine art with botanical illustration for commercial purposes and since 1994, she has designed over 150 designs for floral mugs for Dunoon Ceramics - including designs containing Scottish Wild Flower which included some Orkney favourites such as Primula scotica, Northern Marsh Orchid, Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus) and Oyster Plant (Mertensia maritima).

She has been having solo shows on Orkney for the last 30 years and also works to commission.

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More about botanical artists and exhibitions

ARTISTS: You can see more Contemporary botanical artists and illustrators around the world on my dedicated pages on my website

EXHIBITIONS: You can find out about more Botanical Art Exhibitions & Collections - around the world. Current and future exhibitions in different parts of the world are listed or signposted on the following pages:

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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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TOP TIPS from RHS Gold Medal Winners 2017

14/8/2018

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When I interview the botanical artists who have just won an RHS Gold Medal at the RHS Botanical Art Show, I always ask them for tips for those aspiring to do the same.

In 2017 I was rewarded - more than I can say - by hearing from Mariko Ikeda who won the Best Exhibit prize at the RHS London Botanical Art Show 2017. She wanted to thank me profusely for everything I've written before as it really helped her with preparing her exhibit!

Pandanus by Mariko Ikeda at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2017 (photo Katherine Tyrrell)

Pandanus by Mariko Ikeda - Gold Medal and Best Exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2017 (photo Katherine Tyrrell)

Then Kate Barling, another exhibitor, found me to thank me for the tip about how to mount the work - and I collected another tip from her which you'll find below!

So the bottom line is what goes around comes around.

You can benefit from the tips I've identified to date and...
...in future I might be asking you what's your top tip!

Note: Unfortunately last year I started this post but forgot finish it. But it's never too late to pass on a few more tips!
READ ON for my very belated post about the top tips from the RHS Gold Medallists in 2017 - which is now complete!

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