NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

List of artists exhibited in "Abundance, seed pods and autumn fruit" at Kew

9/3/2018

This post puts on record all those artists who contributed to Abundance, seed pods and autumn fruit at the The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art in Kew Gardens before it ends on Sunday March 11th 2018.

The exhibition is open this weekend 10am to 5pm (last admission 4.45pm). It includes artwork by botanical artists and illustrators from Australia, Brazil, France, Italy, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, UK and USA.

Left: Custard Apple by Álvaro Xavier Núñez; next Pomegranates by Ann Schweizer; Right: two paintings of the Ivy Gourd and Bitter Gourd by Phansakdi Chakkaphak

Like many of the smaller exhibitions in the side corridors of the gallery Abundance, seed pods and autumn fruit does not have a catalogue and there is also no list of artists and artworks available at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery.

However I've been given a set of the labels used for the exhibition and was able to discus the plants in the exhibition with Shirley Sherwood.

This was supposed to have been written in November last year - and here we are at the last weekend! Which will teach me not to mistake uploading images of the artists with their paintings to Facebook after the Private View with the rather longer(!) task of sorting out this type of blog post.

Explanation of the exhibition - and how dispersal occurs via wind, water, animals and explosive mechanisms

How this list of artists in the exhibition works

I did think of ordering works by methods of dispersion but that would have got very repetitive in terms of artists names!

So the way it works is like this

The list is alphabetical based on (1) the country they come from and (2) the surname of the artist.
A link to their website (if they have one) is embedded in their name. Alternatively another page has been linked to if this tells you about an artist who doesn't have a website.
an asterisk * after their name indicates they are included in my current summary of artists for the country they live in - where you can read more about them. If the artist is deceased they will be listed in 20th century Botanical Artists in the history section. Those without an asterisk will be added soon!
The name is followed by basic bio data which indicates where they were born and live
This is then followed by the title of the work. The common vernacular name is very often followed by the correct latin name in italics, (for more about naming plants see Plant Names and Botanical Latin in the Botany section on this website)
Media: All paintings are watercolour on paper unless otherwise stated.
Artwork which has been published in one of Dr Sherwood's books includes the title of the book and page number (in green) after the title
Those who have more than one artwork in the exhibition have the titles of the works bullet pointed below their names.

Some of the plants have interesting stories or names and these are also highlighted.

Names of the Artists and Titles of the Artworks

Australia

Second from left is the Idiot Fruit Idiospermum australiense painting by Betty Hinton

Betty Hinton b.1935 Gin Gin, Queensland
Betty has painted a group of 'plant dinosaurs' from the tropical forest reserve at Daintree, north of Cairns

Idiot Fruit Idiospermum australiense - gouache and watercolour on paper A Passion for Plants, pg 107 AND The Art of Plant Evolution page 74 and 75

This very ancient plant has huge and heavy seeds. It was first discovered in the nineteenth century and then "lost" again as land was cleared. The fruit is classed as very poisonous by the Aborigines. If eaten by cattle they go mad. The tree is 15 metres tall and the flowers can only be retrieved by somebody climbing the tree to the top to cut off flowering branches - which is what happened in relation to this painting.

Mali Moir GM b.1960

Ovuliferous Scale Bunya Pine Nut Araucaria bidwillii 2014 Watercolour on deer vellum

Jenny Phillips GM b.1949

Corymbia ficifolia 1998 Watercolour on vellum
Sausage Tree Kigelia africana 1999

Brazil

Far Left: Seed Pod, Cardiocrinum giganteum by Robert McNeill. Far right: Two works by by Alvaro E. X. Nunes - Cybistax antisyphilitica and Zeyheria montana

Álvaro Xavier Núñez b.1945 Annapolis, Brazil
One the best known of the contemporary Brazilian botanical artists, Álvaro specialises in painting plants from all the different ecosystems within Brazil - and has seven paintings in the exhibition.

Custard Apple Annona crassiflora 2003 The Art of Plant Evolution page 72 and 73
Cybistax antisyphilitica 2008 Old and New South American Botanical Art page 134 It's a popular Brazilian tonic in the treatment of syphilis and in yaws and its leaves are used to dye cloth blue.
Kapok Tree Ceiba speciosa 2003 Old and New South American Botanical Art page 126
Dioclea violacea 2009 Old and New South American Botanical Art page 135
Fruits of Savannah A Passion for Plants page 156 This might be described as a symphony in browns, the painting displays exquisite tonal control.
"Monkey Pot" Lecythis pisonis This plant is a tropical tree in the Brazil nut family and the fruit has a tight fitting lid which burst open when ready. The common name comes from the fact Monkeys put their hand into to retrieve the nuts. Adults learn that they need to be sparing in how many they take out at one time.
Zeyheria montana 2008 Old and New South American Botanical Art page 132

Guide to Botanical Illustration using Pen and Ink - in Portuguese

23/2/2018

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Rogério Lupo has produced another Guide to Botanical Illustration - this time using pen and ink. The Portuguese title is Apostila Bico de Pena. (© Rogério Lupo 2018 - All rights reserved. Sale prohibited. Free distribution.) The title contains the link to the page where you view it and download it.

His scientific illustration guide to equipment and materials comments on the use of a dip pen nib - which Google translate insists on calling a "feather beak" - but basically a nib which flexes when pressure is used so as to produce fine lines of different thickness and character.

HOWEVER it is not yet translated into English. I think he's hoping to get this done later this tear

So if you can read Portuguese you're fine.

If you're prepared to use Google Translate to read a bit at a time it's also fine (you can see what I made of it below!). It's a bit odd - but you can get the gist of what he's saying.

Apostila Bico de Pena de Rogério Lupo

Below are the two descriptions of the Guide in Portuguse and Google Translate English.

Guia de curso com informações completas sobre os bicos de pena mais especializados para traços precisos usados na ilustração científica. São tratados assuntos como marcas de bicos, de tintas e papéis, procedimentos para seleção do material na hora da compra, restauração, cuidados, exercícios e tudo que se precisa saber para começar a conhecer e praticar.

Course guide with complete information on the most specialized pen nozzles for precise strokes used in scientific illustration. Subjects such as nozzle marks, paints and papers, procedures for material selection at the time of purchase, restoration, care, exercise and all that one needs to know to get to know and practice are treated. (according to Google Translate)

Note that Google Translate takes the portuguese he uses and translates the word as

"nozzle" which is a term we more usually associate with a technical pen
or "beak" - it comes up sometimes a "feather beak"

rather than a specialist nib which is typically used with a dip pen holder. This is just Google Translate rather than Rogério!

20 of the 40 practice strokes using pen and ink recommended by Rogerio Lupo and provided as examples at the end of his Guide ( © Rogério Lupo 2018 )

What I like about the Guide

Note - this was all identified using Google Translate!)

What I like about this Guide is that he discusses:

buying a pen nib and very precise detail about what to look out for to get a good nib which will behave well
different brands by name and how he finds them
the best brands of paper to use for pen and ink illustration - and he comments on Bristol (plate) paper he likes and those he does not (the ones which are too abrasive on the end of the nib).
the best quality ink to use - and his recommendations plus how to keep the ink hydrated
how to protect the point of the nib
how to preserve the nib on good condition - and the use of alcohol for cleaning and the purpose of a pen wiper
how to test nibs before purchasing them - including how to test for blade crossing - this is the truly fastidious bit for the real pen and ink fan. There's a nice bit where he displays how to detect splay in the end of the nib and whether the cut is central or not.
how to sand and polish nibs to improve the flow or restore their use
what to do when the ink won't flow (the "departure problem")

He then moves on to the use of the pen

how to train yourself to deliver parallel strokes - which includes tips on breathing!
he provides some examples of pen strokes to practice. His list of 40 pen strokes is precisely explained as to what each demonstrates

All in all it's a lot more information than is often available - written by somebody who is fastidious about the use of the kit he uses for illustration. I'm a huge fan of those who really care about the quality of the materials they use - and want to share what they know with others.

You can obtain the Guide from Slideshare (as with his Graphite for Scientific Illustration Guide) - just click the link in the title. As before to access the free download you will need to be logged in to an account with Slideshare or a Linked In account also gives you access to download

You can also follow his announcements about new classes and guides on Facebook by following his Facebook Page Rogério Lupo - Ilustração Científica.

Read more about Botanical Illustration Tips: Pen and Ink on this website

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Selected artists for Brazil's Botanical Art Worldwide Exhibition (BAW#2)

12/12/2017

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This post is about the selected botanical artworks (plants) and their artists included in the Brazilian contribution to the Botanical Art Worldwide Exhibition to be held in 2018.

The exhibition will be held in the Exhibition Room at the Botanical Garden of Curitiba (Portuguese: Jardim Botânico de Curitiba)

Jardim Botânico de Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil (Botanical garden Of Curitiba, Paraná state, southern Brazil)

65 artists submitted 143 artworks. From these the Jury selected 60 botanical artworks for the exhibition.

The jury deciding the selection had members representing both botanical art and botany as follows:

Júri Artístico: Dulce Nascimento; Rosanne Quintella; Christina Maria Klas and Marcos Silva-Ferra
Júri Botânico: Andrea Costa (Assistente Igor Musauer Kessous), Paulo Labiak and Mirian Kaehler

Euterpe edulis by Diana Carneiro

Selected Artworks and Artists

The selected artworks were announced last week and are listed below
- alongside the names of the botanical artists who created them

The names of the selected artists are listed in alphabetical order by surname - with a mini profile based on what's available online
Their location in Brazil is indicated after their name if known
Those who have been Margaret Mee Scholars are highlighted
If available/known, their website (or a website showing their work or Facebook page) is embedded in their name - so you can take a look at their artwork if so inclined.

Included in this post are images of artwork selected for the exhibition which indicate to me that this is going to be an exhibition with a very high standard. Three of these were created by three of the members of the Steering Committee.

READ MORE about the leading botanical artists in Brazil plus the Margaret Mee Scholars (indicated with an * below) on my webpage dedicated to the Botanical Artists in South America. This is as yet incomplete and I'm hoping I'll be adding to it from some of the artists listed below to the page.

Alex Araújo

Catasetum rolfeanum

Alex has a passion for both plants and design and has worked as an independent botanical illustrator for 13 years. He's contributed to a number of projects related to environmental preservation.

'Catasetum rolfeanum' Copyright Alex Araújo

Ana Maria Aviotti

Tibouchina pulchra

Luiz Carlos Berri (Lives Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro)

Paubrasila echinata (see below)
Erythroxylum pulcrum

Assistant editor of Art at one of Rio de Janeiro's most respected newspapers Jornal O Dia for 17 years (1999 to 2017). Studied botanical illustration at Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden Research Institute, National School of Tropical Botany, Horto (2016-2017). Exhibited four pen and ink illustrations of the species: Paubrasilia echinata and Erythroxylum pulchrum at the exhibition entitled "Botanical Art - RIO" in 68th National Botanical Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Currently an intern in botanical illustration at the Research Institute of the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro, for Dr. Massimo G. Bovini. September 2017 (ending February 2018).

'Paubrasila echinata' pen and ink Copyright Luiz Carlos Berri

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Margaret Flockton Award 2017 - Exhibiting Illustrators and Feedback

14/5/2017

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The botanical illustrators exhibiting at the Exhibition for the Margaret Flockton Award 2017 at the Joseph Maiden Theatre, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney are detailed below.
Below are two sections relating to:

feedback from the judges about what worked well and which areas need more attention.
The names, countries and specimens of the exhibiting artists.

The exhibition continues until Sunday 28 May 2017. It's open daily 10am - 4pm

You can read about those botanical illustrators who received the First and Second Prizes and the Highly Commendeds in my previous post Second Margaret Flockton Award win for Lucy T. Smith

You can see the highly rated illustrations and larger versions on the website (right click the images to see larger version)

Highly Commended: Echium wildpretii subsp. wildpretii by Juan Luis Castillo (Spain) - one of the first drawings made using digital media to be entered in the competition

Feedback from the Judges

Far beyond the pure technical drawing required to support botanical research, these exquisite works embody the creative and innovative potential of contemporary scientific botanical illustration.
Judges

It's always interesting to hear what Judges think about entries and one of the delights of the botanical art world is at the top level, it's not unusual to get feedback.

Key points made by the judges are summarised below

Scope and breadth of the artwork

work was submitted in a variety of media - pencil, ink wash, pen and ink, nib and ink, and (for the first time) digital media [see an excellent example above of a drawing made using digital media - drawn by Juan Luis Castillo (Spain)]
the subjects chosen were complex
the diversity in both style and media made critical comparison very challenging

Artwork which won prizes

prizewinning submissions demonstrated consistency of quality across all 5 judging criteria
these included stunning examples of scientific clarity, superb penmanship and creative flair.

Areas needing more work

Artists need to think more about the impact on rendering when a drawing is reduced for publication e.g. elements of some drawings rendered well at full-size, but were too pale upon reduction; other elements would block-in as a result of details being drawn too dark.
Information was unclear when elements overlapped and obscured important information from view;
Others lacked the all-essential ‘white-halo’ effect that separates overlapping features, creating depth and clarity.
Lack of consistency of style or scientific accuracy across the plate was penalised
The story of the plant needs to be told - and that requires a strong design. Some lacked the compositional strength to carry the eye naturally through the whole of the visual story of the plant.

Exhibiting illustrators: Margaret Flockton Award 2017

The complexity of subjects chosen and the breadth of media explored in The Margaret Flockton Award 2017 reflects the ambition and devotion of illustrators who insist on challenging themselves.
Judges

Mariko Aikawa (Japan) Aechmea recurvata var. ortgiesii (Mariko won the Best Exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2016 - see Interviews with RHS Botanical Art Gold Medallists 2016 - from Asia)
Annick Ansselin (Australia) Tasmannia lanceolata - a retired neuroscientist, with a passion for fine detail; SBA DLDC 2015
Juan Luis Castillo (Spain) Dracaena draco subsp. draco AND Juan Luis Castillo (Spain) Echium wildpretii subsp. wildpretii
Susana Ferreira (Brazil) Lavoisiera imbricata AND Macropeplus friburgensis
Lucinéia Chamorro e Silva (Brazil) Taraxacum officinale
Sergio Hernandez Bello (Spain) Himantoglossum metlesicsianum AND Kunkeliella retamoides
Molly Kamenz (Australia) Syzygium australe
Rogério Lupo (Brazil) Drosera magnifica sp.nov. AND Lychnophora mutica sp. nov.
Asisa Madian (Germany) Astrophytum ornatum
Maria Luisa Palanca (Spain) Amanita muscaria AND Plumeria rubra - previously selected to exhibit at the Hunt
Christina Selinger (Australia) Citrus australasica
Heather Simkin (Australia) Eremophila maculata
Lucy Smith (UK) Hydriastele sp. nov. “simbiakii” AND Calamus sp. nov. “pintaudii”
Klei Sousa (Brazil) Aechmea calyculata AND Annona squamosa
Alice R. Tangerini (USA) Desmodium sp. nov. AND Melicope stonei
Jolanta Urbanik (Poland) Phelipanche sevanensis
Lillian Webb (Australia) Callistemon subulatus
Esmée Winkel (Netherlands) Cleisostoma pantherina AND Monanthotaxis pynaertii
Golshan Zare (Turkey) Reseda alba AND Reseda germanicopolitana

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Profiles of Selected Artists for 19th International (ASBA and The Hort.)

13/7/2016

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48 artworks out of 260 submissions have been selected for the 19th International Exhibition of the American Society of Botanical Artists and The Horticultural Society of New York

Juried Selection

The jurors were

Susan Fraser, Director, Mertz Library, The New York Botanical Garden
David Horak, Curator of the Aquatic House, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Catherine Watters, Botanical Artist

The selected artists come from the US, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom

Artists selected for the exhibition are listed below by the country where they live.

The links embedded in their name are to their website or ASBA profile. Links to artists' Facebook pages are also included where identified.

USA

Milly Acharya - lived in Ithaca, NY for over 30 years. She is inspired by local flora as well as tropical plants of India where she grew up. Won the 2011 Diane Bouchier Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in botanical art
Rosalind Allchin - also selected for the 16th, 17th and 18th - with sepia biased monochromatic colour base. See her painting selected for the exhibtition above.
Helen Byers - an active instructor
Monika deVries Gohlke - born in Germany and lives and works in New York. Well known for her botanical etchings with aquatint and drypoint
Carrie Di Costanzo - has exhibited widely in the USA
Jean Emmons - an awardwinning botanical artist whose technique for painting on vellum is based on medieval manuscript illumination. In 2007 she won “Best in Show” at the International Botanical Art Exhibition at the Horticultural Society of New York.
Margaret Farr - lives in Manassas, VA.
Beverly Fink - a member of the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens
Ingrid Finnan - Born in Poland; now lives in Riverdale, New York City. Recipient of the Horticultural Society of New York Best in Show Award, 2013
Jane Fisher - Studied botanical art at the Minnesota School of Botanical Art. Works in graphite.
Lara Gastinger - from Charlottesville, Virginia. She is the chief illustrator for the Flora of Virginia Project. (Facebook Page)
Jane Hancock - her work is included in the Florilegium of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
Asuka Hishiki - her work will also be seen in the Flora Japonica exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew Gardens in the Autumn of 2016 which showcases "Japan’s native flora as depicted by eminent Japanese botanical artists"
Wendy Hollender - works in coloured pencils and is also author and instructor
Rose James - a graphic artist who took up botanical illustration in 2009
Heeyoung Kim - focuses on painting wildflowers of prairies and woods
Karen Kluglein - trained as an illustrator and has moved from illustrating food for clients to teaching students about botanical art
Linda Medved Lufkin - Facebook Page
Patricia Luppino - born in Brooklyn, New York and lives on Long Island. Achieved a Diploma in Botanical Art with distinction from the SBA in 2008
Tammy McEntee - currently enrolled in the Botanical Art and Illustration program at the the New York Botanical Garden.
Derek Norman - devoted to graphically documenting the native flora of Illinois and the Midwest
Rose Pellicano - Born in Italy and now lives now lives in Garden City, New York and teaches botanical art at The New York Botanical Garden and Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Elizabeth Perry
Susan Pettee - Lives in Paris, France and Great Barrington, Massachusetts and has also had careers as a printmaker and antitrust lawyer!
Ramiro Prudencio - a past student of Heeyoung Kim
Betsy Rogers-Knox - recently painted a series of the Lifecycle of the Monarch Butterfly and the Milkweed Plant for the RHS Botanical Art Exhibition 2016 and won a Silver Gilt Medal
Constance Scanlon - Known as Connie; awarded an RHS Silver Grenfell Medal for her series of paintings, Preludes and Postludes on a Stem (2013)
Kathy Schermer-Gramm - Botanical art instructor at North Carolina Botanical Gardens and Sawtooth Center Facebook Page
Mitsuko Schultz - This is the story behind her exhibit in the 16th International
Deborah Shaw - This is the story behind her exhibit in the 17th International
Kerri Weller - Trained as a graphic designer and medical illustrator. Her paintings were juried into the 14th, 15th and 16th International Exhibitions
Carol Woodin - Specialises in painting rare plants in watercolour on vellum. She has been awarded an RHS Gold Medal and the Diane Bouchier Award. ASBA Exhibitions Director. Facebook Page

RHS Botanical Art Show 2016: Betsy Rogers-Knox - Lifecycle of the Monarch Butterfly and the Milkweed Plant

Australia

Deb Chirnside - an Australian artist who lives near Geelong
John Pastoriza-Pinol - completed his docturmiento in Botany at University of Vigo, Galicia, in Spain. Now lives in Australia and has work in the Highgrove Floriliegium.

Brazil

Fatima Zagonel - an ex Margaret Mee Scholar (1999). Major collections including her paintings include the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Shirley Sherwood Collection and the Hunt Institute.

Canada

Margaret Best - a botanical art tutor and a member of botanical art and florilegium societies around the world Facebook Page

Japan

Akiko Enokido - began painting Camellia Japonica when she returned to live in Japan in 2012 and won an RHS Gold Medal for them in 2016 (see Interviews with RHS Botanical Art Gold Medallists 2016 - from Asia)
Noriko Kaneko

Akiko Enokido with her gold medal winning display of Classical Camellia Japonica at the RHS London Botanical Art Show 2016

RHS London Botanical Art Show 2016: Esmee Winkel won another Gold Medal for her display of pen and ink drawings of rare and endangered orchids.

Netherlands

Esmee Winkel a Scientific Illustrator for the Nationaal Herbarium Nederlands. Awarded RHS Gold Medals in 2013 and 2016 (and the Jill Smythies Award for excellence in botanical illustration by the Linnean Society in 2014. (see Interviews with RHS Botanical Art Gold Medal Winners 2013)

Fritillaria Crown Imperial Rubra by Dianne Sutherland (watercolour on Kelmscott vellum)

Gaynor Dickeson - active member of the Society of Botanical Artists and the Society of Floral Painters and tutor.
Denise Heywood - also a member of the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers. Exhibited at the 15th International Exhibition of Botanical Art at the Hunt Library
Lizzie Sanders - Winner of three RHS Gold Medals. Represented in the USA by Susan Frei Nathan Fine Works on Paper
Liz Shippam - lives in West Sussex. Her plums were exhibited in the 18th International which also featured on the December 2015 cover of the ASBA Journal. Facebook Page
Dianne Sutherland - Botanical Art Tutor. Exhibited in the 12th International Exhibition at the Hunt. Facebook Page
Julia Trickey - winner of 4 RHS Gold Medals (2006,2008, 2011, 2013) Facebook Page

If you'd like an image of your artwork added in to this post please contact me and email me the image.

The Show has a number of awards:

The Hort’s Best in Show Award of $500
ASBA Eleanor Wunderlich Award of $500
Helen Gray Garber Award of $500
Richmond and Lili Bates Award for Excellence of $300 in recognition of an Artist by a Fellow Artist
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Award for Print or Drawing of $250

The exhibition will be held between 3rd November 03 and 30th December 30, 2016 at The New York Design Center, 200 Lexington Avenue, 10th Floor, New York, NY

Blog Posts: 18th Annual International hosted by ASBA and the Hort

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Christobel King and the Margaret Mee Artist Scholars

30/3/2016

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It was a delight to meet Christobel King and Gustavo Marigo at the recent Private View for the Brazil - a powerhouse of plants exhibition at Kew.

Gustavo is the current Margaret Mee Artist Scholar who started his studies at Kew Gardens in 2015. I was also present as Christobel introduced him to Álvaro Xavier Núñez who is one the best known of the contemporary Brazilian botanical artists

Gustavo Marigo (left) and Christobel King (right) in front of some of her paintings at the current exhibition about Brazilian plants and artists

The Margaret Mee Artist Scholars

You can read about how the Fellowship Programme which was set up in her memory and how it came about:

on this website (see About Margaret Mee) and
on the Kew website - the Margaret Mee Fellowship Programme

Below is the list of names of all the Artist Scholars from Brazil to date who have been sponsored by the Margaret Mee Fellowship Programme.

List of Artist Scholars in the exhibition at Kew

It was fascinating to find out from Christobel that she spent three years learning the Portuguese language so she could be more effective in her teaching of the artist scholars from Brazil.

More recently , personal circumstances and the need for Christobel to have a break to write her book (see below) required a short break in the programme.

However the programme has now recommenced and the 2015 scholar is currently studying at Kew and a new one will be appointed for 2016.

Gustavo Marigo with his botanical paintings of plants of Brazil

You can also read more about what has happened to the various Margaret Mee Scholars from the past in my NEW Page about the botanical artists of South America.

The current exhibition also includes a gallery devoted to their work.

The long gallery of paintings by the Artist Scholars.

Paintings by Fatima Zagonel - the 1999 Artist Scholar who studied at Kew

Christobel King and "The Kew Book of Botanical Illustration"

You can find about the techniques that Christobel King uses to teach students of botanical art who come to Kew in her newly published book. You can find out more details of this book on this page on this website.

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Private View of "Brazil - a Powerhouse of Plants"

23/3/2016

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Last night I attended the Private View of "Brazil - a Powerhouse of Plants" which is currently on display at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. The exhibition continues until 29 August 2016.

This exhibition focuses on plants of Brazil in general and botanical artwork made by Margaret Mee in particular. It also includes paintings by other artists - including the Margaret Mee Scholars - of which more tomorrow.

As usual, it comprises images from the Kew Collection and the Shirley Sherwood Collection.

View of the large gallery and the exhibition of paintings by Margaret Mee

Richard Deverell, the Director of Kew Gardens introduced the exhibition

The Director of Kew Gardens, Richard Deverell, emphasised the fact that Brazil is the most floralistically diverse country in the world. Some 46,000 species can be found growing in the country of which about half are endemic to Brazil and grow nowhere else. By way of comparison, the UK has about 2,000 species.

The Royal Botanic Gardens have had very strong connections with Brazil for quite a while. (The Kew website highlights the number of projects Kew is involved within tropical America)

The first Flora of Brazil was published in collaboration with Kew in 2010 and there are plans in hand for the production of an encyclopaedia of the complete flora of Brazil.
Current joint projects include creating a seed bank.
Kew is collaborating on Reflora - a project to a virtual herbarium to display the images of Brazilian plants that are housed in foreign herbaria. More than 200,000 Herbarium specimens from Kew have been digitised and are now part of the Virtual Flora project
Since 2012, Brazilian scientists have been working at Kew and there are some 35 presently working in the laboratories.
the Margaret Mee Scholarship programme has funded the training and development of botanical illustrators from Brazil

He also highlighted now botanical illustrators of the past used to pursue their plants with 'steely determination' and how Margaret Mee used to pack a revolver along with her paints and brushes on her earliest trips into the Amazon Rain Forest.

He applauded the exhibition as presenting the chance to explore the range and diversity of Brazilian flora - without the need to pack a revolver!

The organisation of the images between the different galleries

Shirley Sherwood highlighted the fact that the exhibition includes both the very first painting in Brazil done by Margaret Mee - the Cannonball tree - and the very last - the Moonflower Cactus.

She described the contents of the different galleries and what the artists in each contributed to the overall exhibition.

Gallery 1 includes paintings by the early explorers including Sydney Parkinson who was one of the artists on the Endeavour.
Gallery 2 which features comparisons between past artists and those of the present - which is a feature of Shirley Sherwood's books and a number of exhibitions at Kew. It serves to highlight just how good contemporary artists are!
Gallery 3 includes paintings by the Demonte family who were a dynasty of botanical painters in Brazil
Gallery 4 highlights the work of the award winning artist Alvaro Núñez. His paintings focus on the plants of the savanna, Amazonia and Pantanal.
Gallery 5 - the large gallery - focuses on the paintings of Margaret Mee
Gallery 6 - contains the paintings of the Margaret Mee Scholars (Botanical Artists)

Alvaro Núñez with three of his botanical paintings in watercolour

There were lots of people from all over the world at the PV including:

Alvaro Nunes - one of the leading contemporary Brazilian botanical artist. One of the galleries provides an exhibition of his simply stunning paintings. He specialises in painting plants from all the different ecosystems within Brazil.
Ruth L A Stiff - who is the curator of international exhibitions at Kew and wrote the book "The Flowering Amazon" about Margaret Mee's paintings. The book accompanied the exhibition of her paintings in 16 different venues across the USA
Cynthia Rice ASBA was visiting from the USA and was able to meet Shirley Sherwood
Annette de Jonquieres who is the first Danish botanical artist that I've ever met!
Gustavo Marigo from Brazil who is the 2016 Margaret Mee Scholar (of which more tomorrow)

Cynthia Rice, Treasurer of the ASBA and Dr Shirley Sherwood with one of her paintings by Margaret Mee

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