This post highlights the botanical artists who won medals at The 6th Annual Botanical Art Show at Bloom in the Park in Dublin opened yesterday and the medals were awarded. In this post you'll find a list of the botanical artists winning medals at the Botanical Art at the Bloom Show in Dublin - plus a brief profile of each artist winning a medal.

​I'll be back tomorrow to add in more award-winning images from this show. 

​The exhibition also includes paintings by floral artists which are listed at the end

Shevaun Doherty - Teloschistes chrysophthalmus, Golden Eye lichen. 

Shevaun not only won the only Gold Medal and Best in Show Award (her second Best in Show - she won in 2017 as well) - she also sold the painting to a major botanical art collector!  I can't help feeling that apart from the exquisite painting of this lichen that one of the things which appealed to the Judges was that I don't think anybody has painted a lichen before for the show - and yet lichens grow everywhere in Ireland!

I always feel some pride when Shevaun does well as it is one of my blog posts (note the first comment!)  which originally stimulated her to apply to do the SBA Diploma - for which she was awarded a Distinction. Since then she has done extremely well in terms of being awarded previous Gold Medals at Bloom (2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017) and prizes elsewhere and developing workshops and tuition for aspiring botanical artists - especially those wanting to learn how to paint on vellum.

Elaine Moore Mackey - Arisarum probiscideum, Mousetail Plant
Elaine started Botanical Illustration in 2013 and she completed a course at the Burren College of Art in 2014.  She has just graduated from the Distance Learning Diploma run by the Society of Botanical Artists (UK). 
​
Holly Somerville - Iris 'Turkish Blue'
Holly Somerville was born in Dublin and now lives in Wicklow. She is a botanical artist, illustrator and teacher. Her academic accreditation as a botanical artist comes from scientific and artistic perspectives. She has an MA in Botany from Somerville College, Oxford and a BA in Visual Communication from Edinburgh College of Art, where she specialised in illustration and photography. In the past she has worked in the herbarium of the Botany Department of Trinity College, Dublin. She has produced very many botanically correct pen and ink drawings for publications about Irish Flora and researchers at Trinity College and other universities around the world. She's also exhibited regularly and extensively in both Ireland and Ulster.

​Jane Stark - Anthurium hybrid
Jane Stark is a botanical artist living in the west of Ireland. A graduate of the Ontario College of Art in Toronto, Canada, she has worked in graphic design and natural history illustration in Canada, the US and Ireland, specialising in high quality publication design. She is a founding member of the Irish Society of Botanical Artists (ISBA) and is currently President of ISBA. She has also been a leading light in getting the two ISBA books published Aibítir: The Irish Alphabet in Botanical Art and Plandaí Oidhreachta, Irish Heritage Plants. She is also the curator of the annual Claregalway Botanical Art Expo, held in conjunction with the Galway Garden Festival at Claregalway Castle. ​

Lynn Stringer
- ‘Douglas Fir’- painting sold
- 'Iris "Haute les voiles"’
Lynn is Chair of the Irish Society of Botanical Artists. She lives and works in County Wicklow.  She studied Fine Art at DIT College of Marketing and Design in Dublin as a mature student and graduated with a first in painting. She regularly holds botanical art classes and exhibits her work at various plant fairs in Ireland (see website for details). She won an RHS Silver Medal in 2013 when she exhibited six paintings about Kilmacurragh and the Plant Hunters from her long term project to paint plants from Kilmacurragh (part of the National Botanic Gardens). She's a member of ISBA and ASBA. See An Interview with Lynn Stringer

The Irish Society of Botanical Artists organised the Irish exhibition Botanical Art Worldwide – Éireannach - Celebrating Native Plants of Ireland. This was held at the National Botanic Gardens, 9 Glasnevin Hill in Dublin between 6-27 May 2018.

However the exhibition lives on in its catalogue and for all of us who were unable to get to the exhibition, this is a wonderful document to have for all sorts of reasons.

This is a review of that book Éireannach – Celebrating Native Plants of Ireland in which I endeavour the count the ways in which it is VERY IMPRESSIVE!  

I don't often rave about a book - but this is one of those occasions!
​

I've been impressed with the way that the Irish Society of Botanical Artists - which was formed just over four years ago, in March 2014, has produced a book for every one of its three exhibitions to date.

Maybe that's because they have regarded each exhibition and each book as the outcome of a very specific project. What is even more laudable is that every project has focused on Irish plants 

• Aibítir: The Irish Alphabet in Botanical Art - focused on illustrating the variety of plant forms and habitats in native plants on the whole island of Ireland. The project used the Celtic uncial script as a structure on which to 'hang' the plants. The first book was small - but perfectly formed - and it sits on my bookshelves!
• Plandaí Oidhreachta - Heritage Irish Plants - the second project celebrated the the wealth of good Irish Garden Plants within the context of botanical illustration.
• Éireannach – Celebrating Native Plants of Ireland - the third project is intended as a celebration of Irish Native Plants

​ 

Every single plant in the exhibition has:

• at least a single (large) page to itself - while some enjoy a double page spread
• the latin name, the common name, the Celtic name and the Genus and family
• the name of the artist
• the story of the plant - which includes where the plant was found, what the name means - in terms for example of history or habitat or growth features. Plus a detailed description of the botanical features of importance and finally any interesting facts or stories associated with the plant
• the image of the botanical art. Some also have a photo of the plant and/or an enlargement of part of the plant of interest - such as the flowers of the Sundew.

What impresses me about the ISBA projects is that they are "rooted" literally and metaphorically in the plants and the botany and getting to know the plant each artist is painting. It's a marvellous practice and an excellent standard for a botanical art society to set as a challenge to members wanting to participate in its projects.

I'd go so far as to say it is a practice I'd commend to other botanical art societies.  From a standing start in 2014 ISBA have well and truly demonstrated what can be accomplished - and this book is the evidence of that.

In terms of the botanical art - the standard is excellent and I think some excellent decisions were made as to which merited a double page spread.  
​

This is a summary of the various exhibitions, educational events and activities around the UK and Ireland for the Worldwide Day of Botanical Art on Friday 18 May at:

• Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens
• The Peter Scott Gallery, Lancaster University
• RHS Lindley Library
• Chelsea Physic Garden
• The Art Workers' Guild
  
• John Hope Gateway, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh​
• National Botanic Garden, Dublin.

You'll find more information about events and personnel involved in the links.

Worldwide Day of Botanical Art - Events on 18th May at Kew
​
Venue: Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Time: 11am - 4pm - To be opened by Shirley Sherwood at 11am.
Admission: FREE - but normal admission charges to the garden apply
Activities: 

• Digital slideshow of the artwork in the UK exhibition at Lancaster and in botanical art worldwide exhibitions around the world
• Botanical artists currently commissioned by Kew will present their work in a series of informal talks and demonstrations

Talks are as follows

• 11:30 – 12pm – Dr Andrew Brown - From Plant to Plate – how to prepare a complete scientific illustration through meticulous observation, planning and execution.  
• 12:15 – 12:45pm – Lucy T Smith - Largest, Smallest, Oldest – the challenges of working with Kew’s greenhouse collections of giant waterlilies and rare cycads including Encephalartos woodii, one of the Temperate House’s rarest plants.   
• 1:30 – 2:00pm – Hazel Wilks - Dogwoods to Dandelions – the range of work a Kew illustrator undertakes: depicting new plant species, explaining plant anatomy and drawing world floras 
• 2:15 – 2:45pm – Georita Harriot - For the Love of Lavender – the work behind illustrating  a botanical monograph in colour,  including research into how to mix 1000 different shades of Green.

Work and demonstrations will also be shown by Christabel King GM FSBA, FLS, Anita Barley Recipient of the 2016 Jill Smythies Award for Botanical Illustration from the Linnaean Society Penny Price and Dr Judi Stone. ​

​Sarah Oldridge, Adult Education Co-ordinator, will provide information about courses at Kew.

Worldwide Day of Botanical Art - Events on 18th May at Lancaster 

Title: In Ruskin's Footsteps
Venue: The Peter Scott Gallery, Lancaster University
Time: 12.00pm - 5.00pm
Admission: FREE 

• Exhibition opens on 18th May 
• You can see the digital gallery of artwork now on the ABBA website
• a slideshow of 1,000 images from Botanical Art Worldwide, including the 40 images from In Ruskin’s Footsteps.​

Special Event Open Days on 19th May and 9th June 2018

Venue: Peter Scott Gallery, Lancaster University

• 19th May and 9th June: Exhibition Tours by Martin Allen. His main role in supporting the exhibition has been to check botanical accuracy in terms of depiction of plants and the nomenclature of the plant species.  He is an expert botanist, who regularly works in the field completing botanical surveys and habitat assessments.  As well as this he is also a highly skilled botanical artist and tutor, having won many awards. including three RHS Gold Medals (1995, 97, 99)
• 19th May: Mally Francis, ( see her o=image below) Sandra Doyle and Jackie Copeman will be demonstrating in the exhibition space.  
• 9th June (2pm – 3pm) Talk on ‘Fieldwork and Research Techniques for Botanical Art by Sarah Morrish who has a working background in ecology and conservation and is an experienced botanical and natural science artist and tutor. This will give an overview of how best work to in the field and how you can then research your subject further, through direct investigation of the subject and additional research techniques - from botany to paper.

Slideshow and Tours: Botanical Art Worldwide
​
Venue: RHS Lindley Library, 80 Vincent Square, LONDON SW1P 2PE
Time: 

• Slideshow: 10am - 5pm; 
• Tours: 11am and 2pm

Admission: FREE
Activities:

• a slideshow of 1,000 images from Botanical Art Worldwide, including the 40 images from In Ruskin’s Footsteps.
• a curated tour of artworks from the RHS Lindley Library Art Collection on this day. Tour places are limited - please call the library on 020 7821 3050 or email library.london@rhs.org.uk to reserve a place.
• View the Lindley Library’s most recent acquisition, Dahlia Twynings After Eight.. a watercolour painting by Heidi Venamore. This will be on display alongside the preliminary sketches for this piece.​ ​

‘Botany and Painting techniques: a day of talks and demonstrations by SBA artists on painting some of Britain’s indigenous species’.

The Society of Botanical Artists is supporting the Worldwide Day of Botanical Art with two half day events 

Venue: The Art Workers' Guild, 6 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AT
Time:

• 10:45 -13:00 - Morning event is 2 hours, with refreshments
• 14:15 -16:30 - Afternoon event is 2 hours with refreshments

Admission: PRICED ticketed events - tickets from this site
Activities: talks and demonstrations by:

• Morning event: Gael Sellwood GM, SBA, Angeline de MeesterBA(Hons), GM, FLS, SBA, Jarnie Godwin MTcg, BSc(Hons), DipSBA(Dist) SBA and Pamela Taylor PhD, BSc, SBA
• Afternoon Event: Sue J Williams SBA FCPFS, Dianne Sutherland Ball SBA BSc Hons (Biology), Jennifer Jenkins SBA, Billy Showell BA PSBA

​​Here's what's happening in Scotland 

Worldwide Day of Botanical Art in Dublin and ISBA Open Day

Venue: Visitors’ Centre at the National Botanic Gardens
Time: 10:00 - 16:00
Admission: FREE (entry to the garden is free also)
Activities:

• Exhibition: Éireannach – Celebrating Native Plants of Ireland  - continues until 27th May. See also my blog post Selected Irish Artists for Éireannach Exhibition  (Botanical Art Worldwide #7)
• digital slideshow of images from 24 other Botanical Art Worldwide exhibitions plus images from Éireannach – Celebrating Native Plants of Ireland 
• tour of the exhibition by Zoe Devlin wildflower expert and mentor to the Irish project
• botanical painting demonstrations by members of ISBA
• cards, prints and merchandise by ISBA artists

The book Éireannach – Celebrating Native Plants of Ireland  will also be for sale (I've now my copy and it's STUNNING! Review coming up later this week)

 The judges have chosen paintings of 48 native plants - indigenous to Ireland - painted by 43 artists for the upcoming Éireannach exhibition organised by the Irish Society of Botanical Artists - and part of the Botanical Art Worldwide initiative taking place in May 2018. (For more details of this initiative see the note at the end of this post)

The names of artists whose work has been selected are listed below along with the names of the plant they have illustrated in terms of:

• the English common name
• the Latin name
• the Gaeilge Planda

The images included are scanned and cropped from the artists' paintings and are provided with their permission. Many thanks to the ISBA for their co-operation with this blog post.  

In addition

• the website of the artist is embedded in the name (if available)
• a short profile is provided (if available online). 
• Botanical artists who also contributed to the 'The Heritage Irish Plants – Plandaí Oidhreachta Exhibition are indicated by an asterisk *

Exhibition details are as follows:

• Venue: National Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre, National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland 
• Dates: May 5 @ 10:00 am - May 27 @ 5:00 pm
• Admission: Free

An open day is being held on the 18th May which will feature painting demos, a ‘tour’ of the wildflower paintings by Zoe Devlin, renowned wildflower expert and the mentor for the Irish project, and a chance to meet the participating artists.

The Steering Committee for the exhibition comprise: Zoë Devlin, Yanny Petters, Jane Stark and Lynn Stringer. They have received assistance from a number of the other participating artists.

Hazel Beehan

• Marsh Thistle, Cirsium palustre, Feochadán corraigh

Janet Bockett *

• Marsh-marigold, Caltha palustris Lus Buí Bealtaine

Developed a strong appreciation of the natural world as a child and was encouraged to paint plants. More recently and since retirement, has been inspired by the botanical art of Patricia Jorgensen and has pursued her studies with her. Contributed to the 'The Heritage Irish Plants – Plandaí Oidhreachta Exhibition.

Fionnuala Broughan *

• Hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, Sceach gheal

Background in botany and geology and writing about nature. Fionnuala began drawing plants, trees in recent times.

Ann Burn

• Wood Anemone, Anemone nemorosa, Lus na gaoithe

Heather Byers

• Cowslip, Primula veris, Bainne bó bleachtáin

Contributed to the 'The Heritage Irish Plants – Plandaí Oidhreachta Exhibition.

Marcella Campbell

• Great Willowherb, Epilobium hirsutum, Lus na Tríonóide

Michael Campbell *

• Bloody Crane's-bill Geranium versicolor Crobh stríocach

BFA (1976) Southern Illinois University. Certificate and Diploma in Botanical Art from the School of Botanical Art at Denver Botanic Garden. Participated in a number of botanical exhibitions in the USA. Member of the Irish Watercolour Society and the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society

Giulia Canevari (Facebook)

• Hazel Corylus avellana Coll

Born in 1986 in Milan. Diploma in Illustration and Multimedia Animation, IED Milano and subsequently worked as a graphic designer. Came to Ireland in 2012; based in Dublin and inspired by nature, environment and ecology. Studied botanical art with leading Irish botanical artists in recent years. Involved with NCAD Community Garden in Dublin 8 

Grainne Carr

• Elder Sambucus nigra Trom

Betty Christie *

• Wild Carrot Daucus carota Mealbhacán

Graduated with First Class Honours from the Belfast College of Art and Design in 1975, followed by an Art Teachers’ Diploma in 1976. Taught art. Lived in Belfast for over 40 years, but her work is still influenced by her rural upbringing, in Limavady, Co Derry. Also a member of the Arts’ Society of Ulster, the Pastel Society of Ireland, the Water Colour Society of Ireland, the Dublin Painting and Sketching Club. Exhibited extensively and internationally and won many awards for her art.

Janet Colgan *

• Creeping Jenny Lysimachia nummularia Lus an dá phingin
• Navelwort Umbilicus rupestris Cornán caisil

Jo Cummins (Facebook)

• Shepherd's Purse Capsella bursa-pastoris Lus an sparáin

Diane Davison

• Ash Fraxinus excelsior Fuinseog

Sally de Bromhead

• Red Clover Trifolium pratense Seamair dhearg

Marie de Lacy Clancy

• Crab Apple Malus sylvestris Crann fia-úll

Mary Dillon *

• Honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum Féithleann

Diploma with Distinction, Society of Botanical Artists, 2014. Founding Chairperson of the Irish Society of Botanical Artists 2014. Elected member of the Watercolour Society of Ireland. Elected Associate Member of the Society of Botanical Artists, UK. Has exhibited her botanical art internationally, most recently in San Francisco, Madrid, Frankfurt and London. Teaches botanical art. Awarded Gold Medal and Best in Show in Botanical and Floral Art at Bloom, Dublin, 2016, and a Gold at Bloom, 2017.

Shevaun Doherty * (Facebook)

• Common Knapweed Centaurea nigra Mínscoth

Diploma with Distinction, Society of Botanical Artists 2012. Works as a Botanical Artist, Natural History Illustrator and Art Tutor. Founder member of ‘The Irish Society of Botanical Artists. Also a full member of the Society of Botanical Artists and the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. Has exhibited her botanical art in Ireland UK, Egypt and at the Botanic Gardens in Frankfurt and Madrid. Taught internationally including a workshop at the American Society of Botanical Artists National Conference. Designed the cover image and logo for The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan. Won Gold Medals for her botanical artwork on vellum in the Botanical category at Bloom Botanical Art in Dublin (2014, 2015, 2016). Won Gold Medal and Best Painting in Show (Botanical category) at Bloom 2017.

Noeleen Frain *

• Ragged Robin Silene flos-cuculi Lus síoda
• Pyramidal Orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis Magairlín na stuaice

An Irish artist and Calligrapher based in Dublin covering a wide variety of subject matter.

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.

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.

​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 

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​

The Call for Entries for the 6th Botanical & Floral Art Exhibition held during the Bloom in the Park Festival in Phoenix Park, Dublin in June 2018 has been published. The exhibition is an open exhibition.

Exhibition Venue: Phoenix Park Visitor Centre (In the courtyard, opposite the Cafe)
​Dates: Bloom: 31 May - 4 June 2018; the exhibition will then remain in situ for the rest of June in the Visitors Centre after Bloom closes.
Exhibition Hours: Bloom - 9.30am - 5.30pm (except 31st May - 5.30-7.30pm); Rest of June - normal visitor centre hours.

Full details and conditions of entry can be found in the Bloom 2018 Call for Entries document which can be downloaded as a PDF. It's a bit tricky trying to find it as there is no live 'home page' for the event as yet. I found out via the Irish Society of Botanical Artists' announcement

This is a summary of the key details

• Importantly, this year (for the first time), the Botanical and Floral Art Exhibition will continue at the Visitors Centre after the Bloom festival closes for the month of June. (closing date likely to be in the w/c 25h June2018)
• The exhibition is juried by an independent judging panel
• Approximately 40 pieces of work will be shown.
• Medals may be awarded for works of particular merit by an independent judging panel.
• Artists are invited to submit up to three pieces of work. ​​​​

In order to submit you need to:

• read the Criteria for Submissions in the Call for Entries document before submitting an application.
• Submit an application via the online application form on or before the  deadline for entries which is Friday 30th March 2018.
• You must submit a digital image of your entry/entries. This should be a 300 dpi jpeg not less than 20cm and not more than 40cm in any dimension
• pay a non-refundable submission charge of €10 per painting (with a reduced fee of €25 for three paintings) 
• Hard copy or postal entries are NOT accepted
• Incomplete applications will not be accepted
• Check all details are correct - including spelling - before submitting the form.

Following the assessment of entries by the Judging Panel, you will be advised of whether or not your entries have been successful after 27 April 2018 

All queries should be directed via email to entries@bloominthepark.com 

The exhibition has a presence on Facebook. This is the:

• Botanical & Floral Art in Bloom Facebook page.
• Botanical & Floral Art in Bloom Event Listing on Facebook

In this post you'll find a list of the botanical artists winning medals at the Botanical Art at the Bloom Show in Dublin - plus a brief profile of each artist winning a medal. The exhibition also includes paintings by floral artists but this post is limited to the botanical artists.

This year, Bloom - the largest gardening festival in Ireland - was held at the OPW Visitor's Centre, in Phoenix Park Dublin between 1st and 5th June 2017. Today is the last day.

At the end, there is a commentary on how this botanical art show compares to others and a suggestion for possibly how the show might develop in future.

I'm always pleased to see Shevaun Doherty progressing in her career as a professional botanical artist and tutor. Shevaun enrolled for the Distance Learning Diploma Course (DLDC) in Botanical Illustration run by the Society of Botanical Artists after reading A Making A Mark Interview with Margaret Stevens - my interview with Margaret Stevens PPSBA, FSBA the then President of the Society of Botanical Artists and the Course Director for the SBA Diploma. The major advantage of the course for Shevaun was that she could do the assignments while living in Egypt!  On one memorable occasion she completed her assignment on carrots while Egyptian uprising (and their version of the Arab Spring) Egyptian Spring made lots of noise outside her window!

As a result I've followed her career. Shevaun graduated the DLDC with a Distinction in her Diploma and has gone on to win a number of awards and medals. She is now the vellum painting tutor for the Distance Learning Diploma Course offered by the Society of Botanical Artists.

This is her fourth Gold Medal at Bloom - and her first Best in Show.

Siobhan Larkin was the Winner of Best in Show last year - and the year before! She has also exhibited at the 15th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration at the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation in Pittsburgh, PA. She works in watercolour pencils - but she's not a fan of being online - hence no website.

Holly Somerville is is an Irish botanical artist, illustrator and teacher. She has academic accreditation to be a botanical artist from both the science and artistic perspectives. She has an MA in Botany from Somerville College, Oxford and a BA in Visual Communication from Edinburgh College of Art, where she specialised in illustration and photography. In the past she has worked in the herbarium of the Botany Department of Trinity College, Dublin. She has produced very many botanically correct pen and ink drawings for publications about Irish Flora and researchers at Trinity College and other universities around the world.

Lynn lives and works in County Wicklow.  She studied Fine Art at DIT College of Marketing and Design in Dublin as a mature student and graduated with a first in painting. She regularly holds botanical art classes and exhibits her work at various plant fairs in Ireland (see website for details). She won an RHS Silver Medal in 2013 when she exhibited six paintings about Kilmacurragh and the Plant Hunters from her long term project to paint plants from Kilmacurragh (part of the National Botanic Gardens). She's a member of ISBA and ASBA.See An Interview with Lynn Stringer

Jane Stark is a botanical artist living in the west of Ireland. A graduate of the Ontario College of Art in Toronto, Canada, she has worked in graphic design and natural history illustration in Canada, the US and Ireland, specialising in high quality publication design. She is a founding member of the Irish Society of Botanical Artists (ISBA) and is currently President of ISBA. She has also been a leading light in getting the two ISBA books published Aibítir: The Irish Alphabet in Botanical Art and Plandaí Oidhreachta, Irish Heritage Plants. She is also the curator of the annual Claregalway Botanical Art Expo, held in conjunction with the Galway Garden Festival at Claregalway Castle. ​