NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

Video: Illustrating the night time blooming water lilies

5/7/2022

Lucy Smith at her desk in Kew - with a giant water lily bud she's just dissected

(below) Further to yesterday's post A NEW Giant Water Lily - discovered and illustrated by Lucy Smith, some of you may be interested in video of some of the challenges of illustrating water lilies

Channel 5 have been collaborating with Kew Gardens to create an excellent series called Kew Gardens - A Year in Bloom which aired for the first time last year 2021. It's about the work of the gardens - and the people who work within it - who of course include botanical illustrators.

Episode 3 included a section on the work of Lucy Smith, one of Kew's freelance botanical illustrators, and the challenges she has faced when trying to get specimens of giant water lilies to draw and then paint.

This YouTube video (below) - posted by Channel 5, is has been compiled from extracts from Episode 3 of their series and is called "Trying to catch the night-time bloom of the Waterlilies"

In it you see:

the Waterlily House at Kew Gardens - completed in 1852 and designed specifically to showcase the giant Amazon waterlily (Victoria amazonica)
the Kew Herbarium (where seven million preserved vascular plant specimens are kept) and the Library
Lucy Smith at her desk in the building dissecting a very fresh giant water lily bud - being careful to avoid the prickles - and then explaining how it works for the purposes of reproduction

and here's the bud - and you can see how big it is from Lucy's hand behind it!

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A NEW Giant Water Lily - discovered and illustrated by Lucy Smith

4/7/2022

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The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew have today announced the publication of a paper about the discovery of Victoria boliviana a brand NEW Giant Water Lily. Moreover it is now officially recognised to be the LARGEST in the world.

Oddly, the newly-named Victoria boliviana has actually been sitting in Kew’s Herbarium for 177 years - alongside Victoria amazonica and Victoria cruziania..

A multi-disciplinary team of Kew experts - spearheaded by botanical illustrator Lucy T. Smith and Kew's tropical horticulturist Carlos Magdalena - have now revealed the plant to be new to science – the first giant water lily "discovery" in more than a century..

Lucy and Carlos with Victoria boliviana in the Princess of Wales Conservatory at Kew Gardens

The paper’s authors decided to name the species in honour of Bolivian partners and the South American home of the waterlily where it grows in the aquatic ecosystems of Llanos de Moxos.
With flowers that turn from white to pink and bearing spiny petioles, V. boliviana is now the largest waterlily in the world, with leaves growing as wide as 3 metres in the wild.
The current record for the largest species is held by La Rinconada Gardens in Bolivia where leaves reached 3.2 metres.

The announcement is of particular interest to botanical illustrators for two reasons:

the discovery was stimulated by Lucy Smith's major personal project to illustrate the giant water lilies at Kew - after she had illustrated the smallest waterlily in the world.
Lucy provided the initial important evidence to prompt a major scientific investigation by a team of people after she demonstrated that one of the waterlilies she was investigating, documenting and recording was actually different to the two known giant waterlilies, as illustrated by Walter Hood Fitch in the 19th century.

You can read Lucy's account of the project in her new blog post on the topic - which she has been writing for the last four years - and provides the botanical illustrator's perspective on this amazing story of plant discovery - see Victoria boliviana - a new species of Giant Waterlily | Lucy Smith Blog (4th July 2022)

Delimitation of the Giant Water Lily Victoria:
the Scientific Project and Article

The title and authors of the original research article "Revised Species Delimitation in the Giant Water Lily Genus Victoria (Nymphaeaceae) Confirms a New Species and Has Implications for Its Conservation"

So it came to pass that, this morning at 5am, a new scientific paper Revised Species Delimitation in the Giant Water Lily Genus Victoria (Nymphaeaceae) Confirms a New Species and Has Implications for Its Conservation was published in the journal "Frontiers in Plant Science".

This paper lays out the evidence for:

the discovery of the first giant waterlily of the Victoria species in over a century - to be called Victoria boliviana
the declaration of a NEW largest waterlily in the world.

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Young Botanical Artist Competition 2022: Call for Entries

30/6/2022

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There's a NEW Botanical Artist Competition for Young Botanical Artists - and this is about the Call for Entries.

The Young Botanical Artist Competition 2022 is being sponsored by Dr Shirley Sherwood in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

We believe there is significant talent among the 16-25 age group with a wealth of exciting work to be uncovered. This is a crucial moment to engage with the ever-growing genre of botanical art – the scientific capacity of botanical paintings and drawings to document plants and fungi is particularly vital in contemporary society as we work to preserve our planet’s biodiversity.

Summary of who/what/how to enter

Below is a summary of the "need to know" facts about the competition for those interested in entering. This covers:

Details of who can enter and what they can enter
Selection and judging
Prizes

PLUS Resources on this website

There are a few very relevant matters which are missing at the moment (eg entry form) - but I'm sure this will be fixed quickly.

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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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Botanical Art Exhibitions - October / November 2021

25/10/2021

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This is a summary of the botanical art exhibitions open in London and Cambridge during October and November in London.

If your botanical art exhibition is not listed and should be please contact me and I will update.

Exhibitions at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery, Kew Gardens

THREE new exhibitions opened on 16th October and run until 27 March 2022

Zadok Ben-David: Natural Reserve - The first UK-based solo exhibition to incorporate new and existing works by Zadok Ben-David since 2008. Brand new and extended artworks are featured, including the stunning 360-degree installation Blackfield which is made up of more than 17,000 etched, hand-painted flowers.
Elegant and Enchanting - an exhibition of artworks by renowned Japanese botanical artists who include Asuka Hishiki, Hideo Horikoshi, Mariko Ikeda, Mieko Ishikawa and Kimiyo Maruyama. The exhibition also includes artworks by artists from China and Thailand.

ReflectionS Show – No Plants, No Planet - This digital exhibit of artwork by members of the Association of British Botanical Artists - which aims to stimulate discussion about diversity and the impact of climate change - is available to view in the Shirley Sherwood Galleries as well as on the ABBA website.

Exhibition at the Garden Museum, Lambeth

Elizabeth Blackadder: Favourite Flowers (19 October - 21 November 2021)

The late Dame Elizabeth Blackadder was one of Scotland’s greatest artists, celebrated for her beguiling and lyrical paintings of flowers. A passionate plantswoman, Blackadder’s garden provided her with rich inspiration year-round, from daffodils to autumn leaves, tulips, iris and lilies.

This exhibition, curated with The Scottish Gallery, brings together a selection of her watercolours, etchings and screenprints from throughout her life in the theme of growth, looking ahead to the renewal of life that is always around the corner in the garden.

Exhibition at the Images of Nature Gallery,
Natural History Museum, South Kensington

The Artistic Legacy of Joseph Banks has two new displays installed in the Images of Nature Gallery - which run until 13 January 2022

Artworks by Johann Jacob Dillenius - a new display of early eighteenth-century depictions of plants by Johann Jacob Dillenius (1687-1747) who was appointed as the first Sherardian professor of botany at Oxford.
Items from Captain Cook's Endeavour voyage - An original artwork and a herbarium specimen from Captain Cook's Endeavour voyage of 1768-1771. You can see more of his drawings in Wikimedia Commons

Exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

Scent from Nature: Beauty's Botanical Origins - to Sunday 31st October 2021
Booking required / Free Entry

The exhibition includes botanical watercolours of plants, from the permanent collection. It focuses on those used in the scent industry. These are displayed displayed alongside perfume vessels from ancient times to the 20th century.
Works include those by:

Pieter Withoos (1655-92),
Nicolas Robert (1614–85),
Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708–70),
Joseph von Plenck (1735–1807),
Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759–1840) and
Henriette Knip (1783–1842)

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Botanical Art Exhibitions (Autumn 2021) in London

16/9/2021

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RHS | London Botanical Art and Photography Show

The RHS's London Botanical Art and Photography Show opens at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea on Saturday 18th September 2021.

This is the link to the exhibition page on the Saatchi Gallery website.

Features of this exhibition are that it

runs for two weeks for the first time
AND is on at the same time as the Chelsea Flower Show (21-26th September 2021)

I now understand why it was decided to try and hold it at the Saatchi Gallery. This is a hop skip and longish jump from the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea where the Chelsea Show is always held.

Participants in the 2021 show include portfolios exhibits by:

15 botanical artists and illustrators
19 botanical photographers portfolio collections

RHS Medals
The RHS medals awarded to each exhibitor - Gold, Silver Gilt, Silver or Bronze - have been announced today (Friday 17 September) and the award winners will be listed in a future blog post.

The Saatchi Gallery

Tickets

Details of booking and prices are on the Saatchi Gallery website
Admission to this ticketed show is free for Saatchi Gallery Members and RHS Members.
RHS Members only:
- Note that the code required which enables RHS members to enter for free is included in the notice about the exhibition in "Your Gardening" update from the RHS date 2nd September 2021.
- Note also that getting the code and including it your booking is NOT enough. You will also need to present your RHS membership card to gain entry.
- I found booking the ticket using the code to be confusing. You need to enter the code BEFORE you start to select date and time because the free RHS option is only generated when the code has been inserted. Be careful you select the right one!
- My recommendation - take it slow and if you need to try more than once I won't be surprised!

Sloane Square station top centre; Saatchi Gallery top left; RHS Chelsea Flower Show in the grounds of the Royal Hospital / Ranelagh Gardens bottom centre/right

The Highgrove Florilegium at The Guards Chapel, Chelsea

“The Highgrove Florilegium: Watercolours Depicting Plants Grown in The Garden at Highgrove” will also be on view to those attending the Chelsea Flower Show.

This is not an opportunity which comes along very often - so definitely one not to miss. It features:

original watercolours by Florilegium artists painted for The Highgrove Florilegium, a two-volume set of botanical prints depicting the plants, vegetables, fruit and trees grown in the garden at Highgrove.
work by 72 artists from around the world

Venue: The Garrison (Guards) Chapel, Chelsea Barracks (link to location on Google Maps)
Dates: 21st - 26th September 2021
Hours 11am - 4pm daily
Booking not required
Organisers: The Prince's Foundation
Below is a video of the gardens and the range of plants which can be found there.

Exhibitions at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery, Kew Gardens

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VIDEO: How to paint like a botanical artist

3/5/2021

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Lucy T Smith, one of the botanical artists at Kew Gardens, who both works with the botanists and also provides tuition in botanical illustration, has created a new video.

How to paint like a botanical artist is a simple introduction to the process of botanical painting using watercolour. It provides a step-by-step guide on how to paint the perfect Primula flower.

Find out what equipment you’ll need, how to highlight the important details of your flower, and tips for bringing a botanical painting to life.

The painting is on YouTube and lasts just under 30 minutes
RBG Kew has very helpfully supplied indicators as to what comes up when in the video.

Timecodes:

00:00 - 00:20 - Intro
00:20 - 00:31 - What you'll need
00:31 - 02:25 - Preparation
02:25 - 03:55 - Painting the outline
03:55 - 04:54 - Adding initial details
04:54 - 07:55 - Laying down washes
07:55 - 09:56 - Mixing & painting the yellows
09:56 - 11:07 - Mixing & adding the orange details
11:07 - 12:21 - Mixing & painting the green stigma
12:21 - 13:18 - Building the colour using a dry brush technique
13:18 - 14:16 - Adding in another wash
14:16 - 15:27 - Mixing & painting darker colours
15:27 - 18:29 - Adding fine details
18:29 - 18:51 - The finished painting
18:51 - 19:20 - Why botanical art is important
19:20 - 19:29 - Outro

More about Lucy T Smith, her artwork and videos

Lucy T Smith tlking about creating botanical art - including botanical watercolours - at the Worldwide Day of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens in May 2018

Lucy T Smith is a highly regarded botanical illustrator who has won a number of international awards.

She has been Freelance botanical illustrator at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for the last 20 years.
She also works on commission.

You can see. more of her videos in my blog posts as follows

VIDEO: Watercolour painting of a pomegranate by Lucy T Smith (January 2021)
Kew Video: What is Botanical Art? (April 2019)
Lucy Smith filmed by BBC News (2018)

You can see more of her artwork on the following websites:

website http://www.lucytsmith.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/palmsmithy/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Palmsmithy/
Kew Gardens - Meet Lucy T Smith, award-winning botanical illustrator | Kew - Lucy is one of a number of highly skilled freelance botanical illustrators working at Kew to produce line drawings for scientific plant publications.

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