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Review: Society of Botanical Artists 2019 - Plantae

9/6/2019

SBA Plantae 2019

The annual exhibition of the SBA - Society of Botanical Artists - has closed at the Mall Galleries in London.

It may seem odd to be doing the review now. However I have already written three blog posts connected with the exhibition! These are:

I'm going to look at:

practical matters first - and the success or otherwise of the exhibition's new venue
other changes to the exhibition
The Catalogue - and the scope for a future virtual exhibition
Private View and Demonstrations

I'll cover art I liked in another blog post.

A new home - at the Mall Galleries

The entrance to the new exhibition venue - at the Mall Galleries on The Mall in London (right next to Admiralty Arch and just up the road from Buckingham Palace)

The end wall in the Main Galleries

This is the first annual exhibition the SBA has had for two years. During which time the President, the membership arrangements and the venue for the annual exhibition have all changed.

In effect it's a reinvention of something we're very familiar with and hence it seems appropriate to focus on what's changed, what worked extremely well - and the areas where there's scope for further development and improvement in future years.

I don't see the Society of Botanical Artists leaving the Mall Galleries anytime soon. I think they've found their new "forever" home!

I asked people visiting the exhibition on my three visits what they thought of the new venue and without exception ALL were very impressed with:

the general feeling of professionalism - its purpose was an art gallery - and it felt like an art gallery
the way the artwork looked on the walls - unsurprisingly given the prior comment
the location - the feeling of being down in the basement ( at Central Hall ) had been completely lost - although interestingly all of the galleries are below ground! The white walls and the higher ceilings all made for a lighter, fresher and less claustrophobic feeling. People also very much liked the better sense of being at the centre of things - being a hop, skip and a jump from Trafalgar Square, other large art galleries, theatres and shops.
the facilities - visitors very much valued the opportunity to sit and have a cup of tea and chat in the Gallery rather than, as we used to do in Central Hall, Westminster, having to leave the exhibition and visit a not very inspiring canteen type cafe for some not very inspiring refreshments!

Bottom line - nobody wanted to go back to Central Hall, Westminster!

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Awards - Society of Botanical Artists' Annual Exhibition 2019

6/6/2019

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This post is the second of four about the annual exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists:

today's post is about the botanical artists receiving awards at "Plantae" the 2019 Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists. It includes images of the artwork receiving awards and more information about the artists (links to their websites are embedded in their names).
yesterday's post Plantae: SBA Annual Exhibition 2019 - Selected Artists was about the artists whose work was selected for the exhibition
the next post is about those artists who were awarded a Certificate of Botanical Merit - which was judged by Lucy T Smith, who illustrates plants for Kew Gardens or the NEW Certificate of Exhibiting Excellence
finally, the fourth post will be a review of the exhibition as a whole - with notes of the artwork I liked and a commentary on its move to the Mall Galleries. I've been asking people what they think about the new environment.

The show is on at the Mall Galleries in London until 1pm on 9th June 2019. Admission is free

The awards are split into two categories:

the SBA Awards - awarded by the SBA Council
The Prizes awarded by the Exhibition's Sponsors.

NOTE: The quotations below come from the Society of Botanical Artists Instagram account.

SBA Award Winners

The Joyce Cuming Presentation Award
This is probably one of the most prized awards and is a sterling silver Almoner’s plate which is a legacy from Joyce Cuming. The winner also receives a certificate.

The winner was Lidiya Doukhnevitch who is based in Minsk in Belarus.

For me this was one of the best - if not the best - paintings in the competition. My eye kept being drawn back to it. That's because it has a great subject treated in an unusual way. It kept reminding me of alien monsters in sci-fi movies - and yet's it just what potatoes do if you leave them alone! The tonal range was great (which helped it to bounce off the walls in the gallery and make you want to go and look at it again) and the colour handling is impeccable.

The Secret World of Potatoes by Lidiya Doukhnevitch (watercolour £1,500)

Botanical art is not just about pretty flowers! This painting ‘The Secret World of Potatoes’ by Lidiya Doukhnevitch @lida_duhnevich is a stunning example of how even the simplest of plants can be intriguing and exciting!

I asked Lidiya why she chose a potato and she replied as follows

“It’s not difficult to create something beautiful from something beautiful. And when you start a new picture, you involuntarily set yourself a task higher and more difficult. So I decided to look at something at first glance unattractive in a new way and look at it from the inside. To tell the story of life. I even tried to grow it. But the potato itself found me. I love the sunlight very much, how it creates the world around us for our eyes. Therefore, I always build the lighting in the artwork. " Lidiya Doukhnevitch

The Margaret Granger Memorial Silver Bowl
This award is given in memory of Margaret Granger for the best picture by a member elected in the last two years. As a prize it's an excellent incentive for a new member to create a memorable impression.

The award winner was Jackie Isard SBA Fellow who was a graphic designer prior to becoming a botanical artist. I very much liked all the works she entered this year and recommend you look out for them.

Faded Protea neriifolia ‘Snowcrest’ by Jackie Isard (watercolour, £1,450)

Joanne Craig McFeely Rose Bowl
This is a Silver Rose Bowl awarded (for a year) for a true botanical work - judged by an external Judge (although NOT in this case Lucy Smith who judged the Certificates of Botanical Merit - not quite sure what happened there).

The winner was an American artist Charlotte Ricker who teaches "Botanical Illustration in Pencil II" at the School of Botanical Art & Illustration | Denver Botanic Gardens. Bear in mind this work was completed using watercolour pencils!

I really loved this work. This excellent contemporary interpretation of the sequencing of the bud through to bloom and then seed head reminded me very much of Georg Ehret's own magnificent painting of Magnifolia grandiflora with growth sequence. It's similar enough to tip its head to the master and different enough to be unique. (See my page About Georg Dionysius Ehret for a comparison)

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Plantae: SBA Annual Exhibition 2019 - Selected Artists

5/6/2019

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Plantae, the Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists, opens to the public at a new venue - the Mall Galleries, in The Mall - today, Wednesday 5th June. (Map).

It's quite possibly the largest exhibition of botanical art in the world - even though it's reduced the number of works being exhibited in its new exhibition venue.

The Online Catalogue (which is also available to download) - sets a new standard for exhibition catalogues by including all the artwork on display. The icing on the cake would be to provide an online link to enable those unable to get to the exhibition to express an interest in buying the artwork on display!

The catalogue indicates

there are 431 artworks by c.190 artists (with a ratio for artists of approximately 50:50 re. members and open entry)
All artwork is for sale
specialist books - by member authors will also be available to buy.

During the exhibition there are two art demonstrations by two of the Course Tutors for the Distance Learning Diploma

Janie Pirie – coloured pencil on Friday 7th June and
Shevaun Doherty – watercolour on vellum Saturday 8th June.
Demonstrations times are from 10:30 until lunch then 2 – 4:30pm.

Who are the artists exhibiting with the Society of Botanical Artists?

This exhibition has always attracted a diverse and international group of botanical artists. I thought it might be interesting to share who they are, which countries they come from - and something about their backgrounds. It's proved to be an extremely fascinating - if very lengthy (an understatement!) - exercise.

I've learned an awful lot looking at the websites of the exhibiting artists - not least from those who are brand new to exhibiting at SBA.

Those coming to the exhibition and/or aspiring to exhibit in future may care to take a closer look at the sort of artists exhibiting with the Society of Botanical Artists.

BELOW is a list of all those artists exhibiting at Plantae

links embedded in their names are limited to those with websites (or Facebook Page where their work is on display)
information about an artist who hasn't got a website typically comes from another reputable source (eg the Members Page of the Society of Botanical Artists)
international artists have their country indicated in italics after their name where known

Entrance to the Mall Galleries in The Mall (in between Admiralty Arch and HorseGuards Parade)

Selected Artists

Natalia Alatortseva (Russia) - Studied Botany at Lomonosov Moscow State University. She was one of the organisers of Flora Russia exhibition in St Petersburg in 2018
Linda Alexander ROI, SBA Fellow - One of a few contemporary botanical artists who paint in oils. Linda is also a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and has exhibited her botanical art at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. She's won a number of prestigious awards for her art.
Jacqueline Allwood SBA Fellow - a glass artist who will be displaying glass engravings
Sandra Wall Armitage PPSBA SBA Fellow - former President of the Society of Botanical Artists
Julia Asenbaum (Austria) - Studied plant science at the University of Vienna

Hee-Soon Baik (Korea) - won the Director General's Award at the Botanical Art Worldwide Exhibition in Korea - at the Korea National Arboretum
Karen Bailey SBA Fellow - In 2013 Karen was awarded a Certificate of Botanical Merit and has been approved to exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show
Kathleen Baker SBA Fellow - studied Botany at Birmingham University, taught Advanced Level Biology for over 20 years and her research work led to Master and Doctorate degrees. She took up botanical art when she retired and has been awarded four gold medals by the Alpine Garden Society.
Sylvia Balch SBA Fellow
Lorraine Barraclough
Victoria Braithwaite - Exhibits with the SBA and the SSBA. Has also exhibited in the Royal Scottish Academy Open Exhibition, Edinburgh and the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition. Has work in the Shirley Sherwood Collections (exhibited Kew 2016 and 2017) see image of her work below
Pauline Brown
Penny Brown SBA Fellow professional artist and illustrator who trained as a designer for the theatre. Graduated from the SBA Diploma Course in 2011 with a distinction and won the Award for Excellence. Author of ‘Botanical Drawing – A Step-by-Step Guide to Drawing Flowers, Vegetables, Fruit and Other Plant Life’, (published January 2018). Her artwork in the exhibition is cut paper collage.
Vivien Burgess SBA Fellow - member since 1996

Polygonatum multiflorum – 'Solomon’s Seal' by Victoria Braithwaite (watercolour £2,100)

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Rosie Sanders at Connect Art Fair at Mall Galleries

1/2/2019

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Paintings by Rosie Sanders are currently exhibited by Coombe Gallery at Connect – The Independent Art Fair - a new Art Fair at the Mall Galleries in London this week.

Coombe Gallery - who represent Rosie and exhibit her artwork in South West England have brought some delightful examples of her paintings to London for the fair.

Below you can see a slideshow of her paintings.

the first one is the one Rosie is painting in photo used for the Foreword of her latest book (see below)
I thought Summer's Story was absolutely delightful and a "wow" addition to any collection
all always Rosie is an expert at capturing rich coloured darks - such as the rich dark purples of the purple Iris on display elsewhere in the Fair
To get a sense of size and scale of these paintings take a look at the last pic of Mark Riley, Gallery Manager of Coombe Gallery and his mum on the stand.

The Fair is open until 70om tonight and again tomorrow from 11am –5pm.

Coombe Gallery

If you visit the south west, you can find examples of Rosie's paintings at the Coombe Gallery in Dartmouth.

website: https://www.coombegallery.com/
Rosie Sanders - available paintings at the Gallery
Address: 20 Foss Street, Dartmouth, Devon TQ6 9DR

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Rosie Sanders' Flowers: A Celebration of Botanical Art

Rosie Sanders's latest book is Rosie Sanders' Flowers: A Celebration of Botanical Art published by Batsford in late 2016 (UK) and early 2017 (USA). It's a large format book with over 80 colour illustrations of her flower paintings and Rosie at work. If you're a fan of her work or her very large botanical paintings it's definitely a book to buy.

It's also got an average rating of:

4.9 out of 5 stars by 19 customer reviews (UK)
4.7 out of 5 stars by 18 customer reviews (USA)

BUY THIS BOOK

Rosie Sanders' Flowers: A Celebration of Botanical Art from Amazon UK
Rosie Sanders' Flowers: A Celebration of Botanical Art from Amazon.com

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SBA announces next Annual Exhibition at Mall Galleries in June 2019

1/10/2018

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The Society of Botanical Artists's new President - Billy Showell - has today announced the new venue - and dates - for the 2019 Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists.

Here's the key details:

EXHIBITION:

Theme: Plantae
Venue: Mall Galleries, the Mall, London
Private View: 4 June 2019 (pm only)
Dates open to the public: 5th - 9th June 2019
Hours: 10am - 5pm; (1pm on Sunday 9th June)

CALL FOR ENTRIES
More details about the Call for Entries will be issued in due course. The outline details are as follows - with more comments in and below the flyer below.

Submission opens: early/mid January 2019 (date to be confirmed)
Submission closes: late February 2019
Digital selection: early March
Communicate selection decisions: mid March
Deliver artwork: Saturday 13 April 2019 (to the basement of 17 Carlton House Terrace - see photo below)

Click the image below to view a larger version of the exhibition flyer.

MALL GALLERIES
View the new venue in the two photos at the bottom.
(You can also view photos of exhibitions taking place in the Mall Galleries in my reviews of the annual exhibitions of national art societies on my art blog Making A Mark)

Billy Showell and Gael Selwood who are organising the exhibition is this prestigious new venue - home of other national art societies - are very keen to make sure that artwork creates a "wow" and the exhibition creates a very good impression.

Artwork can be:

a variety of (botanical) subjects
a variety of styles

Artwork also needs

wall appeal
great compositions

The only criteria is that work must be excellent, whatever your style or genre, the botany must be accurate and we hope to have your very best pieces.

The entrance to the Mall Galleries (when closed) - in The Mall (in between Admiralty Arch and HorseGuards Parade)

Where the artwork will be delivered for the exhibition - down the steps into the basement of 17 Carlton House Terrace

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