NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

Marianne Hazlewood in Society of Scottish Artists Exhibition - opens TODAY!

22/12/2018

I'm always really pleased when I see botanical artists exhibiting their artwork in the annual exhibitions of national art societies which show a range of fine artwork.

Botanical artists who enter and get selected for open exhibitions of national art societies raise their profile and can impress art galleries on the lookout for new artists!

In addition, one is never really promoting botanical art when merely preaching to those who are already converted! Botanical art needs to shown more widely if others are to see what wonderful work is done in the name of botanical art. The open exhibitions of national art societies are a jolly good place to start to stimulate the consciousness of new buyers..

It's for this reason I'm very pleased to highlight

two watercolour paintings of Dryopteris by Marianne Hazlewood.
two further opportunities to exhibit with prestigious national watercolour societies

Crop of Dryopteris sieboldii (painting 390mm x 262mm | framed 730mm x 535mm | Watercolour on Fabriano 5 | copyright Marianne Hazlewood)

Marianne Hazlewood has had two of her botanical paintings selected for the 121st Annual Exhibition of the The Society of Scottish Artists.

You can see them hanging in the exhibition which opened its doors to the public today - 23rd December 2018 - at Edinburgh’s Royal Scottish Academy. (see link to exhibition)

Crop of Dryopteris affinis (painting: 390mm x 262mm | framed: 730mm x 535mm | Watercolour on Fabriano 5 | copyright Marianne Hazlewood

Details are below if you plan to visit.

Venue: The Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture
The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL (How to visit)
Dates: 23 Dec 2018 – 17 Jan 2019. (CLOSED 25 & 26 DEC)
Hours: Mon-Sat: 10am – 5pm, Sun: 12pm – 5pm (1 Jan: 12pm – 5pm)
Entry: £2, SSA Members FREE, children and young people FREE

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Other Open Exhibitions for Watercolour Artists

For those interested in entering the equivalent exhibitions in England see my two blog posts about:

Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour - Call for Entries: Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour 207th Exhibition in 2019 (Digital entry / deadline 4th January 2019) - the exhibition is held at the Mall Galleries on The Mall in London.
Royal Watercolour Society - RWS Contemporary Watercolour Competition 2019 - Call for Entries (Digital entry / deadline 14 January 2019) - the exhibition is held at the Bankside Gallery, next door to Tate Modern.

Note all entries are digital - so no need to worry about post!

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Call for Entries - Margaret Flockton Award 2019

25/11/2018

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The Call for Entries for the 2019 Margaret Flockton Award for Excellence in Scientific Botanical Illustration has been published by The Margaret Flockton Award Committee

The deadline for digital online entry is 29 January 2019.

Images from Margaret Flockton Award prizewinners and highly commended 2016-2018 - on Flickr

The Margaret Flockton Award

The Margaret Flockton Award is a prestigious international award for contemporary scientific botanical illustration which

celebrates the best scientific botanical illustration completed by botanical illustrators from around the world today
commemorates the contribution Margaret Flockton (1861-1953) made to Australian scientific botanical illustration.

In particular , the Award focuses on:

both traditional and digital techniques that best illustrate the botanical world
a range of plants from new or renamed species, to rare, vulnerable or endangered plants, as well as common native or exotic subjects.

The Award is run by Catherine Wardrop and Lesley Elkan, the botanical illustrators at the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney, Australia where Margaret Flockton worked in the Herbarium - on behalf of the Margaret Flockton Award Committee.

The Prizes are as follows

First prize: AU$5000;
second prize: AU$2000;
3 x Highly Commended.

However the best prize is probably the career development benefit of being identified as one of the best scientific botanical illustrators in the world.

This is an OPEN COMPETITION and the Award always welcomes new and talented illustrators. Those interested should first review the entries in the exhibition in 2018 - as exhibited on Flickr

How to enter

You can read about how to enter on:

The RBGS website - see The Margaret Flockton Award Register for updates with the enquiries email on this page.
This website - see The Margaret Flockton Award for Excellence in Scientific Botanical Illustration

You can send in an entry between Mon 14 January and Tues 29 January 2019. Note this is earlier than last year when the submission was in February.

Key points to note are:

All entries must be submitted digitally.

All original illustrations must be scanned or photographed at high resolution and then submitted via approved large-file transfer sites.
No original artworks will require sending or receiving.
Digital submission - forms
Digital submission - artwork
Permissions

Fully digitally rendered, printable illustrations are now eligible for entry.

but NOT animated or 3D works

Entries must comply with a range of technical requirements

these are explained in full on the website in addition to A Guide to Scientific Illustration

No artworks will be offered for sale by RBGS

BUT direct email or website details will be made available, with the consent of the artist for sales to be arranged direct with the relevant artist.

Assessment

Judging: Entries will be assessed in accordance with the following criteria:

accurate interpretation and portrayal of plant characters and diagnostic features;
technical merit;
reproducibility;
composition;
artistic merit.

See A Guide to Scientific Illustration on the RBGS page for more information on judging criteria.

Further Information

Exhibition

The botanical illustrations in the Exhibition can be seen at three different locations.

Works for sale - selected works will be available for sale direct from the artist
The exhibition details for the three locations are as follows:

VENUE 1:

Venue: Joseph Maiden Theatre, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney - enter via Woolloomooloo Gate on Mrs Macquaries Road
Dates: Sat 30 March – Sun 14 April 2019 daily 10 am - 4 pm.
Cost: Entry to the exhibition is free

VENUE 2:

Venue: The Australian PlantBank at The Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan
Dates: Saturday 8 June – Sunday 28 July 2019, Mon – Fri 10 am – 4 pm and selected weekends

VENUE 3:

Venue: Visitor Centre at The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah
Dates: Friday 9 August – Sunday 15 September 2019, daily 9.30 am – 4.30 pm

More Information:

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RHS Botanical Art Show: 2019 dates and deadlines for 2020 submissions

11/10/2018

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This is an update on "need to know" facts relating to the 2019 and 2020 RHS Botanical Art Shows.

The RHS website has been updated with key facts about the 2019 and 2020 Botanical Art Shows
I've summarised these below.
Read the details in the Botanical Illustration Exhibitor Factsheet (557kB pdf)

View of part of the RHS Botanical Art Show 2018

Facts about the RHS Botanical Art Show

The RHS Botanical Art Show is an OPEN and INTERNATIONAL exhibition
It's the longest running and TOP juried botanical art show in the world.
No other show juries a minimum portfolio of six botanical artworks for every exhibit
It's the LARGEST juried international art show in the world.
It receives submissions and exhibits from botanical artists and botanical illustrators from around the world. Asia, Australasia, Africa and Europe contribute most international artists from outside the UK.

It would be great to see more artists from North, South and Central America!

RHS Botanical Art Show 2019 - show dates

Make a note for your diaries!
The dates for the RHS London Art & Photography Show in 2019 are

Wednesday 24–Thursday 25 July 2019.
Plus a late event on Tuesday 23 July 2019.

My understanding is that the 2019 show will be in the RHS Lindley Hall.

RHS Botanical Art Show 2020
- application for approval to exhibit

If you want to exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2020, you must first submit your work for approval to exhibit. I'll be updating my page about RHS Botanical Art Shows but I've summarised key facts below

This is how the submission process works to be ELIGIBLE to apply for space to display work at an RHS Show in 2020:

IF YOU HAVE NOT PREVIOUSLY EXHIBITED you must first submit a sample of four pieces of work to the RHS Picture Panel for assessment and approval at the May Submission Selection Meeting.
Artists based outside the UK can submit rolled prints of the same (value £0) rather than original art. This enables them to get through Customs without problems. (Prints are not returned)
The above requirement relates to both individual artists and groups
The artwork does NOT need to be related to your proposed exhibit. However all pieces must demonstrate that you can produce a very high standard of botanical illustration. (You can view my previous blog posts for images of exhibits displayed at previous shows)
If submitting as a Group, you must submit at least one artwork by each artist
The next Submission Selection Meeting is on Thursday 9 May 2019
Artwork - for assessment and approval - at this meeting can be submitted to the Lindley Library in London between Tuesday 23 April and Thursday 2 May
Please contact the Picture Panel Secretary before sending any work. It's recommended that you hand deliver artworks.

The RHS Lindley Library and Headquarters of the RHS at 80 Vincent Square, London

Dawn Jolliffe Botanical Art Bursary

If the cost of exhibiting is likely to prevent you from exhibiting then you can apply for funding support.

The Dawn Joliffe Botanical Art Bursary is available to support botanical artists in their endeavours to prepare an exhibit and then display it at the show.

Funding is available to help support artists with

the costs of staging an exhibit at one of the RHS Shows
towards the costs of travelling to paint plants in their natural habitat.

For more information and to apply see Apply for an RHS Bursary

Tips for exhibiting at the RHS Botanical Art Show

For more about RHS Botanical Art and Photography Exhibitions see the following dedicated pages on this website:

PLUS In the Tips and Techniques area of the EDUCATION section you can find Tips from RHS Botanical Art Gold Medal Winners - these provide tips around

an outline of the process from application to exhibit through to the exhibition
includes several articles about tips about how to be successful at an RHS Botanical Art Show by RHS Gold Medal-winning artists. Every year they come up with new tips!
how to mount the display
how to transport your exhibit

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RHS London Botanical Photography Show 2018 - Awards and Medal Winners

13/7/2018

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The names and exhibit titles of the medal winners and best portfolio award winner at the RHS London Botanical Photography Show 2018 are listed below.

You can see much better images of the portfolios of six images on the RHS website than you can in this post and I recommend any aspiring entrant to do so - PLUS do study the descriptions as well as the images.

Laurence Hill with his intensely botanical and extremely well presented exhibit of Fritillaria affinis and a discussion and demonstration of plant variability relative to the agreed taxonomic description of one species of a wild plant

Photographs at RHS Shows will be assessed for their botanical and horticultural content and for their photographic quality. Judges take account of the overall impression of an exhibit, including details of presentation such as mounting, labelling and framing.

I was struggling to find either botanical or horticultural content in some of the exhibits and I'm personally very much not in favour of Bronze medals being handed out simply for turning up and presenting an exhibit.

I'd very much recommend that ALL those entering work in this competition in future read up on the Guidelines for Botanical Photo Exhibitors which I also think the RHS could make a great deal more prominent on their website!! (see notes at end)

Best Portfolio Photography Exhibit

Polina Plotnikova - Dancing Flowers
I would normally place this exhibit as the feature at the top. However the amount of reflection generated by the exhibit meant that it was difficult to see in the hall and very difficult to photograph

"Dancing Flowers" by Polina Plotnikova

Gold Medals

"Botanical Prints: Where Art Meets Science" - Eleanor Coate

Nigel Chapman GM (2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014) - Abstract Images RHS Garden Wisley
Eleanor Coate - Botanical Prints: Where Art Meets Science
Laurence Hill (GM 2014, 2017) - Species Boundaries: Fritillaria affinis
Polina Plotnikova GM (2014, 2015, 2017) - Dancing Flowers

My favourite exhibit was the one by Laurence Hill - and not just because he'd taken on board my comments about exhibit notes at a previous exhibition! His exhibit displayed six precise and different "versions" of the same plant species - at life size - at different locations inland from the Pacific coast of the USA. The latter was indicated by a fine line drawing of the coast line (relative to Mount Hood in Oregon to Point Reyes in California) towards the bottom of 'plate'. Each exhibit was also identified in terms of the specific location and height where it was collected and by whom. The point of the exhibit was to demonstrate the extent of variability in the taxonomic description of the same species with a when found in the wild. He also tracked and documented the extent to which this gets reflected in the synonyms for the taxonomy of names over time - before everybody agrees it is in fact the same plant!

NOTE: It was very difficult to photograph some of the exhibits for this post. Exhibition requirements are that exhibits should be protected by NON-REFLECTIVE acetate sheets.

It was very noticeable that Laurence Hill, Nigel Chapmen and Jan Cassidy who have previously won Gold Medals and previously exhibited in the Horticultural Halls all chose to exhibit images with an unprotected matt surface to reduce the bounce from some extremely bright light overhead.

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RHS Photography 2018 and 2019

7/7/2018

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The RHS Plant and Art Fair (10-12 July 2018) includes two photographic displays

The RHS Botanical Photography Show - you can find the list of exhibitors below - and also find out something about the ones I know about
The RHS Photographer of the Year 2018 is a competition run by the RHS - more details below

The main difference between the two is that:

the first is the photographic equivalent of the RHS Botanical Art Show i.e. emphasis on the botanical
The second is a photographic competition for garden lovers, horticulturists and photographers alike and has more generic appeal.

BOTH ARE INTERNATIONAL - and have entries and displays from people from all over the world

The photographic displays are in the Lawrence Hall, Greycoat Street, Westminster (just around the corner from the Lindley Hall where the Botanical Art Show will be held - your admission ticket gets you into both).

The RHS Botanical Photography Show

Flora of the Silk Road: Gentiana arethause copyright Chris Gardner

The RHS Botanical (Portfolio) Photography Show is the photographic equivalent of the RHS Botanical Art Show.

Each photographer is required to exhibit a portfolio of photographs on a botanical theme (plants and/or habitats)
Each photographer is eligible to win a Gold, Silver Gilt, Silver or Bronze RHS Medal.
Entries are submitted by Photographers of international standing
Photographs can be taken anywhere in the world

The 2018 Exhibitors include a number of previous Gold Medal (GM) winners and the years in which they won a medal is indicated after their name. I've met three of the exhibitors previously (Nigel Chapman, Laurence Hill and Polina Plotnikova and seen exhibits by four) - see photos below.

The display this year is just beyond the RHS Photographer of the Year display in the Lawrence Hall.

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'Flora Russia' opens in St. Petersburg

9/5/2018

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Flora Russia - participating artists at the opening of the exhibition on 8th May 2018 (Photo by Anastasiia Shliago)

The Flora Russia exhibition opened its doors yesterday and continues until 20 May 2018. This is part of the Botanical Art Worldwide initiative being held during 2018.

It comprises:

82 artworks from a total of 61 artists which were selected from a total submission of 129 paintings.
You can meet all the artists on this page
The exhibition is being held at the St. Petersburg Artist Union Building. Morskaya Bolshaya ul., d. 38, St. Petersburg 190000, Russia
You can see photos of the artwork and the artists below.

Opening of the exhibition

As with all good exhibitions there were speeches at the opening!

Opening of the exhibition

Alexander Viazmensky speaking at the opening of the exhibition and referencing "A Passion for Plants"

Organisation of the Exhibition

This is the Organizing Committee:

Alexander Vyazmensky (botanical artist, ideologist of the exhibition "Botanical Art Worldwide. Russia")
Natalia Alatortseva (botanist, botanical artist)
Svetlana Lance (botanical artist, teacher)
Fomicheva Darya (botanical artist, teacher)
Yaroslava Bazanova (representative of the LECTOROOM team, host of the exhibition project Мастера Акварели )

The host of the project in Russia is Lectoroom (an online platform for art education and exhibitions) with the support of the American Society of Botanical Artists.

The Organizing committee of "Flora Russia". From left to right: Natalia Alatortseva, Yaroslava Bazanova, Svetlana Lanse (Photo by Anastasiia Shliago)

Flora Russia: artists and artwork

Below you can see a SLIDESHOW of the artists and artwork

The participating artists are (alphabetical by surname):

A

Julia Aksenova
Natalia Alatortseva
Olga Alekseeva
Anna Aleshina
Alexandra Antonova

Olga Bulavenko

Maria Chernobrovkina
Svetlana Chernysheva
Galina Chikov
Katia Coees
Marina Chugunova

Elena Denisenko
Lydia Dukhnevich

Victoria Esaulova-Ivanova

Evgenia Gaidarova
Alexandra Golovina
Irina Golubeva
Anastasia Goncharova
Ekaterina Gorenchuk
Olga Gudzera

Olga Kamalova
Tatyana Kaplun
Victoria Karpunina
Elena Kataeva
Victoria Konovalova

Svetlana Lance
Irina Lebedeva
Olga Lovigina
Elena Lyubimova

Anastasia Maksimova
Marika Maltseva
Xenia Mamonova
Daria Matveyeva
Olga Melikhova
Victoria Mezenova

Alena Nalivkina
Elena Nechitailova

Victoria Obuhova

Ksenia Panferova
Julia Petrova
Irina Pichkova
Maria Poponova
Elena Poyarkova
Marina Protsenko
Pavel Pugachev
Tatiana Pushnaya

Maria Rudina

Daria Shaptseva
Olga Sokolova
Irina Stolyarova
Anna Suprunenko

Marina Ulanova
Natalia Ustinova

Irina Volodarskaya
Alexander Vyazmensky

Yulia Yerkina

Ekaterina Zaikina
Natalia Zueva

Events during the exhibition

A two day event will be held on 10th and 11th May 2018 - details in the exhibition flyer, on the dedicated Facebook Page and in this link
The Worldwide Day of Botanical Art will be held on 18th May 2018.

More information

Flora of Russia's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/baw.russia/
Programme of Activities: http://watercolormasters.ru/programma-baw

Exhibition Flyer and event schedule - in Russian

What about your country's exhibition?

You can see a profile of all the rest of the exhibitions ON ONE PAGE on this website. I'm currently adding inposters and flyers!

If you would like your country's exhibition to feature on my blog please take photographs of the artwork and the artists at the opening of the exhibition - with links to all relevant details about the exhibition and associated events - and then contact me and I'll give you an email address to send them to.

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Call for Entries for 6th Annual Botanical and Floral Art in Bloom Exhibition

2/2/2018

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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 the Botanical Art category, the judging panel will look for three-dimensional drawings of appropriate subject matter where colour, tone and composition result in a pleasing and balanced portrait. Most important are botanical accuracy and the application of technique. Presentation and labelling are also considered.

What can you enter?

Eligible media: Watercolour, gouache, ink, acrylic, oil, pencil, fine art prints (but not giclee prints)
Eligible size: Works should be no more than 75 cm. in any measurement including frame and no smaller than 25 cm in any measurement including frame.

Work submitted MUST be:

executed within the last three years.
for sale
Not have been exhibited in any Bloom art exhibition, prior to 2018.
Framed to be hung: All accepted works should be ready to hang with fixings and a label with artist's name and title of work and price on verso.

How to submit an entry

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 [email protected]

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

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