NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

Exhibiting artists at RHS Botanical Art Show 2018

28/2/2018

These are the names of the exhibiting artists at the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2018. This year the show has changed dates and instead of February is now one between 10th and 12th July 2018 - at the RHS London Plant and Art Fair at the RHS Lindley Hall, SW1P 2QW and the RHS Lawrence Hall SW1P 2QD

Tickets are on sale now - I've already got mine!

View of the RHS Botanical Art Show 2017

RHS Botanical Art Show Exhibitors July 2018

There are 44 exhibitors in total which (I think) is a lot more than in previous years. There is going to be some serious competition - there are a number of former Gold Medal Winners (former RHS Gold Medal Winners have GM after their name).

In addition, so far I've counted at least two former winners of Best Painting (Bridget Gillespie in 2017 and Hideo Hirokoshi in 2015) and one artist who has won best exhibit twice (Hye Woo shin in )

I'm listing the exhibiting artists by country of origin to demonstrate the worldwide appeal of this very prestigious exhibition. Nobody else requires exhibitors to produce six high quality artworks on a theme. I highly recommend that those wanting to exhibit with the RHS in future visit the exhibition if they can - and if they can't take a look at my blog posts about previous exhibitions. (see the end of this blog post for more information)

The number per country is as follows:

19 x UK + 1 group
7 x Japan
4 x Korea
2 x Italy
2 x New Zealand
2 x Turkey
1 x Australia
1 x Austria
1 x Brazil
1 x Hong Kong
1 x Thailand
1 x USA

UK (19 artists and 1 group)

Sarah Howard at the 2016 Show with three of her six Horn of Africa Aloes which won her a Gold Medal

Vanda Adamson - exhibited French hedgerow flowers and fruit in 2015 and won a Silver Bedal
Margaret Bickerton - Won a bronze medal in 2016 for Artichokes
Christina Hart-Davies GM - I have one of her paintings hanging in my home! She has three previous Gold Medals for paintings of mosses and lichens plus an RHS Gold Medal and a World Orchid Conference Bronze for paintings of European and Australian Terrestrial orchids
Bridget Gillespie GM (Best painting RHS 2017) - Bridget has been a botanical artist since 1992 Last year she won a Gold for her exhibit Root Vegetables Life Cycle and won the Best Painting in Show award for her beetroot. She has two previous Gold Medals for plums and pears. She's currently featured on the RHS page about this year's show. Bridget teaches botanical art at the Helmsley Walled Garden in Yorkshire
Maureen Hallahan - (Note: I'd ignore the reference to membership of the RHS on the first page. I'm a member of the RHS because I pay my subscription. I suspect she means working towards a place in the exhibition.)
Pam Hargreaves - Note: website seems to be dead
Sarah Howard GM (2017- Sarah was the illustrator for the Flora of Ethiopia & Eritrea 1997-2000. She completed the RBGE Diploma in botanical illustration in 2014. In 2015 she won a a Silver Gilt at BISCOT and in 2016, she won an RHS GM for her Horn of Africa Aloes. (see my interview with her)
Sarah Jane Humphrey - Has a degree in BA(Hons) Scientific and Natural History Illustration and success in translating her paintings in commercial products. Published her fist book age 21 and has a track record of a steady commissions. She's represented by the Wildlife Art Company. She won a Silver Gilt Medal in 2017
Catherine Kellie - Commended at BISCOT for an exhibit of Spring flowers
Michael Lakin - Has been teaching botanical art for over 12 years. Author of a number of "how to" botanical painting books
Christianne Lim - no website
Nicola Macartney - In 2012 Nicola graduated with distinction from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh's Diploma in Botanical Illustration
Maggie Niagassas - Graduated from the SBA Diploma in 20108. Awarded an RHS Silver Medal for six watercolours of Streliztia Reginae in 2016.
Janne Richardson - Graduating with a BA Honours Graphic Design in 1980, she specialised in Medical & Scientific Illustration. In 2014 she graduated with Distinction from the RBGE Diploma Course
Surjit Riyait - no website
Laura Silburn GM (2013, 2014) - Laura is a Fellow of the Eden Project Florilegium Society. She won a gold medal Varieties of Hardy Geranium that have received the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 2013 and in Oct. 2014 won a Gold Medal and the Best in Show Exhibit for Aristolochia species from botanic gardens in England. Read her interview with me in 2014 which includes a link to her interview in The Plantsman about painting the hardy geraniums which he a Gold Medal in 2013.
Sylvia Sroka - member of the South West Society of Botanical Artists
Fran Thomas - Fran won a Gold Medal and the for best exhibit at BISCOT 2017
Simon Williams - Simon is the Director of the Society of Botanical Artists's Distance Learning Diploma Course
South West Society of Botanical Artists (SWSBA) - formed in 2006 to promote and encourage a high standard in botanical art throughout the South West of England. We had an excellent group exhibit that won a Gold Medal last year. Can SWSBA equal this performance?

Laura Silburn GM with three of her watercolour paintings of Aristolochias of British Botanic Gardens Laura is viewing her two paintings which were purchased by Dr Shirley Sherwood

Americas (2 artists)

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What's the difference between botanical art and flower painting?

31/1/2018

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Those new to botanical art are often unfamiliar with the differences between botanical illustration, botanical art and flower painting.

This post provides:

a brief introduction to an explanation of the differences and where you can find more information on this topic
how the differences between botanical illustration and botanical art developed over time

What's the difference between botanical art, botanical illustration and flower painting?

On my website I have a page called What is Botanical Art?

At the top of the page there is a summary of the differences between:

botanical illustration - where the emphasis is on the identification of species and support for the scientific perspective and publication - hence an emphasis on monochrome illustrations
botanical art - which has aesthetic appeal and is always botanically accurate in terms of scale, form, structure and colour and might include the portrayal of habitat. However it is not always as complete as a scientific botanical illustration.
flower painting - which is much more about the creation of an aesthetically pleasing painting and is much less about botanical accuracy and plant identification.

Further down the page, I expand on

The Science of Botanical Illustration
The Artistry of Botanical Art

which cites definitions used for botanical illustration and botanical art - including those used by the RHS, ASBA and BAC. I also include links to other parts of the website which provide further information to support those who want to learn more about, for example, scientific botanical illustration.

How do you describe the differences between botanical art and illustration?

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What's the History of Botanical Art?

What is Botanical Art? also provides an introduction to the history of the development of botanical art and illustration and why these differences exist. It provides:

an overview of the history of the development of botanical art
highlighting the role of Herbals; the Age of Discovery - and the work done by botanical artists on voyages of exploration and discovery over the years; the role of Gardens and the Florilegium and finally the development of Contemporary Botanical Art in the twentieth century.
summarising the role played by key individuals as patrons or painters in developing both the science and artistry of botanical art and illustration. Most of these individuals have a dedicated page on this website where you can find out more about their contribution. (just tap the link in their names to view their page).

P. sukhakulii, C. lindeniana [Paphiopedilum and Cypripedium] (Watercolour on paper, 1989) © Estate of Pandora Sellars. Courtesy of RHS Library Collections

One of the important artists who contributed to the development of contemporary botanical art is Pandora Sellars - who worked as a botanical illustrator for the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and designed her complex compositions as a trained artist.

She excelled at developing new ways to design botanical paintings to help understand the colour and form of plants in terms of both their flowers and leaves - and has influenced many botanical artists as a result.

I'm very pleased to announce that the Estate of Pandora Sellars and the RHS have given me permission to use an image of the orchid painting which is now part of the RHS Lindley Library Collection on this website. You can see it above. I'm guessing it will be the first view of this work for many people. To my mind, it's a perfect example of how it is possible to combine botanical illustration and botanical art!

Enjoy!

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Botanical Art Seminar at RHS Botanical Art Show 2018

14/12/2017

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Those visiting the RHS Botanical Art Show in July 2018 have the option of also attending the first Botanical Art Seminar to be held at the same time as the show.

The Botanical Art Seminar is being organised by the RHS Lindley Library Team.

What follows is an explanation of

how to plan attending the seminar in the context of the RHS Botanical Art Show.
how to book ticket(s)

First the context....

RHS Plant and Art Fair (10-12 July 2018)

From 11–12 July 2018 this London Show will celebrate the beautiful world of botanical art with an exhibition of paintings, illustration and photography from inspiring artists.

The brand new RHS Plant and Art Show 2018 - which now combines both RHS Botanical Art and RHS Botanical Photography - has changed dates. In 2018 it's being held on the following dates:

10th July 2018 (late 5pm - 9pm - no under 16s)
11th July 2018 (11am - 8pm)
12th July 2018 (11am - 6pm)

Tickets are available now via the RHS website - make sure you pick the right show as the link goes to all the RHS London Shows in 2018. The cost is

£5 for members (in advance or on the day) and it's
£8 in advance and £9 on the day at the door for everybody else.

But before you buy a ticket do check out the Botanical Art Seminar below!

I've had my show tickets booked for weeks - and I will be there on all three days so that I can get round everybody properly! (I will not forget in a hurry the year 13 Gold Medals were awarded and I had to try and interview them all for my blog posts about the RHS Botanical Art Shows!)

RHS Botanical Art Seminar (12 July 2017)

The RHS Botanical Art Seminar will explore the history and contemporary practice of Botanical Art - and is is limited to 72 places - and bookings have started!

I asked the RHS for more details this morning, so some of what is included below is not on the website

Key Features of the Seminar

The ticket price of £60 includes:

entrance to the RHS Plant and Art Fair throughout the day.
Sandwich Lunch - served in the Lawrence Hall Refectory at lunchtime
Evening Drinks reception - in the Lindley Library with invited artist demonstrators and exhibitors from the Botanical Art Show.
Tea and coffee - available during the afternoon in the Lawrence Hall Refectory.

The timetable is as follows:

10am - Registration starts
10.30am - Seminar starts
12.15-1.15pm - Lunch
5pm - Seminar finishes
6pm - RHS Plant and Art Fair closes at 6pm
6pm - 7.30pm - Drinks reception in the Lindley Library

Those attending the Seminar are asked to arrive between 10- 10.30am to register for the day and receive their wrist bands. These wrist bands will then allow them (but nobody else) access to ALL of the following:

A series of Talks in the morning - including ‘A History of Botanical Art’ by the RHS Lindley Library Art Curator. Speakers include RHS Art Curator Charlotte Brooks, Botanist Dr James Compton and RHS Gold medal-winning artist Masumi Yamanaka.
A tour of the RHS Lindley Library in the afternoon - which hopefully will include viewing some of the very special art in the RHS collection. NOTE: People need to register in the morning for a library tour in the afternoon. There will be four sessions of up to 18 people each, lasting approx. 30 mins - and no 'drop-in' access to the tours. Every ticket must be pre-booked.
visit the RHS Plant and Art Fair - see the RHS Botanical Art Show - each of the 40+ artists from around the world will be displaying a minimum of six works that will have been assessed by the Picture Panel for RHS Gold, Silver Gilt, Silver and Bronze Medals. A very educational experience for those hoping to submit in future!
View master-class demonstrations by four botanical artists including RHS Gold-medal winners, demonstrating various techniques in watercolour, pen and ink, pencil and painting on vellum. Visitors will be able to speak to the artists as well as watch them work. The artist demonstrations will take place in one of the rooms in the Conference Centre (i.e. not in the Botanical Art Show).

Location of activities: Activities will be held in the Lindley Conference Centre, the Lindley Library and the two Horticultural Halls - the Lawrence Hall and the Lindley Hall. Those with their seminar wristbands will be able to pass through the set of double doors - manned by security - between the entrance to the RHS and the Lindley Library (in Vincent Square) and the Lindley Hall where the Botanical Art Show is held (entrance in Elverton Street).

It's certainly possible to see both the Botanical Art Show and attend the Seminar - but to my mind it's a little bit of a tight squeeze.

However if you want to visit with a view to a future submission to the show and/or are a really serious botanical art fan you might want to think about very seriously about having a BOTANICAL ART BINGE and attend on two days not just one (Botanical Art Show on the 11th and Seminar on the 12th). i.e. most fans typically spend at least 3-4 hours seeing the show and the trade stands (which will include most if not all those offering botanical art courses). It's very easy to spend all day there! I never ever regret going back the next day!

That might bump the price up for those not living in London. However, in my opinion, this is an absolutely unequalled opportunity to see an abundance of top quality world class botanical art by both contemporary botanical artists from all over the world - and past masters.

If artists can fly in from all over the world to exhibit at this show, why not think about the benefit to you of investing some time visiting it for yourself - and getting some education at the same time?

View of the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2017

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RHS Botanical Art Shows - future dates and exhibition tickets

28/8/2017

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This is about:

NEW information about future RHS Botanical Art exhibitions - including changes in relevant dates in 2018 and 2019
how to buy tickets for the exhibition in 2018
some information about how to get artwork across borders and through customs safe and sound!

This morning I updated the RHS Botanical Arts Shows page on my website which is dedicated to:

providing advice on how to apply to exhibit at a future show
factual information about dates, deadlines and tickets
creating an archive of past botanical art shows

I've done a radical edit of the content and sequencing of information to make it more logical.
It now includes sections for:

what you need to do to get approval to exhibit
the regulations and guidance for exhibiting your work (the image below is the header for this document)
how to apply for a space in a particular exhibition
how to stage your work
the criteria used by the Judges for assessing botanical artwork for RHS Medals and other awards
a link to the NEW guidelines Botanical Illustration Exhibitor Factsheet (557kB pdf) This is greatly expanded and much improved - particular in relation to the staging of an exhibition.

RHS Botanical Art Show 2018

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RHS Awards for Botanical Photography 2017

28/5/2017

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Four Gold Medals, four Silver-Gilt Medals and two bronze medals were awarded for the Botanical Photography Exhibits at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show last week.

Details of the photographers and the exhibits are below. You can also

download a PDF file of the list of medal winners
see an excellent presentation of all the Portfolio Exhibits on the RHS website.
review the competition rules

Plus you can read more about

contemporary RHS Gold medal wining photographers on my website in artists using other media
past masters of botanical photography on the Botanical Photographers page in the History section

The photography exhibition is an interesting one because, unlike the botanical art exhibition, it sometimes throws up excellent photographers who have decided to give plants a go! Consequently you sometimes get people doing very well who have never previously exhibited and might never again.

By way of contrast you also have the dedicated botanical photographers who have notched up Gold and/or Silver Gilts at previous exhibitions, who work long and hard on their projects and are sometimes quite intensely botanical! Note that the GM suffix indicates that the individual has won an RHS Gold Medal at a previous show(s).

Best Portfolio Photography Exhibit

Beech and Birch by Stephen Whitethorne

The Best Portfolio Photography Exhibit went to Stephen Whitehorne for Scottish Beech and Birch. He lives in the Borders of Scotland and is a working professional photographer who doesn't do Facebook of Twitter! Plus he has nothing about his exhibit on his website.

RHS Gold Medals

The Gold Medals were awarded to:

Laurence Hill GM for Deconstructed Fritillaria. Laurence describes the process used to produce his very unusual exhibits in this blog post . He also allows you to

download a very detailed explanation in a pdf file about his Deconstructed Fritillaria - which is well worth taking a look at if you want to know how composite images are produced! It's an incredibly botanical and echnical project!
view videos of his exhibits on his Facebook Page called Fritillaria Icones or his Twitter account @Frit_Icones

Using Fritillaria characters (tepals, capsules, stamens, seeds, bulbs, leaves) I have constructed six non-Linnaean based, composite images. They compare characters across a genus - as opposed to the convention of grouping different characters of a single species. These create interesting comparative elements in a formal design.
Laurence Hill

If you didn't make the #RHSChelsea you can download a PDF of the exhibit Deconstructed Fritillaria https://t.co/oaK5zm43MB pic.twitter.com/wY5b966QKt
— fritillariaicones (@Frit_Icones) May 27, 2017

Polina Plotnikova GM for Past Perfect. Polina is a Russian born UK-based photographer who now lives in the London Borough of Bromley. She has previously won four silver-gilt and two Gold Medals. You can also see an exhibit of her photographs for this project in a photo album on her Facebook Page.

Past Perfect exhibit by Polina Plotnikova GM

I have been working on the 'Past Perfect' project for the past three years, experimenting endlessly with different ways of preserving my graceful but extremely fragile models
Polina Plotnikova

Peter Searight got his Gold for a portfolio of The Beauty of Birch from Autumn to Spring - which focuses on the silver birch trees (Betula pendula) found on common land near his home in Sussex.

Stephen Whitehorne for Beech and Birch focused on beech and silver birch trees in the woodlands and forests of Perthshire and Stirlingshire.

It was nice to see some trees get a high profile in this exhibition. It's often plants or gardens.
Interestingly the two latter gentlemen who both photographed trees don't appear to specialise in botanical photography - unlike Laurence and Polina who are both previous Gold Medal Winners.

RHS Silver-Gilt Medals

Urban Magnolias by Althea Wilson - on her website

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Botanical Art Medals awarded at RHS Malvern Spring Festival 2017

22/5/2017

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RHS Malvern Spring Festival

Every year the Royal Horticultural Society has a mini Botanical Art Show at the RHS Malvern Spring Festival in May.

This year's RHS medal winners at Malvern are listed below - and apologies for this being a week late! I'm also very happy to add in any photos by any of the exhibitors if they'd care to contact me

RHS Gold Medal

Bernard F Carter (Buxton, Derbyshire) Seed Heads - the Best Botanical Art Exhibit was awarded to Bernard F Carter for his exhibit of Seed Heads. Bernard is a former professional photographer who took up botanical art in his retirement. This is his second Gold Medal. He previous won one for a series of fruit and vegetable montages. You can also see some of his paintings in Botanical Illustration for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide by Meriel Thurstan, Rosie Martin
Lesley Randall (San Diego, USA) Native Hawaiian Flora - Lesley has previously won the ASBA Botanical Illustrator Award For Excellence in Scientific Botanical Art. She has worked as a professional scientific illustrator for many years.

RHS Silver Gilt Medal

Carol E Hardie (Worcester) Botanical Carnivores
Lynne Buckler (nr. Stratford-upon-Avon) Woodland trees, fruits, cones & seed

I have always been drawn to pattern and structure and prefer to concentrate on the gnarled shapes of plants as they enter their seed cycle and reveal linear skeletal forms.
Lynne Buckler

RHS Silver Medal

Irish Society of Botanical Artists (Ireland) Heritage Irish Plants - Plandai Oidhreachta
Jacqui Gilleland (ACT, Australia) Australian Waratahs (In 2016, Jacqui earned a Silver Gilt Medal)
Nilavan Adams (ACT AUSTRALIA) Death Becomes Them

Display of work by members of the Irish Society of Botanical Artists

Photographs by Holly Somerville

One of the things I've observed that happens often when international artists exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Shows is that they come with a friend or colleague from their botanical art society or country. That means they're not on their own and have got some help and support from somebody who speaks their language. Not an issue with Australians from ACT - but you get my drift! I think it's a really great idea.

In terms of exhibiting at Malvern, there's some jolly good reasons for exhibiting there:

Some use Malvern as a "try out" for exhibiting at the main show in the Lindley Hall. Being at a smaller exhibition is less intimidating for a first timer.
Malvern is a more attractive option in terms of accessibility for all those who live in Wales, the Midlands and the West of England given the location of The Three Counties Showground approximately 8 miles from the M5 and M50 motorways.

Many thanks to Holly Somerville (Website | Facebook) for allowing me to use her photos of the display by the Irish Society of Botanical Artists.

RHS and previous posts

2016: Botanical Art Medals at the RHS Malvern Spring Festival
RHS Botanical Art Exhibitions - dedicated page

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Botanical Art Exhibitions in the UK

1/5/2017

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Where can you see botanical art in the UK? Well according to my website in rather a lot of places! So much so I've had to reorganise my website to make the information easier to access.

So below is a guide to the various pages sitting under the UK tab on the Exhibitions Menu. One of the pages has also got a new URL!

The main page has a form and guidance to tell you how to tell me about an upcoming exhibition. If you provide good quality information and images you may also get a blog post about your exhibition!

Information about botanical art exhibitions in the UK

Botanical Art in the UK provides:

INDEX to information about exhibitions on other pages
How to tell me about an exhibition - guidance and form
CALLS FOR ENTRIES for open exhibitions in the UK

The new URL is http://www.botanicalartandartists.com/botanical-art-exhibitions-in-uk.html

Botanical Art Collections in the UK provides links to the permanent collections of original botanical art by the past and more contemporary masters in:

the National Libraries
the National and University Museums
Botanical Gardens in the UK - including art galleries dedicated to botanical art
Private Collections

Botanical Art Exhibitions at Major Art Galleries and Museums in the UK has links to current and upcoming exhibitions at:

The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens
The Natural History Museum, London
The Garden Museum, London
The Queens Gallery, London
The Ashmolean / Bodleian Libraries, Oxford

There is also an ARCHIVE web page for The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, Kew: Exhibition Archive (2008-2016) . This is the ONLY online archive in the world.

Besides highlighting the exhibitions it also highlights the books about the exhibitions which are still available.

RHS Botanical Art Shows provides:

details about how to exhibit at the 2018 RHS Botanical Art Show
exhibitions in the Lindley Library and other RHS Libraries
information about past shows - including lists of medal winners
plus links to information about the RHS Botanical Photography Shows

Botanical Art Exhibitions in England and Wales provides links to information about exhibitions by:

Society of Botanical Artists
Florilegium Societies
Local Botanical Art Societies
Botanical Art Groups
Commercial Galleries
Professional Artists - solo exhibitions

Botanical Art Exhibitions in Scotland covers international, national and local exhibitions of botanical art by BISCOT, RGBE projects, and the national and local botanical art societies and groups.

The website includes an ARCHIVE of Past Botanical Art Exhibitions in the UK. This is a listing for the more significant botanical art exhibitions in the UK in recent years. From which you can see which places, organisations, galleries and artists have been the most active.

It also includes links to relevant exhibition guides which are still available.

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