NEWS about Botanical Art and for Botanical Artists

RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show 2023

23/3/2023

The RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show 2023 opens at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea on 16th June and continues until 9th July 2023.

So you have just over three weeks to view the latest exhibits and the RHS medals awarded.

Interestingly, this year it is NOT scheduled to coincide with the RHS Chelsea Flower Show which is, of course, held in May every year (normally).

Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea (just off the Kings Road, near Sloane Square Underground Station)

Things you need to know:

The exhibition is open from 10am to 6pm each day
Tickets must be booked via the Saatchi Gallery website - but are not yet on sale. In previous years the way it works is that Entry is £5, however....
If the arrangement is the same as previous years: Admission will be free for members of the RHS and the Saatchi Gallery - on production of your membership card. You need to insert the code provided by RHS in the appropriate space on the booking page to get free access. (The code is usually provided in emails about upcoming events and the RHS Magazine sent to members and is sent to members only - but I've just checked and there have been no email about this as yet).

Viola atropurpurea Nigel Pickering (1957-2021), RHS Gold medal and Best Botanical Art Exhibit 2022. Subsequently purchased for the RHS Botanical Art Collection

Charlotte Brooks, the Art Curator and Secretary of the Picture Committee which selects artists for the exhibition gave a very interesting talk on 400 Years of Botanical Art last week (for Julia Trickey Talks) - about the RHS Botanical Art Collection. She commented on:

how the RHS Art Collection has been enhanced by purchasing artwork exhibited at the RHS Botanical Art Show to fill gaps in the collection - such as one of the paintings by Nigel Pickering (1957-2021) highlighted above (which formed part of the Best Exhibit at the 2022 Show.
there are plans to have various events associated with the Show - which I understand may well include another talk. Sounds like a tour of the exhibition to me!

I'll provide updates - either on this blog or my Facebook Page - on what more is happening on the ticketing front and other events as and when I'm notified or find out.

For more about the RHS Botanical Art Shows - past, present and future - see various dedicated pages on my website. You can read about the process leading up to being selected for the Exhibition - plus information and tips for potential future exhibitors - from RHS Gold Medal Winners! (eg. the deadline for entries for this

RHS Botanical Art Shows
ARCHIVE: RHS Botanical Art Shows 2007-2022
Exhibit Titles at RHS Botanical Art Shows - which helps you understand what's been done before
Tips from RHS Botanical Art Gold Medal Winners (in EDUCATION)
Calls for Entries - Open Exhibitions

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REFERENCE Previous posts about the RHS Botanical Art Show

2022:

RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show 2022 - I was unable to personally attend this one as I was still mobilising on one leg!
RHS Botanical Art Awards 2022
RHS Gold Medal Winners - Botanical Art Show 2022
RHS Silver Gilt Medals - Botanical Art Show 2022
RHS Silver Medals - Botanical Art Show 2022

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RHS Silver Medals - Botanical Art Show 2022

21/4/2022

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This is about the botanical artists and illustrators awarded an RHS Silver Medal at The RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show - on display at the Saatchi Gallery until 29th April 2022.

My two previous posts covered:

There will be one more post about the Botanical Art Show in which I will comment on themes and learning points from the exhibits

RHS Silver Medals for Botanical Art 2022

These are the RHS Silver Gilt Medallists , listed in alphabetical order by country.
UK

Georgia Danvers - Making the invisible visible
Jane Goodson - Aeonium
Yolande Muschamp - A Gloucestershire Hedgerow
Shirley Slocock - Lucian's Herbarium revisited
Wendy Smith - Running to Seed - flower seed heads

USA

Hyunjin Cho - The anatomy of flowers

Below is a profile of each artist - based on information available online.
If the artist has a website or social media site a link to this is embedded in their name.

The Anatomy of Flowers by Hyunjin Cho

Hyunjin Cho - The anatomy of flowers

Exhibit.
Her paintings show the complete flowering process from first bud to full bloom. Anatomical details are shown in a U shape below the flower, echoing the shape of a fetus in a womb

About Hyunjin Cho (First time Exhibitor)
Lives and works in California, USA. She has previously exhibited at Filoli and ASBA 24th Annual International Exhibition of Botanical Art

Georgia Danvers - Making the invisible visible

Exhibit
Her exhibit explored the diversity in structure and colour in pollen grains, relative to the plant. She collaborated with Professor David Twell who sourced and grew the plants and supplied images of the pollen from a high definition electron microscope at the University of Leicester's Department of Genetics and Genome Biology. Her exhibit comprises 12 artworks

a small painting of a macro view of the pollen grain and
a very small painting of the flower (life size?).

Both artworks lack a scale on the artwork - although the level of magnification is indicated on the label for the pollen grain.

The decision to paint pollen grains too much research and thought. To paint something which is invisible to the naked eye, to capture is structure, form, beauty, colour and shape was a deeply exciting project.

Making the Invisible visible by Georgia Danvers

About Georgia Danvers
Based in Leicestershire and trained in botanical illustration at Leicester College. Former Chair of Leicester Floral Artists Society. Previously awarded an RHS Silver Medal in 2013.

Jane Goodson - Aeonium

Exhibit
This exhibit is a response to the changing climate in the U - with many gardens experiencing increased periods of dry weather - and hence the need to review plants grown in a UK garden. Aeonium are native to Madeira, the Canary Islands and North Africa but do not thrive above 40 degrees C. However, unlike many succulents, they can tolerate increased rainfall. They can grow to 1 metre tall and exhibit dense branching rosettes of leaves up to 15 cm across.

About Jane Goodson
A botanical artist and adult education teacher who lives and works in Dorset. Awarded an RHS Silver Gilt Medal at Malvern in 2016. Fellow of the Society of Botanical Artists. Accredited Lecturer for The Arts Society. She provides courses, talks and demonstrations.

Aeonium by Jane Goodson

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RHS Silver Gilt Medals - Botanical Art Show 2022

10/4/2022

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This is about the botanical artists and illustrators from all over the world who were awarded an RHS Silver Gilt Medal at the The RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show last Friday.

My last blog post was about the Botanical Art Gold Medallists
My next blog post is about the Botanical Art Silver Medallists

If you'd like to visit the show at the Saatchi gallery, read RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show 2022 at the end of this post for more information about venue, dates, hours and tickets.

NOTE: Most of the photos and text in this post has been provided to me by the botanical artists exhibiting in the RHS Botanical Art Show. I'd love to expand to fill the gaps - and if I've got any details wrong please do not hesitate to contact me

Some of the exhibits with interesting stories will be highlighted in more depth in subsequent posts.

The hanging format picture provided to RHS by Melinda Edstein for her exhibit "Red flowering, bird pollinated Australian flowers"

RHS Silver Gilt Medals for Botanical Art 2022

I always think the Silver Gilt Medal exhibits are really interesting to study in some depth. These are the exhibits which are within the spectrum of

EITHER just missing out on a Gold Medal;
OR adding something extra which elevated their work beyond Silver.

This is the group for which the oft repeated mantra (at least by me) is particularly relevant.

An exhibit is only as good as the weakest painting.

In other words, errors and weaknesses are what lead an exhibit to lose points in the scoring of the different criteria used for judging the exhibits.

I can see people in this list who, for me, obviously have the capacity to come back and get a Gold Medal. Can you spot them?

These are the RHS Silver Gilt Medallists , listed in alphabetical order by country.

AUSTRALIA

Andrew Carr - Two Western Australia Eucalypts
Melinda Edstein - Red flowering, bird pollinated Australian flowers

ROMANIA

Irina Neacsu - On Transylvania's botanical remedies - Winter Berries

TAIWAN

Annie Chen - Jewels in the Amazon Rainforest

Catherine Day - Species Lilies
Margaret Fitzpatrick - Threats to the Hose Chestnut Tree documented in 2020
Julia Groves - Seeds of Hope
Maureen Hallahan - Plant Lore

Rui Jiang - Violas (Violaceae)

Pamela Taylor - Trees: Form and Structure
Julie Whelan - Passiflora

USA

Susan Tomlinson - From Field to T-Shirt: Diversity in modern elite cotton bolls (see image below)

The botanical artists and illustrators below are listed alphabetically by surname.

Each profile includes something about the exhibit and something about the artist.
Links to their websites (or other social media site) is embedded in their name IF a link is available

Some of the exhibits will be covered in more depth at a later date.

Andrew Carr - Two Western Australia Eucalypts

Two Western Australia Eucalypts by Andrew Carr

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RHS Gold Medal Winners - Botanical Art Show 2022

10/4/2022

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This week I'm going to be writing about the artists who have won RHS Medals at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2022 - with one post for each medal colour. In the posts I'll be

showing you what the exhibit looks like
writing about the artist and the exhibit
providing link(s) to where you can see more of their art. (Links to their website are embedded in their name)

The artists are helping me by providing images and some are also telling me more about their exhibits.

I'll also be writing about some of the exhibits in more depth as it's interesting to understand how much research is required and how long it takes to prepare BEFORE you start drawing or painting.

Below you'll find profiles of the artists, information about their exhibit and links to their website or social media site. This post will be updated as more information comes in.....

I'd like to thank both the artists and those who took photos for me for the images in this post, together with the profile and exhibit information.

Details about how to see the exhibition can be found at the end of this post

The RHS Special Awards

This post highlights the botanical artists and their exhibits which won

one of the three Special Awards.
five RHS Gold Medals at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2022

Each artist who wins an RHS Gold Medal is also included in my listings of international artists in the ARTISTS section of this website (if not already included).

Best Botanical Artwork 2022

Yoko Harada with Shirley Sherwood on Friday.

The Best Botanical Artwork in the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2022 is Arisaema thunbergiai subsp. urashima - one of the six painting in "The Genus Arisaema" by Yoko Harada (Japan).

Exhibit
Her very pleasing exhibit is about "The Genus Arisaema" which interestingly has been the subject of a Gold Medal Winners at previous shows in 2014 and 2015 (see my ARCHIVE: RHS Botanical Art Shows 2007-2021 and specifically my page about Exhibit Titles at RHS Botanical Art Shows).

I understand Shirley Sherwood had bought one of Yoko's paintings for her collection.

Yoko has written to me to say she'll let me have more information about her exhibit when she gets home to Tokyo - so this blog post will be updated.

The Genus Arisaema in Japan by Yoko Harada

About Yoko Harada
I've based my profile of Yoko on the information provided for her 2018 Exhibit at RBGE and some brief information that Yoko sent me about her teachers.

Yoko Harada is based in Tokyo. She began learning about botanical art in 2010 and her first teacher was Elaine Searle. Yoko Harada studied for her Diploma in Botanical illustration at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh and graduated in 2018. Students are required to develop a portfolio of five artworks on a theme for their Graduation Show as part of the final year of the Diploma. I've previously featured Yoko on this blog in my post about the RBGE Botanical Illustration Diploma Graduation Show 2018. Since then her local teacher in Japan is now Mieko Ishikawa - who I know has coached a lot of Japanese botanical artists for their RHS Exhibit.

Although I wasn't at the Preview last Friday I've actually met Yoko, having been introduced to her by Elaine Searle when we all attended the ASBA Conference in Pittsburgh.

I'm guessing we'll be seeing an entry from Yoko to the next International Exhibition in 2023.

my first tutor is Elaine Searle and I have graduated RBGE diploma course and my local teacher now is Mieko Ishikawa in Japan.
Yoko Harada

Best Botanical Art Exhibit 2022

Viola montagnei by Nigel Pickering (1957 - 2021). RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show 2022

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RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show 2022

6/4/2022

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The RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show opens to the public at the Saatchi Gallery on Saturday 9th April and continues until Friday 29th April 2022.

The exhibition is open from 10am to 6pm each day
Tickets must be booked via the Saatchi Gallery website. Entry is £5, however....
Admission is free for members of the RHS and the Saatchi Gallery - on production of your membership card.
- Pre-booking for RHS Members: use the code provided by RHS in the right hand column of the booking page (below) to get free access.
- (You can find the code in the RHS Magazine sent to members and in emails recently sent to members about upcoming events).
This is the direct link to book tickets for timed entry slots. A valid membership card must be shown on arrival.
For more information on the show, please click here: www.saatchigallery.com/exhibition/rhs2022 and www.saatchigallery.com/visit

The Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea where the exhibition is being held.

I've been contacted by artists from all over the world who want me to know they're exhibiting and can they meet up with me!

If I'm really really lucky I'll get to see this exhibition.
However, right now in week 10 post ankle fusion surgery, despite the fact I am now allowed to put my foot on the ground (lightly!) I can still only move a few steps each day and travel is very, very difficult with a knee scooter :(

I just want to confirm that despite the doubts about me being able to get there I will still be doing ALL my normal blog posts about the exhibition focusing on

RHS Botanical Art Awards 2022
RHS Botanical Photography Awards 2022
Commentary on the exhibitions and arrangements in 2022 - which will probably be towards the end of the month assuming I can work out how to get there after (hopefully) being signed off at my 12 week review - and getting out of my horrible walker boot!

What I need all exhibitors to do!

I need photos for my blog posts - and you can help!

I've got the RHS Press People helping me out with photos - and I've primed one or two other people. However if YOU want the best shot of you next to your exhibit, you need to take the photo!

Tips for taking photos of Botanical Artwork and Botanical Artists

DON'T GET IN FRONT OF THE ART! Do not stand in front of your exhibit I cannot emphasise this enough!) Instead make sure you stand close to one of your artworks without obscuring it - preferably the one you like the best - and smile! The one below is of Dr. Nigel Pickering who won a Gold Medal in July 2019 - and sadly passed away on 14th January 2021. (see Nigel Pickering GM (1957 - 2021). His widow is exhibiting a portfolio of his artwork at this year's exhibition - and I hope he wins another Gold.
FILL THE FRAME: Make sure that whoever is taking the photo knows how to fill the frame with you and your artwork. This means minimise the amount of other detail in the image. We don't need photos of the floor, walls or ceiling! For example: Take pics of your portfolio in a series of pics eg
- 3 x 2 artworks - if they are quite widely spaced; or
- 2 x 3 artworks - if they are hung closer together
- the one below - of half of Kimiko Miyahara's Best Exhibit in Show in 2021 - has been cropped to a 3:1 format but I've only had to crop the top and bottom because my photo filled the frame side to side with three of her paintings.

Treasures of the Richtersveld by Nigel Pickering. This drawing is of a Pachypodium namaquanum, the iconic plant of the Richtersveld

Endemic Plants of Japan's Ogasawara Islands, A Unesco World Heritage Site by Kimiko Miyahara (Japan) - awarded Best Exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show 2021

CHECK THE PICS AFTER TAKING THEM - You might need to have another go. I found last year that there is some very odd lighting at the Saatchi Gallery which makes everything look subdued and grey. So I stopped using my camera and started using my iPad Pro as it was able to absorb more light and, as a result, produced a much better picture. Aim for the best you can do with whatever you've got available to take photos.
SEND ME THE PICS if you want to be featured in my blog posts! This is how to contact me and I'll send you an email to send them to.

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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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