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My directory of short courses, classes and workshops in botanical art and/or illustration in England, Scotland and Wales has been updated to include all those being held in 2019 that have been:
 The Miller's House at Flatford Mill - now a Field Centre offering workshops and short courses Where can you find a botanical art course in 2019? |
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About Margaret Mee is my page about this remarkable and very petite woman, who was
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Her legacy includes
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Plus a number of plants are named after her, including:
- Heliconia chartacea var. meeana - which has vivid blue berries
- Aechmea polyantha - a vaselike Bromeliad discovered by Margaret Mee
On About Margaret Mee you can find out about:
- A Timeline of her life and work
- Margaret Mee and the Amazon Flora
- Margaret Mee's Paintings - and her approach to painting
- Exhibitions of Margaret Mee's paintings - in the UK, USA and Brazil
- The Margaret Mee Trust and Fellowship Programme
Videos and Slideshows of her work
Cover and spine of "The Greenwood Trees" by Christina Hart Davies
This is a review of 'The Greenwood Trees - History, Folklore and uses of Britain's trees' by Christina Hart-Davies - a slim volume that is essentially about the native trees of the UK.
By the time I got to the end I realised that the book she has written and illustrated reminded me a lot of many of the early Herbals - which describe and identify plants - including illustrations - and identify what they are associated with and what they are used for. Both her previous book and this one are focused on telling you what a plant/tree is good for as well as what it looked like. It goes way, way beyond a book of botanical illustrations
It is in effect a contemporary version of what we refer to in botanical literature as Herbals. It is packed full of information and illustrations about the different native trees. What's more Christina has written all the text, which references facts and beliefs from very many of the books from the past - from Dioscorides onwards - and painted all the illustrations in watercolour
Overall, the book is enormously informative, very interesting and very accessible - it and can be enjoyed by young and old, by those interested in nature and trees and by those interested in different ways of representing and painting trees.
For example it includes snippets of information e.g.
Who knew the aspen was one of the earliest trees to re-colonise the UK after the Ice Age?
By the time I got to the end I realised that the book she has written and illustrated reminded me a lot of many of the early Herbals - which describe and identify plants - including illustrations - and identify what they are associated with and what they are used for. Both her previous book and this one are focused on telling you what a plant/tree is good for as well as what it looked like. It goes way, way beyond a book of botanical illustrations
It is in effect a contemporary version of what we refer to in botanical literature as Herbals. It is packed full of information and illustrations about the different native trees. What's more Christina has written all the text, which references facts and beliefs from very many of the books from the past - from Dioscorides onwards - and painted all the illustrations in watercolour
Overall, the book is enormously informative, very interesting and very accessible - it and can be enjoyed by young and old, by those interested in nature and trees and by those interested in different ways of representing and painting trees.
For example it includes snippets of information e.g.
- 90% of a tree is dead; and
- the number of acorns buried each year by birds and small mammals in the UK may total 1.5 billion!
Who knew the aspen was one of the earliest trees to re-colonise the UK after the Ice Age?
Aspen Trees in Autumn © Christina Hart-Davies
The book covers 37 different varieties of tree, of which 31 are natives of the UK i.e. they were around 6,000 years BC when the waters started to rise again after the Ice Age.
The book has five sections:
The book has five sections:
- a brief history of trees in Britain - which is absolutely fascinating. I learned a LOT about how trees grew and were managed over the different periods within UK History!
- people and trees - this section took me back nearly 60 years to my primary school days when I was learning about how early man lived and the sorts of tools and products he used to make from trees.
- trees and beliefs - about the various tree spirits, creation myths, symbols and festivals associated with trees
- things that live in trees - about the community of insects, birds and small mammals that live in and with trees - as well as the fungi and parasites also living in trees and in some cases attacking them.
- The Greenwood Trees i.e. the very old trees associated with the Wildwood. This is by far the biggest section. This section also has the most botanical illustrations which are quite delightful.
About "The Greenwood Trees"
Whitebeam Berries © Christina Hart-Davies
Marking the 800th anniversary of the Forest Charter, award-winning botanical artist Christina Hart-Davies celebrates our long relationship with trees. Since pre-historic times they have provided us with shelter, fuel, medicine, food and even the air we breathe. They have tanned leather, dyed cloth and made everything from cathedrals to clothes-pegs. We have told stories about them, admired their magnificent beauty and woven them into our spiritual lives. Following A Wild Plant Year, which recorded the folklore and cultural history of our native wildflowers, in The Greenwood Trees Christina looks at the history, folklore and virtues of our native trees – and a few well-known introductions too – all illustrated with her exquisitely detailed watercolour paintings.
The book was published at the end of last month by Two Rivers Press who published Christina's earlier book A Wild Plant Year: The History, Folklore and Uses of Britain’s Flora
It is naturally printed on paper which is FSC certified as coming from a responsible source!
Title: The Greenwood Trees: History, Folklore and Virtues of Britain’s Trees
Author/Artist: Christina Hart-Davies
format: paperback
size: 200 x 200 mm / 7.875 x 7.875 in (square format)
ISBN: 978‑1‑909747‑40‑1
pages: 120
price: £ 15.99
Publication date: September 2018
You can obtain the book as follows:
It is naturally printed on paper which is FSC certified as coming from a responsible source!
Title: The Greenwood Trees: History, Folklore and Virtues of Britain’s Trees
Author/Artist: Christina Hart-Davies
format: paperback
size: 200 x 200 mm / 7.875 x 7.875 in (square format)
ISBN: 978‑1‑909747‑40‑1
pages: 120
price: £ 15.99
Publication date: September 2018
You can obtain the book as follows:
- an ordinary copy from Two Rivers Press direct
- a signed copy (with postage included) direct from Christina Hart-Davies
- an unsigned copy from Amazon UK
About Christina Hart-Davies
Christina Hart-Davies with her most recent RHS Gold Medal display of "Common British Corticolous Lichens"
Christina Hart-Davies has been a professional botanical artist for 30+ years.
- She has five RHS Gold Medals (4 for mosses and lichens - in 1984, 1986, 1988 and 2018 -and one for orchids - in 1992). The last two lichen Gold Medals were 20 years apart - proving (like Kathy Pickles did) that it's never too late to have another go!
- She has also illustrated for a wide variety of prestigious clients and publications. Her artwork has been extensively published. Publishers she has worked with include Crowood Press; Dorling Kindersley; Elm Tree Books; Gilgamesh Publishing; Hamlyn; HarperCollins; Michael Joseph; Longman; Macmillan/RHS; New Holland; Pyramid/Octopus; Two Rivers Press; Virgin Publishing. Publications include: BBC Wildlife Magazine; British Wildlife; Kew Magazine; Successful Gardening (Eaglemoss Publications); Sunday Times
- She was a Founder Member - and Honorary Secretary for its first ten years - of the Society of Botanical Artists.
- Botanical artist to an expedition to the rainforests of Sumatra
- She has artwork in The Hunt and The Shirley Sherwood Collections - and mine (I own two of her works)!
- She is also an occasional tutor on various courses in the UK
Apple by Christina Hart-Davies (there are a number of similar illustrations in the book for different trees)
The page 20th century Botanical Artists on my website is about those botanical artists who are more associated with the 20th century than either the 19th or the 21 centuries.
Below is a list of names of the artists who are highlighted on this page - with a summary of their dates and achievements. Please note: the page essentially works on the same basis as those for contemporary botanical artists on my website
If you have suggestions for other names who should be on this list please let me know.
At the end, there are links to the other pages containing listings of famous and/or notable botanical artists past and present.
- Some were born before 1900 and
- some died after 2000
- they did most of their work in the 20th century
- however they are all now deceased
Below is a list of names of the artists who are highlighted on this page - with a summary of their dates and achievements. Please note: the page essentially works on the same basis as those for contemporary botanical artists on my website
If you have suggestions for other names who should be on this list please let me know.
At the end, there are links to the other pages containing listings of famous and/or notable botanical artists past and present.
Convolvulus Family by Mrs H. Isabel Adams - for Wild Flowers of the British Isles
UK
British Botanical Artists
EUROPE
German Botanical Artists
Irish Botanical Artists
Italian Botanical Artists
British Botanical Artists
- Mrs Harriet Isabel Adams FLS (1863-1952)
- Raymond Booth (1929-2015)
- Elizabeth Cameron GM (1915-2009)
- Arthur Harry Church (1865-1937)
- Stella Ross Craig (1906 - 2006)
- Sally Crosthwaite GM SBA SFP (?-2017)
- Jeannie Foord (dates ? 19th/20th century)
- Mary Anderson Grierson GM (1912 - 2012)
- Sally Keir GM SBA (1938-2007)
- Suzanne Lucas MBE GM (1915-2008)
- Margaret Mee (1909-1988)
- Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh (1864-1933)
- Rory McEwen (1932-1982)
- John Northcote Nash CBE, RA (1893 – 1977)
- Catherine Nicholson (1958-2011)
- Pandora Sellars GM (1936 - 2017)
- Lillian Snelling MBE VMH (1879-1972)
EUROPE
German Botanical Artists
- Claus Caspari (1911–1980)
Irish Botanical Artists
- Wendy Walsh (1915 - 2014)
Italian Botanical Artists
- Anna Paoletto (1946–2016)
BRITTON AND ROSE, VOL. II M. E. Eaton del 1. Fruit of Hylocereus trigonus. 2. Flower of Selenicereus boeckmannii 3. Fruit of Selenicereus boeckmannii. (All natural size.)
NORTH AMERICA
USA
SOUTH AMERICA
Brazil
AUSTRALASIA
Australian Botanical Artists
USA
- Mary Emily Eaton (1873-1961)
- Lee Adams (1922-1971)
- Anne Ophelia Todd Dowden (1907–2007)
- Priscilla K S Fawcett (1932-2012)
- Janice Glimn Lacy (1935-2013)
- Maud Purdy (1873 - 1965)
SOUTH AMERICA
Brazil
- Etienne Demonte (1931-2004)
AUSTRALASIA
Australian Botanical Artists
- Margaret Flockton (1861-1953)
- Paul Jones OBE (1921 - 1997)
- Emily Pelloe (1878 – 1941)
Artwork by Paul Jones - Magnolia grandiflora; Sunflower: Helianthus annuus; and the book "Flora Magnifica" paintings by Paul Jones; text by Wilfrid Blunt
AFRICA
South African Botanical Artists
Zimbabwean Botanical Artists
ASIA
Chinese Botanical Artists
Japanese Botanical Artists
South African Botanical Artists
- Dr Auriol Batten (1918-2015)
- Barbara Jeppe (1921-1999)
- Cythna Letty (1895 - 1985)
- Ann Schweizer (1930-2014)
Zimbabwean Botanical Artists
- Margaret Tredgold (1910 - 2012)
ASIA
Chinese Botanical Artists
- Chengru Feng (1896–1968)
Japanese Botanical Artists
- Yoshio Futakushi (1900-1997)
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More about Botanical Artists
BOTANICAL ARTISTS IN HISTORY
CONTEMPORARY BOTANICAL ARTISTS
Criteria for inclusion on this website are listed on Contemporary botanical artists and illustrators around the world.
The links below are to lists of the top contemporary botanical artists and illustrators:
- Past Masters of Botanical Art (1500-1900) - organised by countries and timeline plus individual pages for leading botanical artists of the past
- Famous Asian Botanical Artists (600-1900)
CONTEMPORARY BOTANICAL ARTISTS
Criteria for inclusion on this website are listed on Contemporary botanical artists and illustrators around the world.
The links below are to lists of the top contemporary botanical artists and illustrators:
This morning I updated the page on my website devoted to Diploma and Certificate Courses in Botanical Art and Illustration. This covers:
This year I've developed the listings and am now including information relating to:
BELOW you can find out about:
- Guidelines on how to assess and choose a course from available options; and
- Listings of Diploma and Certificate courses
This year I've developed the listings and am now including information relating to:
- scope of the course - in terms of topics covered - with links to where more information is supplied by the course provider
- teaching staff / tutors - with links to the course page about teaching staff and/or their personal websites PLUS mentions for any prestigious awards they have received
- method of assessment
- course fees - which is, of course, a topic of much interest to prospective students.
BELOW you can find out about:
- info. about the course listings - and how to help me update them
- what Diploma and Certificate Courses cost in the UK
- what sort of guidance is available e.g. what questions you should ask before handing over the money! Ideally - this is available on the website or via downloads provided!
Course Listings
The course listings currently cover the UK and USA - but the listings can easily be extended to other continents and countries if such courses exist elsewhere - and have a website which allows me to check the content and the tutors. (I use Chrome's translate function to check listings in other languages)
There is a form at the bottom of the page to notify me of any Diploma or Certificate Courses (i.e. NOT short courses - which are on other pages)
I also note that more and more education providers are looking to provide tuition suitable for those who would like to pursue a diploma course but do not have the knowledge or basic skills required.
For example, the Society of Botanical Artists will be delivering a Distance Learning Foundation Certificate as from March 2019 - with information available about content, tuition and course fees from this September.
There is a form at the bottom of the page to notify me of any Diploma or Certificate Courses (i.e. NOT short courses - which are on other pages)
I also note that more and more education providers are looking to provide tuition suitable for those who would like to pursue a diploma course but do not have the knowledge or basic skills required.
For example, the Society of Botanical Artists will be delivering a Distance Learning Foundation Certificate as from March 2019 - with information available about content, tuition and course fees from this September.
SBA DLDC student work at the Annual Exhibition in 2012
How much do Courses cost - in the UK?
A little while ago I asked the RHS whether they could provide some detailed answers to questions about various aspects of assessment relating to the RHS Botanical Art Show which are of interest to
The RHS have very kindly responded with some very informative answers to my questions via Charlotte Brooks, the Secretary to the Picture Panel.
I asked an awful lot of questions and the answers run to five A4 pages!
So I'm going to post all the questions and answers over three days as follows:
I'll also be including images from past Botanical Art Shows and the information will also be included on my website page about the RHS Botanical Art Shows.
- those wanting to submit to a future RHS Botanical Art Show
- those exhibiting this year or in future - and
- all those wanting to know how to win a Gold Medal AND maybe a Best Exhibit or Best Painting Award.
The RHS have very kindly responded with some very informative answers to my questions via Charlotte Brooks, the Secretary to the Picture Panel.
I asked an awful lot of questions and the answers run to five A4 pages!
So I'm going to post all the questions and answers over three days as follows:
- Seeking approval to exhibit (today - see below)
- The Judges and the Judging Process (tomorrow Monday 25th June)
- How the colour of the medal and additional awards are decided + Feedback (Tuesday 26th June)
I'll also be including images from past Botanical Art Shows and the information will also be included on my website page about the RHS Botanical Art Shows.
Every artist must be able to present six artworks forming a high quality, unified and consistent exhibit of botanical art. This photo of the RHS Botanical Art Show in 2016 includes three Gold Medal winning exhibits.
Assessment: Approval to Submit
Before you can exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show you must be approved to exhibit.
How this works:
How this works:
- the next section provides the RHS response to my question about what those assessing your application to exhibit are looking for
- followed by my summary explanation of how you can submit an application for approval to exhibit.
- More information about the RHS Botanical Art Shows on the RHS and Botanical Art and Artists websites - for those who want to find out more.
How does assessment work at the initial "approval to submit" stage?
What are you looking for?
What follows is what the RHS told me (i.e. their words).
The Selection criteria are similar to the judging criteria, but at this stage the judges are principally looking at the artist’s technical skill and the quality of their botanical illustration. Although the judges will also offer feedback on other areas if there is something that stands out as being particularly well executed, or if there are things that should be avoided.
The criteria are summarised as follows:
• Quality of botanical illustration
• Quality of the presentation
• Overall impression
The pieces that are submitted should demonstrate good draughtsmanship and the artist’s ability to handle form, texture, colour, tonal range.
The horticultural and botanical content in the pictures is also important (e.g. life-cycle stages / magnifications / habit), as it distinguishes a work as being a piece of botanical illustration.
Although artists do not have to submit the work they intend to exhibit, the submission should be representative of the overall quality of their work.
Artists are encouraged to send in examples of their best and most recent work.
The Selection criteria are similar to the judging criteria, but at this stage the judges are principally looking at the artist’s technical skill and the quality of their botanical illustration. Although the judges will also offer feedback on other areas if there is something that stands out as being particularly well executed, or if there are things that should be avoided.
The criteria are summarised as follows:
• Quality of botanical illustration
• Quality of the presentation
• Overall impression
The pieces that are submitted should demonstrate good draughtsmanship and the artist’s ability to handle form, texture, colour, tonal range.
The horticultural and botanical content in the pictures is also important (e.g. life-cycle stages / magnifications / habit), as it distinguishes a work as being a piece of botanical illustration.
Although artists do not have to submit the work they intend to exhibit, the submission should be representative of the overall quality of their work.
Artists are encouraged to send in examples of their best and most recent work.
- If an artist works in more than one medium, for example graphite and watercolour, but is unsure which to exhibit, the judges may offer feedback on which of the examples they consider to be stronger.
- The exhibit should be consistent, not a mix of pictures executed in watercolour, graphite, coloured-pencil or gouache.
- However, if an artist chooses to create their work in a combination of graphite and watercolour, this is permissible.
- The overall exhibit must be unified.
RHS Botanical Art Show February 2015 - BEFORE the new white Exhibit Boards were introduced. The number and size of artwork exhibited remained the same!
The feedback given at Selection stage is intended to help guide artists with any further planning and work they may wish to undertake.
We see a range of artists submitting
The judges are looking to see whether the works submitted would reach a minimum standard of a Silver Medal.
If you've not yet submitted an application for approval to exhibit, you should also read the next section - based on guidance from the RHS,
We see a range of artists submitting
- some are already very experienced with a high level of skill;
- other artists are very much at the beginning of their journey and may need more tuition before exhibiting with the RHS.
- In some cases artists are self-taught and so may be seeking support in their work but are not ready yet to exhibit.
The judges are looking to see whether the works submitted would reach a minimum standard of a Silver Medal.
If you've not yet submitted an application for approval to exhibit, you should also read the next section - based on guidance from the RHS,
- UK & Ireland
- USA
- Australia
- Europe (work in progress)
Author
Katherine Tyrrell writes about botanical art and artists and has followers all over the world.
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Copyright
© Katherine Tyrrell 2015-18
Unauthorised use or duplication of ANY material on this blog without written permission is strictly prohibited. Please also respect the copyright of all artists featured here.
Unauthorised use or duplication of ANY material on this blog without written permission is strictly prohibited. Please also respect the copyright of all artists featured here.
What's your news?
This blog highlights news - in brief - about botanical art exhibitions around the world.
Use the Contact form to tell me about an exhibition and provide a summary of relevant information. If listing your event I will ask you for relevant images.
Use the Contact form to tell me about an exhibition and provide a summary of relevant information. If listing your event I will ask you for relevant images.
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The Best Books about Botanical Art History
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