REVIEW: Botanical Art with Scientific Illustration by Sarah Jane Humphrey

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Botanical Art with Scientific Illustration by botanical artist/illustrator and tutor Sarah Jane Humphrey is PACKED full of content relevant to the artist and illustrator who aspires to a professional career in botanical art and illustration - a lot of which is not covered in other books.
​​
It will be getting a more in-depth review on Botanical Art and Artists in the near future - including a review of the ebook version! ​

Botanical Art with Scientific Illustration by Sarah Jane Humphrey (Published by Crowood Press July 2018)

​Overall, I'm impressed with this book. It very much comes across as the work of a full time professional botanical artist/illustrator/tutor who earns her keep from her work. Well worth a look for those who aspire to becoming a professional rather than just painting good botanical paintings.

​This book was published on the first day of the RHS Botanical Art Show last month - at which Sarah Jane Humphrey, the author, won an RHS Gold Medal.  Not a bad week! ;) 

Sarah Jane Humphrey with part of her Gold Medal winning display of Medicinal Plants at the RHS Botanical Art Show (July 2018)

What distinguishes this book is that Sarah Jane has reconfigured the "what do you need to know to be a botanical artist" instruction book. 

This is emphatically NOT  a "how to paint" step by step book. 
​This is a book which is more suitable for all those who have acquired some skills and competence in drawing and painting - and now need to move up a gear.  It's written in a conversational style which I think a lot of people will find very accessible. 

Importantly, much of what she talks about

• clearly comes from her academic training (she has a degree in illustration from a good art school) plus practical and in-depth experience and learning she has accumulated in her career to date - working for a wide variety of clients.
• includes in-depth comment on topics often only mentioned in passing - or not covered at all - in other books written by people who are good at painting and/or drawing. 

This book offers great value for money! It is very dense in terms of content - and will definitely reward more than one read. I'd expect aspiring botanical artists to reference it many times. 

Chapters which impressed me included those which talked about matters which sometimes get too little attention. It's not so much she is saying anything completely novel so much as covering all the aspects that people need to think about in more depth than often happens.

• Chapter 3: Materials and Equipment - particularly the technical equipment often not emphasised elsewhere
• Chapter 4: The collection and choice of specimens - the chapter oddly missing from very many botanical art instruction books
• Chapter 5: Drawing and the importance of sketchbooks - includes practical tips for working in the field and drawing strategies for working with specimens in the field
• Chapter 6: Observation and perspective - tackles foreshortening and perspective drawing relative to shapes in nature; plus tips relating to anatomy and dissection
• Chapter 7: The use of monochrome - included some sub-sections which I rarely see elsewhere - especially that relating to the use of charcoal and large-scale drawing
• Chapter 9: Principles of Composition - I've written about composition elsewhere - but enjoyed her explanations of the laws and rules of composition. Again something often not explored in detail in some other books.
• Chapter 11: Techniques - includes some very practical and useful advice about making digital records and framing and storing artwork
• Chapter 12: Professional Practice - 29 pages, dense with practical tips about how to promote your artwork, develop your professional reputation, find clients for your work and work to a brief, price artwork and commissions, generate products from artwork and develop an online commerce store.

I'd recommend botanical artists wanting to make a career from their art to buy this book on the strength of Chapter 12 alone - about professional practice. I've not yet seen any other book which provides comprehensive cover of contemporary professional BUSINESS practice for the botanical artist and scientific illustrator - including how much time needs to be invested in a multitude of activities and the other knowledge and skills you need to learn - other than drawing and painting - in today's digital world. Success is not all down to being the best painter you can be!

I was really surprised to find that the publisher's description understates the real value of this book - within the context of what else is on offer.  I suggest they have a rethink!

Incidentally, I queried with the Crowood Press why they had published two books about botanical art and illustration at more or less the same time (see yesterday's post REVIEW: Botanical Illustration - The Complete Guide by Leigh Ann Gale) - and they said they were very different books - and they were absolutely correct! Both are packed full of information and both are good but for different reasons.

I've taken a look at the ebook version - and read it using Adobe Digital Editions. I've not yet seen the Kindle version. I can confirm it's constructed as a proper ebook with the ability to navigate via the table of contents. My personal preference is for the paperback - but then I like 'proper' books!

Publication date: 11 Jun. 2018 (Launched at the RHS Botanical Art Show!)
Publisher: The Crowood Press Ltd; Illustrated edition 
Format: Paperback: 176 pages | 429 colour illustrations
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1785004190
Retail Price: £18.99
E-Book Edition: £14.99 (incl. VAT)
​Price on Amazon UK: various - around c.£14 for both paperback and Kindle
Price on Amazon.com: c.$38; Kindle $19
​
Note: I was sent a copy to review by the publishers, having talked to Sarah Jane about the book at the RHS Botanical Art Exhibition.

About the author

Sarah Jane Humphrey is a botanical artist, a natural science illustrator, an author and a tutor. Graduated from Falmouth University with an Honours Degree in Illustration. In 2018 she was awarded a Gold Medal by the RHS for Medicinal Fruits and their symbiosis with Pollinators. ​She delivers workshops on Botanical Illustration in Cornwall . She is represented by the Wildlife Art Company for illustration work and has had a wide variety of clients for her illustration work.
Website: https://www.sarahjanehumphrey.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahjane.illustration/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahgalerie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahgalerie/

---

The Best Botanical Art Instruction Books 
​

You can read more of my book reviews and find out which are the books I recommend in The Best Botanical Art & Illustration Instruction Books which covers:

• ​The Society of Botanical Art Books developed for the SBA Diploma Course
• Books about Botanical Art & Illustration - using Graphite and Coloured Pencils
• Books about Scientific Botanical Illustration - and using pen and ink
• Books by Leading British Botanical Artists & Illustrators and Educators

plus 

• in-depth reviews of various individual books
• and seperate pages devoted to books by Billy Showell, Rosie Martin and Meriel Thurstan (Eden Project) and ​Bobbi Angell

a very small part of my book stacks!