REVIEW: Botanical Painting by Margaret Stevens & the SBA

9/8/2018

sThis is the third of my three book reviews this week. It contains:

my book review of "Botanical Painting"
Three Books and Three Reviews: A Conclusion
a new webpage about 'NEW books about botanical art instruction'

Botanical Painting is the latest in the series of books written by Margaret Stevens, past president of the Society of Botanical Artists.

When The Art of Botanical Painting by Margaret Stevens (with the SBA) was published in 2004 it became the standard text for the Distance Learning Diploma Course pioneered by the Society of Botanical Artists - and sold a LOT of copies - and not just to DLDC students!

I initially thought that Botanical Painting by Margaret Stevens (with the SBA) - published by Batsford on 2 August 2018 - was going to be a revamped and revised edition of the first book. That's because:

it is now an 'old' book. While still good it was certainly due for an overhaul to reflect the changes in botanical painting in the last 14 years - plus the competition from a lot of other books on the same topic which have been published in the last decade or more.
there have been times when it has been out of print and impossible to get hold of a copy - although the situation has eased of late with a new paperback publisher.
the publisher's description for the new book (see below) led me to believe it would not just be an appendix to the first book.

In this new book the Society of Botanical Artists provides a comprehensive guide to the different styles and methods of botanical painting, harvesting the talent of both Members and Distance Learning Diploma Course students around the world, past and present. Botanical Painting features techniques and materials for all levels and demonstrates how these skills can be used to develop your own expertise

However, I regret to say that, in my view, this book does NOT replace 'The Art of Botanical Painting' which in my opinion remains the better book for instruction.

If limited funds mean you have to choose between the two, I'd recommend you buy the first book rather than the latest publication. It'll also cost you less!

Let me explain why...

This new publication seems to me to be 'more of the same' - but with more 'tips' and less tuition.
If compared to the book I reviewed two days ago (see REVIEW: Botanical Illustration - The Complete Guide by Leigh Ann Gale) - and others - it is certainly NOT a comprehensive guide to botanical painting.

In short, it's very largely a portfolio of paintings with comments and tips plus some structured step by steps.

The publisher's publicity also suggests......

An inspirational gallery of paintings at the end of the book provides a guided walk around an SBA exhibition.

I should preface the next comments by saying I'm very picky and somewhat direct in my comments. (I should also add it's taken me three days to write this review and I'm less than happy about what I need to say).

The quality of reproduction is excellent - which works in two ways.

It's fabulous in relation to certain paintings.
However, in some instances it seems a tad too good for the quality of the digital image.

Having written a book myself, I'm a great believer in only picking images only AFTER you have seen them at the size and definition they will be reproduced in the book. It's invidious to single any out but there are some where I think the book would have benefited from an edit. The effect I'm talking about will be familiar to many if I say it's akin to having a very good impression of a painting at a distance and then being disappointed when you get close up. This is by no means the only book I've seen with this issue - it's one which affects a number of books about botanical art.

The book contains some excellent images of both drawings and paintings. However, overall, I thought it was a shame that the range of artwork in the book

taken as a whole, does not match the quality of those in the first book
does not, in my view, properly reflect how the annual exhibition has moved on in the last decade or so that I have been reviewing it. I think it lacks contemporary relevance and some of the more impressive and innovative artwork that I've seen latterly in the annual exhibition.

Somebody described SOME of the artwork as "old fashioned" and, although it pains me to say so, I'm afraid I have to agree.

Not all about painting, not all about watercolour on paper

The main benefit of the book is that it recognises that, since the first book was published in 2004, the use of various media has changed. More and more botanical artists are creating botanical art either by using different painting media or by using different supports.

Curiously, despite the title - it's not all about watercolour painting!
For example it includes

drawing in monochrome - with some expert work by Guy William Eves SBA, CPGFS
drawing using a metalpoint - lovely work and useful tips by Margaret Fitzpatrick DipSBA (Dist.) SBA

It does however broaden out the range of supports used and the type of media used. Thus there are sections on:

painting on vellum - which has an outstanding section by Shevaun Doherty DipSBA (Dist.) SBA ASBA
painting using egg tempera by Marion Perkins SBA

However I do feel there is a serious omission in that it omits any significant and helpful content relative to painting using oils and acrylics which are both used for botanical painting by some SBA members to very great effect. Each have one painting - but the painting techniques are not covered adequately.

Best Botanical Painting in "Bloom" 2017 (Dublin) - Prunus domestica ‘Victoria’ - by Shevaun Doherty

There are a number of steps by steps - those I would recommend include

Shevaun Doherty - painting on vellum (the painting used in the demonstration won Shevaun a Gold Medal and Best in Show award at Bloom 2017 in Dublin!)
Janie Pirie GM, SBA - cherries in coloured pencil; and
Sandra Armitage PPSBA - the immediate past president (2013-18) - a mixed bunch re. illustration commissions and working from photos

Feedback on DLDC student paintings

One bonus - from the perspective of DLDC students - is that the book includes images of student work by various past DLDC students - with comments about:

what was good and
what needed to be improved and
how they were marked!

I'm sure many will buy it for this reason alone!

On other matters:

the cover is a mess in terms of graphic design (see the image of the three books below to see what I mean)
there's rather too much description and rather too little analysis which adds value i.e. WHY does a particular painting work not how it was painted.
I found the index to have significant omissions and to be repetitive and confusing. For example, I looked for specific references for example to the "wet in wet" watercolour technique - and found none. By way of contrast I found several references to the same media and pages under different subject headings.
it has the least pages, least content/words (as in rather a lot of white space!) and least paintings of all the books reviewed this week - meaning it does not represent great value for money.
there is no ebook - and the best books these days are now structured/written/indexed with this in mind.

In the end, I'm not sure whether this book is supposed to be

either an overview of the current status of contemporary botanical painting (including all traditional techniques) or
an aide memoire for current DLDC students.
or both

I've been a very big supporter of the SBA in the past and I'd LOVE to give ALL the content of this book a thumbs up. However the simple truth is I can't - and I'm very disappointed about that. The reason for writing the review as I have is my total regard for those who want to spend their money wisely - and I won't back away from that.

That said, let's not forget that this is a book which is good in parts. Certainly, in the absence of any books providing decent information about botanical drawing and painting using alternative media, I do think it has something to offer. However it has strong competition from a variety of resources in relation to painting - not least the fact that video is so very prevalent these days and can demonstrate better than a book can what used to be explained in a step by step.

The next book by the SBA needs to focus on

the nature of contemporary botanical art
the current competition for the botanical art book buyers' currency
the topic (as in what the title says it is and what the publicity says it is)
the reality of other forms of instructional media favoured by those with a need to know
how best to offer value for money for all its potential buyers
how the market and technology have changed - and the need to offer an ebook

NOTE: It's a "to do" list which all future authors should also have in mind.

DETAILS
Publisher: Batsford / Pavilion Books (UK and USA)
Publication date: 2 August 2018
Format: Hardback
Pages: 160 (no details about number of illustrations)
ISBN: 9781849944526
Retail Price: £25.00
Price on AmazoN UK: various - mine was £16.20 (pre-ordered); and there are various prices quoted above and below the listed retail price
Price on Amazon.com: about $35 (used are listed at lower prices)

About the author

Margaret Stevens GM, PPSBA exhibited widely and internationally as a professional botanical artist and undertook a number of important commissions (and is now retired). She is a Founder Member of the Society of Botanical Artists and was its President between 2005 and 2010. She made a major contribution to the profile and growth of the Society of Botanical Artists in guiding the development of its Distance Learning Diploma Course, her role as the First Course Director and the four instruction books about botanical art she wrote prior to this one:

You can read my 2009 interview with her A Making A Mark Interview with Margaret Stevens (May 2009) which led to a number of people signing up for the DLDC who are now accomplished artists and teachers themselves.

Three Books and Three Reviews: Conclusion

What suits you best depends on what you're looking for. Everybody starts from a different place in terms of knowledge, skills and experience - and what they want or need to know about.

Inevitably with any instruction book if you've studied botanical art for a while then you'll find things you know already in ANY book. They all have their individual pros and cons.

In terms of my reviews of the three recent publications (links below are to my reviews)

If you just rate the books on the actual detailed content not found anywhere else, then the one which comes out as best value is Botanical Art with Scientific Illustration.
If you rate them on detailed content based on the more traditional instruction book relating to botanical art, I'd choose the Botanical Illustration - The Complete Guide by Leigh Ann Gale over the SBA's Botanical Painting book every time.
If you want to know more about painting on vellum or drawing using metal point - or how artwork is assessed for the DLDC - I'd go for the SBA's Botanical Painting book.

The Best Botanical Art Instruction Books

The main problem for students of botanical art is that there is a considerable range in the quality of the content in books about botanical art.

What I'm trying to do with this website is guide readers/artists/students towards those books that I consider are written by those who:

have experience in both botanical art and teaching and
understand how best to communicate what students of botanical art 'need to know'

This week I launched a new page NEW Books about Botanical Art & Illustration (2018). Every year it will always be about the new instruction books about botanical published in the previous 6-12 months.

In due course, some will graduate and progress to my primary page The Best Botanical Art & Illustration Instruction Books - where you can read more of my book reviews and find out which are the books I recommend. It 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

This section of my website also includes In-Depth Reviews (each artist or books gets a dedicated page) of the following (with more to come!)
SBA Books - in-depth reviews

Books by popular botanical art tutors (author)

Botany books for botanical artists

Botany for the Artist (Simblet)

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