Would you like to win an RHS Gold Medal for your Botanical Art?
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Have you ever wondered whether your artwork is good enough to submit to the RHS Botanical Art Show​ - the TOP botanical art exhibition in the world?
  • Have you got the stage where you've started to wonder about the logistics of what's involved in submitting an entry?
  • Do you need tips to improve both the content and presentation of your exhibit?​​
Gold Medals are only awarded to exhibits of outstanding and consistent excellence.
On this page you can:
  • Review how to enter the RHS Botanical Art Show - and the different stages from thinking about it to mounting your idea
  • Review the criteria for positive features in an RHS Exhibit
  • Review interviews with Gold Medal winning artists. View my 11 minute video interview with an RHS Gold Medal Winner - whose entire exhibit was purchased by Shirley Sherwood. Plus read interviews with other Gold Medal Winners over the last six years
  • View a SUMMARY OF TIPS I got from my interviews with RHS Gold Medal Winning artists - about preparing and presenting exhibits for the RHS Botanical Art Show
  • click the links to the associated blog posts and read ALL ABOUT THE TIPS in their entirety

See also the summary of tips for developing botanical artwork on the main tips page
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RHS Botanical Art Show 2014 (Spring): Best Botanical Painting - by Işık Güner - one of the paintings in her 'Plants from the woods & forests of Chile'

How to enter RHS Botanical Art Shows
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Both individuals and groups can exhibit at an RHS Botanical Art Show.

There is a four stage process to entering the RHS Botanical Art Shows.
  1. Find out how to exhibit - by reading the guidance on the RHS website
  2. Submit a portfolio to be approved to exhibit (this need not be original artwork if you live outside the UK)
  3. Once approved, or you have won a medal at a previous show - you can apply to the Show Organiser for space to exhibit at a particular show
  4. Finally you have to transport and mount your exhibit in the Show Venue. Don't underestimate how much this process adds value or undermines the exhibit! (See dedicated sections below)
The RHS provides Regulations and Guidance and a Factsheet on their website - both of which need to be read very thoroughly.

Submit a portfolio for approval to exhibit

The main facts to be aware of are:
  • the Picture Panel meeting which approves applications to be approved to submit typically meets 8-12 months prior to a botanical art show
  • you must submit four pieces of original artwork if you live in the UK. This need not be work related to your exhibit.
  • you can submit good quality prints of botanical illustrations if you live outside the UK
  • Once approved, those artists considered suitable to exhibit are expected to stage an exhibit within 5 years. If you don't you will have to be assessed and approved all over again.
  • Bear in mind most of those winning Gold Medals are professional botanical illustrators and/or have been painting at a high level for many years. (Read my interviews with artists)
​Artists that have not previously exhibited at an RHS show must first submit a sample of four pieces of work to the Picture Panel for assessment and approval to be eligible to display botanical illustrations at an RHS show. 
Emphasis is placed primarily on botanical accuracy with aesthetic appeal. Artists are strongly advised to paint from living plant specimens and to make use of photographs for reference only.
Selection criteria: 
- Quality of botanical illustration 
- Quality of the presentation
​- Overall impression
TIPS: Don't apply for approval to exhibit until:
  • you have considerable experience of producing paintings to exhibition level - and have developed the commitment and stamina to paint for a themed project to excellent exhibition standards.
  • you have a theme in mind and have done initial research to test its feasibility - and your interest levels in your subject matter
  • you know that you can definitely produce an exhibit within the next five years. You need to bear in mind Gold Medal Winning exhibits very often take two years to complete - and a contingency allowance of time for "life events" is a very sensible precaution.
  • you've visited the show - if you live in the UK - or view my video (see below)

Apply to exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show
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Eucalyptus of Western Australia by Annie Hughes (Australia)
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Annie Hughes has exhibited at the RHS Botanical Art Show four times - and each time has won a Gold Medal (2011, 2012, 2013, 2017 )
Once you've been approved to exhibit, you'll be invited to apply to exhibit at a specific show.

This is the point at which you really need to pay attention to the tips from RHS Gold Medal Winning Artists - and it will make a difference to you and your work if you do!

You can read the tips below in Tips from Gold Medal Winning Artists
​All artists, or groups of artists must display at least six pieces of artwork preferably presented on a coherent theme, however, the choice of subject is left to the artist.
​Paintings and drawings can be of any dimension (within reason) but, where possible, subjects should be depicted at least life-size. Where the subject is depicted larger than life-size a scale must be indicated. 
TIPS: Do NOT apply for an exhibition until:
  • You are consistently producing your best work to date - and this is demonstrated in your exhibit. First Impressions count for a lot!
  • You have a theme, access to good quality plants and the time to paint
  • You have a detailed plan for completion of your exhibit and preparation for the exhibition. Bear in mind many people tell me their projects often take at least two years to complete
  • Most of your exhibit is completed. Do NOT assume that "everything will go according to plan" - because it often doesn't - life happens and things can go wrong! You want a reputation for meeting commitments not withdrawing from the exhibition.
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Pandanus by Mariko Ikdea - judged Best Exhibit in Show at the RHS London Botanical Art Show 2017. Her watercolour paintings are on vellum stretched over board and protected by plexi screwed to the board. Below each painting is the associated label with the names of the plants and additional information in an easily readable font
B. The following may be regarded as positive features in assessing an exhibit:
- Good draughtsmanship and, when applicable, good painterly skills
- That the depiction of plants or plant material is botanically accurate
- That each picture is well composed
- That the space allocated in which to hang the pictures is well-filled without being overcrowded
- That the exhibit has an overall unity
- That any written information is accurate and well presented and includes the Latin name
- That any frames, mounts or other accessories used are appropriate in style, scale and condition
- That the design of the display enhances the appearance of the drawings or paintings

An interview with an RHS Gold Medal Winner

This is an interview I did with Denise Ramsay at the RHS Show where as a first time exhibitor she won an RHS Gold Medal 

​...and then went on to sell ALL her paintings of the life cycle of Papaver Orientale to the well known botanical art collector Dr Shirley Sherwood.
In this 11 minute interview Denise explains:
  • how she came to enter the show
  • how she chose her plant and theme
  • her preparation prior to painting
  • how she painted specific parts of the poppy
2017 
2016
2014: Three RHS Gold Medals for Botanical Art and a video interview (26 October 2014) - you can see the video interview here 

2013: Interviews with RHS Botanical Art Gold Medal Winners (18 Apr 2013) - Interviews with eight botanical artists who won Gold Medals at the RHS Botanical Art Show in April 2013.

2012: 7 Gold Medal Winners at RHS Botanical Art 2012 (17 Mar 2012)

2011: RHS Botanical Art Show & Five Gold Medal Winners (21 Mar 2011)
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Their tips were extracted from their interviews and are summarised in the blog posts below.

TIPS from RHS Gold Medal Winning Artists

As from the RHS Botanical Art Show 2017, I now write all my posts about the show on this site's News Blog.
Previously I used to write regularly about the RHS Botanical Art shows on my blog Making A Mark​
TOP TIPS from RHS Gold Medal Winners 2018 (August 2018)
  • Focus on what you are passionate about
  • Being a grower helps a lot!
  • Keep a sketchboook
  • Make the ordinary and commonplace exceptional
  • Be careful....
  • Preparation is critical for an excellent exhibit
  • Keep your exhibit safe and secure
  • Think business! Think income! Think expenses!
  • It's never to late to start (in terms of age!)
In 2018 I also wrote two additional blog posts for specific issues which get less coverage but are critically important:(see also the sections above on these topics)
Tips from 2016 RHS Gold Medal Winners - Botanical Art (February 2016)
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  • ​Love your plant
  • Research your plant thoroughly before undertaking fieldwork
  • Record native species
  • Record species which are rare or endangered
  • Use the cold to slow down plant development
  • Drop a bloom into alcohol to preserve the structure
  • Take a 360 degree video of your plant
  • Do lots of sketches before you start to paint.
  • Draw to scale and only enlarge dissections
  • Practice working in a very hot environment prior to fieldwork
  • keep going and do not despair
More Top Tips for winning an RHS Gold Medal for Botanical Art (April 2014)
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  • Be happy - do what you love
  • Do not rush!
  • Do your research - ask experts for help
  • Pay attention to the brief
  • Selection - avoid the obvious or commonplace
  • Tell a story
  • Design the exhibit as a whole
  • Think about the structure of the different elements
  • Use best quality media
  • Make more than you need to
Ten Top Tips for winning an RHS Gold Medal for Botanical Art (April 2013)
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  • Only submit top notch work
  • Find a Helpful Grower
  • Never ever forget that the RHS is a Horticultural Society
  • Get the Botany right - know what to show and highlight
  • Practice to achieve top quality
  • Size your work to fit the Panels
  • Have a good team behind you
  • Take care with your presentation
  • Start very early!
  • You need many more business cards than you think possible!

How to hang and display an exhibit at the RHS Botanical Art Show
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Good quality paintings are only one aspect on which you are judged. ​
  • Never ever forget that the Judges are judging the complete exhibit - including how it is labelled and displayed. Every last aspect of it is important. 
  • Your entire exhibit is judged on the basis of the weakest element. Consequently your presentation can mean the difference between a Gold Medal and a Silver Gilt.
  • Before planning your exhibition do remind yourself of what the judges will think are positive features ( see extract from the Guidelines quoted below)
  • I've included my 2014 post about presentation below.  This was written prior to the change to the white boards.
Criteria for assessment of the exhibit
​Work should preferably be presented in off-white mounts. Frames should be of a neutral colour and simple in style, so as not to detract from the artworks. 
Signage is considered as part of the overall presentation of the exhibit and will be judged accordingly. 
Each picture should bear a label giving the name of the plant or plants depicted, correctly presented in Latin.
15 Top Tips for presenting work at an RHS Botanical Art (April 2014)
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​This post focused on the presentation of the artwork and the complete display
  • Presentation matters
  • Visit the exhibition
  • Measure the panels
  • Measure the inside of your portfolio / suitcase / container
  • Start by deciding the size of the artwork - and the mat
  • Plan the exhibit as a whole
  • Use an independent person to review
  • Lighten your load - lose the frame
  • Robust mountboard and bevel edges
  • Use foamcore
  • Clear neutral acetate with excellent corners
  • Seal your artwork
  • Produce excellent labels
  • Buy display holders for postcards
  • Sticky Velcro strips work better than double sided tape​​
See also my blog post written in 2014 (prior to the introduction of the new panels)
15 Top Tips for presenting work at an RHS Botanical Art Exhibition
I RECOMMEND
  • you do NOT crowd your exhibit.
  • you plan your exhibit out to scale on paper BEFORE you arrive in the Hall.
  • you ALWAYS consult the latest/current version of the Botanical Illustration Exhibitor Factsheet (557kB pdf) i.e. NOT the one you got when you were first approved to exhibit.​​​
  • you use a measuring tape and a spirit level to get the exhibit placed properly
  • you do NOT forget the heavy duty scissors!
When choosing how best to display an exhibit, artists are recommended to take into account ease of transportation and hanging, methods for protecting artworks from potential damage, as well as the overall impression they want to create.
the display must fit into the allotted space, which will be a maximum of 6 meters of display boards.
The Display Panels are 
  • 2.03m high and 0.92m wide 
  • built in straight lines.
  • The join between the panels is taped and painted. (Beware wet paint - this year it was very chalky and still coming off on clothing on the last day!)

When you apply to exhibit you must state what size of display space you want. This comes in lengths of 1.8m, 3.65m or 5.5m only.
BEFORE you apply for a specific length you need to know the precise sizes of:
  • all your mounted exhibits
  • all information boards you plan to use
  • all captions for each exhibit
​and how you propose to organise these

There are no regulations regarding thickness or width of materials for display mounting. It's a question of judgment as to what suits your exhibit best. A poor judgement along with other misjudgements could influence the colour of your medal.
One absolute priority is to make sure that ALL your exhibits are hung DEAD LEVEL.
To do this you MUST bring a decent sizes spirit level with you - although if space and weight is at a premium, the Apple App store does a rather good app for checking levels if you are using a larger iPhone.
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Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski checking whether one of the exhibits is level in 2017. "Rocky Mountains: Plants and Fungi at Altitude" won a Gold Medal for the The School of Botanical Art and Illustration (SBAI) at Denver Botanic Garden
Make sure every painting is dead level across the exhibit
This type of level is an ideal size for artwork. Butt it up to the edge of the mounted exhibit and it will measure whether or not the artwork is precisely horizontal or vertical (and 45 degrees) - or help you provide guidelines for hanging or sticking tape down.

How to get the exhibit to stick to the display panel

There is NO REQUIREMENT at present to exhibit your artwork in a frame - although some artists choose to do so. I've heard that some artists have had negative feedback from the Judges as to the type of frames chosen. I can only advise that exhibitors choose a frame which is very neutral and non-flashy (i.e. avoid gilt, gold slips and complex mouldings)

Most artists choose to exhibit in a well presented, well cut mat.
​One of the major problems which must be addressed is How to get the exhibit to stick to the display panel - without falling off! (this link provides more information and images on this topic)

The nightmare scenario is you mount the exhibit on the morning of Day 1 and by the time it's judged in the afternoon - it's fallen off the wall !!!

An exhibit must remain stuck to the panel for four days without falling off at any stage.  You especially do not want it falling off during the judging phase! 

​You cannot use ‘S’ hook picture hooks or indeed anything which means that the exhibit is not securely fixed to the panel (this is a health and safety issue for the organisers). 

​Artists are expected to provide ALL their own materials for hanging.
The ONLY tape that provides security is double sided Velcro ​
This is the Heavy Duty Double Sided Velcro - the web bit goes on the wall and the fuzzy bit goes on the back of the exhibit or label
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Velcro still stuck to the display panels after Maureen Halloran's exhibit was removed - note she used one velcro strip at each corner of an artwork

The wall mounted clear acrylic frame

Two exhibitors to date have chosen to use Wall mounted Acrylic Photo Frames​,

Below are the frames used by Mariko Ikdea  - who produced the Best Exhibit in 2017 
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Two of the six wall mounted clear acrylic frames used to hold Mariko Ikdea's paintimngs of Pandanus - on vellum mounted on board - in 2017
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​In 2018, Sarah Jane Humphrey used frames which came from Luminati, who are based in Devon, and changed the colour of the fixings. She also won a Gold Medal.

How to transport an exhibit
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My post about How to get your art exhibit there and back - safe and secure highlights
  • five different ways to get an exhibit of six artworks plus all associated captions to and from the RHS Lindley Hall
  • on trains, planes and in cars!

The basic requirements for transporting an exhibit

 Botanical artists and their partners demonstrate a lot of ingenuity in terms of custom made protection for an exhibit!
However basic requirements are universal. These are:
  • portable - you are going to be carrying it for at least some of the time
  • waterproof - you don't want anything getting wet or suffering from humidity (ruined artwork / cockled paper etc)
  • robust - artwork needs to be protected from potential damage by third parties
  • tamper proof - anything which is not with you at all times needs to be able to keep grubby fingers out
  • reasonable cost - nobody ever wants to pay out more than they need!
  • clears customs - for all international artists
  • insurance - for if anything goes wrong
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Two Japanese exhibitors (left) one with a conventional reinforced cardboard pack and (right) the best exhibit winner going home with her artwork in a box on wheels
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Third time exhibitor Esmee Winkel returns to the Netherlands carrying everything for her exhibit in a portfolio and a backpack
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Lara Gastinger removed her artwork from its mount and protected them before placing all 12 exhibits in this very robust but lightweight box constructed at home.
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This is the portfolio suitcase on wheels that the exhibit by The School of Botanical Art and Illustration (SBAI) at Denver Botanic Garden travelled in - in 2017.

Additional support for shipping artwork

See also my Art Business Info. for Artists website which has a section on How to pack, post and ship art - including:
More information about archival / secure / ropbust art carrying cases
Trans-Port Shipping Cases by Archival Methods
If you need to ship your artwork, Archival Methods have a case specifically designed for shipping artwork
  • four-inch functional capacity
  • Impact-resistant polyethylene plastic exterior with rigid texture that resists scuffing and will not tear
  • Interior is completely lined with 1/4" polyester foam
  • Steel reinforced corners
  • Steel reinforces outer edge of removable telescoping top
  • One-inch wide poly straps are attached to the case and securely close with high-impact plastic buckles
  • Large 8x12" ABS plastic label area designed for adhesive backed shipping labels

More Tips
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You may well find this article helpful - From petal to pigment by Charlotte Brooks, Librarian of the RHS Lindley Library
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It's not uncommon for the Library to acquire some of the work from exhibitors at the RHS Botanical Art Show. The article talks about the preparatory work that goes into many of the exhibits, of the advice given by the Library to some aspiring artists and displays the work donated to the Library by some RHS Botanical Art Gold Medallists.
ALL exhibiting artists get feedback from a member of the Picture Panel that assessed the exhibits.

Other feedback identified in the past by artists who have not won Gold have included:
  • the assessment always relates to the complete exhibit. An exhibit can be let down by one weaker painting.
  • every painting needs to meet the 'Gold Standard' if an exhibit is to get Gold.
  • groups very rarely get gold because of the difference in styles/techniques which make an exhibit by a group of artists much less cohesive. (This suggests even more thought needs to go into the planning of an exhibit and more rigour applied to the selection of paintings to include in the exhibit).
  • outlines of 'white' flowers seem to be frowned upon