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Welcome to my website -       I hope you enjoy your visit.

 

If you get the chance to be in London before April then do have a look in at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew. The present exhibition is, as usual, of the highest, stunning quality. It uses paintings from the Shirley Sherwood collection to illustrate the latest ideas about plant evolutionary relationships. Extraordinary fossils and a sketch by Charles Darwin have been included to complement the paintings and the book that goes with the exhibition is beautifully presented with full page reproductions of the paintings.

 

Botanical art is also being used to highlight a scientific issue in a travelling exhibition organised by the American Society of Botanical Artists. An exciting collaboration between artists and conservationists/scientists, 'Losing Paradise? Endangered Plants Here and Around the World' is an excellent example of how botanical art can be used to inform as well as delight.

 

 

 

Rose and wild vetch, 2008, pencil - detail


On the subject of drawing with science in mind, I thought I would also mention the Margaret Flockton  Award held every year at the Botanic Gardens in Sydney. Lots of useful comments there on what makes a good botanical illustration and the prize money is a considerable amount in our genre of art.

 

Look out also for the new RHS Botanical art show Saturday 20th March and Sunday 21 March. With 40 artists on display and the orchid show on at the same time, it looks to be well worth the trip. Six RHS Gold medalists are the subject of an exhibition, Gold Standard, at Fulham Palace until 12 April. The gallery is open Saturday through to Tuesday.

 

I've added some more links to the UK botanical artists page and a long American list - it seems more and more artists are making their presence felt on the Web.

 

Martin
Black Parrot Tulip, 2001, watercolour