BOTANICAL ART TALKS

30th January 2025  7pm GMT

THE FERNS BOOK PROJECT

Laura Silburn

​

Painting for a lavishly-illustrated book on ferns was Laura’s dream project, but with only a short time to produce the work it was also a huge challenge. Laura describes this intense but highly-rewarding commission, from sourcing plant material to working with photographs, and from drawing magnified cross-sections to making big ferns fit tiny spaces, Laura describes how she worked with the botanist-authors to create this beautiful book.

​

Laura is a freelance botanical artist and teacher working mainly from her home in Devon and in Cornwall. Laura has three RHS Gold Medals and has been involved with various international projects including the Transylvania and Grootbos Florilegiums and has recently taught in South Africa, Romania and the USA as well as throughout the UK. Laura is best known for her work painting ferns for RHS and other projects.

​​

WEBSITE   INSTAGRAM

 

​

£12 (£9 if booked before end January)

13th February 2025  7pm GMT

MY COMPOSITIONS AND WHY

Billy Showell​

​

Billy follows a desire to paint the patterns and placements that suit her - a path of fun and happiness in the search of joyous designs. She will talk about her approach to composition; how she conjure arrangements, the preparation, and how she amends or corrects a picture along the way. Billy will include some past work, but also talk about the new book she is writing on compositional choices and theory. 

​

Over 29 years of painting and teaching, Billy has introduced her love of painting plants to many students worldwide, through her online school. Her work can be light-hearted, with compositions often joyous and whimsical, sometimes including references to her first love of fashion design and illustration. She has awards for her artwork and has written four best-selling books. She was co-president of the Society of Botanical Artists 2018-2021.

​

WEBSITE  INSTAGRAM

 

£12 (£9 if booked before end January)

27th February 2025  7pm GMT

GRAPHITE DRAWING OVER UNDERPAINTING

Ann Swan​

 

An introduction to the when, where, why and how Ann uses underpainting in her work.  Focussing specifically on her technique for introducing a subtle coloured underpainting as a base for a detailed graphite drawing. She will describe and demonstrate the equipment she uses, the way she applies her underpaintings and how this technique can add another dimension to coloured pencil plant portraits.

 

Ann Swan is one of the UK’s leading botanical artists, working in pencil and coloured pencil. Awarded four Gold Medals by the Royal Horticultural Society, her work is represented in the prestigious Shirley Sherwood Collection and the RHS Lindley Library. Ann runs regular workshops from her studio in Wiltshire and worldwide online Her book ‘Botanical Painting with Coloured Pencils’ is a leader in its field.​

 

WEBSITE

 

£12  (£9 if booked before end January) .

13th March 2025  7pm GMT

A NARRATIVE IN TEXTURE

Jessica Daigle

​

Jessica Daigle's botanical art showcases her pursuit of textured subjects that convey a compelling narrative for each specimen. Jessica will share the techniques she employs in both watercolour and oil painting to cultivate richness and depth in her botanical subjects. She will provide insight into her process for selecting specimens, as well as the materials and equipment she utilizes to finalize her plant paintings for publication and exhibition.

Jessica Daigle is a classically trained American Illustrator devoted to bringing discoveries, stories and botanicals to life through captivating, and highly detailed visuals. Her botanical illustrations have been exhibited in local and international exhibitions, including; Scotland, New York and San Francisco. Jessica’sscientific illustrations are found in numerous pages of scientific journals working with scientists from The California Academy of Sciences, Brown University, Boston University and Penn State. ​

 

WEBSITE  INSTAGRAM

 

£12 (£9 if booked before 13th February)

27th March 2025 - 7pm GMT 

CAN BOTANICAL ART BE AN 'INFLUENCER'?

Sharon Field

​

Art can a powerful tool for connecting people and issues, but can paintings of plants motivate people to do something about climate change? Sharon wanted to see if a botanical artwork could inspire individuals to recognize their own significance within the world and to comprehend the profound impact of climate change on both our environment and ourselves .. and then be inspired to do something about it.​ Is '3000 days... and counting...' working?

 

After a career in government employment, which included several years with Australia’s aid program in Africa and the Pacific and 20 years as a volunteer fire-fighter, Sharon has become increasingly concerned about human impacts on the health of our planet.   Sharon’s artwork has strong environmental themes, and it has won awards both in Australia and overseas.

WEBSITE   INSTAGRAM  

​

£12 (£9 if booked before 27th February)  . 

10th April 2025 - 2.30pm BST

​

WEST AND EAST MEET 

IN BOTANICAL ART

Ly Nguyen

​

Botanicals travel across countries and cultures to plant their seeds in the soil. How great is it to take unique elements from various areas in botanical art paintings?  In this session, Ly will discuss painting botanical art with a unique material - silk, a trademark oriental material, as well as how the material is prepared and painted. 

​

From Vietnam, Ly Nguyen believes the natural world and its biodiversity has a strong connection with humans, their systems and cultures. In 2022 she received the Silver Medal in Plantae Documentary, Taiwan, and in 2023 she won the 18-25 age group category in the Young Botanical Artist Competition, initiated by the Shirley Sherwood Collection. A fellow member of the Society of Botanical Artists and the Taiwan Association of Botanical Art, her work is held in private collections in Vietnam, Taiwan and the UK.

WEBSITE   INSTAGRAM 

​

£12 (£9 if booked before 10th March)

24th April 2025 - 7pm BST

GOUACHE PAINTING

Simon Williams

​

Simon will be giving an illustrated talk and live demonstration on painting using gouache. The talk will cover the pros and cons of working with an opaque medium. Highs and lows of how to paint well and fix problems. 

​

Simon Williams is one of the UK’s leading botanical painters’ and tutor with many professional accomplishments. Simon works as a freelance tutor offering workshops to some of the main Botanical Societies and Florilegium’s in the UK as well as running his own 12-month course program in botanical painting. 

​

Simon is also the Course Director and moderator for the Society of Botanical Artists and an RHS Gold Medalist. 

 

WEBSITE

​​

​

£12 (£9 if booked before 24th March)

29 May 2025 - 7pm BST

BOTANICAL STORIES

Laurence Hill

​

What stories do you tell with your botanical art? Laurence reflects on the narratives embedded in his work; how his ideas are conceived, the science that will support the artistic concepts, planning and logistics, gathering the images and finally assembling and presenting the work.
 
For more than 20 years Laurence Hill has interrogated the botanical image; from documenting plants online, exploring compositional styles, and raising plant awareness through lectures and exhibitions. His hybrid practice employs digital photography, postproduction software, hand drawn element using a graphic pad and pen, as well as archival material. 

WEBSITE  INSTAGRAM  BLUESKY
 

​​​

​​​​​​​

 

£12  (£9 if booked before 29 April). 

12th JUNE 2025 - 7pm BST

​

HARMONIC SHADOWS

Sandrine Maugy

​

If you have difficulties finding a good way to portray tone and you tend to end up with subjects that lack depth or look muddy, come and discover this innovative alternative to the elusive “botanical grey”. Using combinations of primary colours and using a simple layering grisaille technique, Sandrine Maugy will show you how to paint clean shadows that will give depth to your work without spoiling the vibrancy and glow of your colours. Suitable for all media. 

 

Sandrine’s painting style captures the pure, vibrant colours of nature using wet-in-wet watercolour washes, giving this traditional style a contemporary twist. She is a fellow member of the Society of Botanical Artists and the French Society of Botanical Illustration and her work hangs in collections in Europe, Australia and the United States. Sandrine has written two books on botanical illustration and, in 2023, Daniel Smith Watercolors released the Sandrine Maugy Palette.

​

WEBSITE  INSTAGRAM 

​

26 June 2025 - 7pm BST

#FLORILEGIA

Emma van Klaveren

​

Florilegia began to flourish in the early 17th century when new plants were imported from overseas and botanical artists were employed to paint them. Emma van Klaveren takes a deep dive into the history of these fascinating groups of artists over the last four hundred years, the gardens that accompany them, and the role Florilegia have in society today. 

 

Botanical artist Emma gained her degree in Art History at The Courtauld Institute of Art in London, then worked as a Decorative Artist and Muralist, an Art teacher at primary schools and now as a Botanical Artist. With a Diploma from The Chelsea School of Botanical Art, she paints plants for private clients, brands, publications and exhibitions. She is a Painting Member of The Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society, a Fellow of The Society of Botanical Artists (SBA),The Association of Botanical Artists (ABA), The American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) and Amicus Botanicus.

​

WEBSITE  INSTAGRAM

 

£12 (£9 if booked before 26 May)