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Interviews Amongst 6 Rhs Botanical Fine Art Golden Medal Winners (2014)

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This twelvemonth at that spot were six botanical artists who won RHS Gold Medals at the Royal Horticultural Society's Botanical Art Show concluding week. This post has interviews amongst all six.

This is a VERY LONG post and is for those interested inward the technical aspects of producing a aureate medal winning display of botanical art.

So choose grip of your favourite hot drinkable together with a comfy chair together with settle downwardly for a jolly adept read!

Additional interviews


This post follows on from my interviews inward recent years amongst other RHS Gold medal winners.
Please also banker's complaint that their TIPS for creating a Gold Medal display AND how best to acquaint it are listed at the halt of this post.

So - on to my interviews amongst the 6 artists who won Gold Medals at this year's show.

The ladies amongst an RHS Gold Medal

This years RHS Gold Medal Winners were every bit follows - together with the interviews follow the monastic enjoin below
  • Hye Woo Shin (Korea) - Heterotrophic Plants inward Korea - also WINNER of the Best Exhibit
  • Işık Güner (Turkey/Scotland) - Plants from the woods & forests of Republic of Chile - also WINNER of the Best Painting
  • Lynda de Wet (South Africa) - Parasitic Plants inward Situ amongst the Host Plant - this is her blog
  • Louise Lane (UK) - Ophrys (Bee Orchids) of Menorca
  • Nikki Marks (UK) - The Genus Arisaema
  • Sharon Tingey (UK/Scotland) - Sunflowers (Helianthus)

Hye Woo Shin (Korea) - Heterotrophic Plants inward Korea


Hye Woo Shin - amongst her Best Exhibit Award and RHS Gold Medal for Heterotrophic Plants of Korea (Parasitic Plants)

Hye Woo Shin 

Hye Woo Shin is a Botanical Artist and a PhD pupil at the Molecular Phylogenetics Laboratory at the Institute of Life Sciences together with Biotechnology at Korea University.

She won the Best Exhibit inward Show inward 2013 together with repeated this feat inward 2014. Her operate is genuinely stunning.

Approach


Hye Woo Shin starts past times collecting all the relevant information virtually the plant. Then she makes studies earlier starting her paintings which she started concluding twelvemonth - but hadn't completed plenty inward fourth dimension for concluding year's show.

Her paintings are hugely informative together with rattling complex together with I wondered how she works out how to organise all her material. She told me that she has the whole grouping inward take away heed right from the rattling showtime inward price of how she is going to adapt all the cloth on the newspaper - together with needs to do this because they all have got dissimilar flowering together with fruiting times together with hence she has to operate on each ikon at the relevant fourth dimension of year.

Part of Hye Woo Shin's display of Heterotropic Plants inward Korea

She starts past times drawing every business office of the ikon separately. She so transfers this to tracing newspaper which enables her to movement the sample land of report but about the newspaper until she's found the exact right house for it

Hye Woo Shin was rattling dandy to highlight all the people who have got helped her amongst her serial of paintings of parasitic plants together with included a photograph of them on her stand upward (see below) which I idea was a rattling overnice deportment upon - together with also reinforced the calibre of those involved inward together with supporting her project.

Team of highly qualified people supporting Hye Woo Shin re. collecting flora material, taking photos together with supervising flora moprphological identification

Materials


She doesn't usage whatsoever pen or graphite for her drawings - everything inward her display was done using watercolour - together with she's absolutely superb at managing her tints together with washes!

She uses Winsor & Newton Paints - but uses Schminke for the greens.

Part of Hye Woo Shin's display
Plant is painted inward the centre. The life wheel of shoots, flowering together with fruiting occures but about the edge
all dissections are sized such that each contibutes to the whole - all is planned from the beginning

Presentation


Everybody was absolutely fascinated concluding twelvemonth together with this virtually how Hye Woo Shin creates her rattling impressive display of artwork - so I asked! Here are the instructions for each private slice of art:
  • the backing, the newspaper together with the acetate used at the front end are all just the same size
  • the newspaper is sandwiched betwixt the 1cm (yes that's right 1cm) foamcore together with PET (which is the Korean acronym for the type of crystal acetate she uses)
  • a rattling broad clear mucilaginous tape is so used to seal the front end to the back, all the means round. the tape overlap at the front end is negligible. I intend it's in all probability virtually 1/4cm on the border of the front end human face upward of the artwork.  (Somebody is rattling adept at doing corners!)
  • The artwork is so completely sealed within a protective casing which is so impervious to changes inward temperature together with wet inward the air - together with piddling insects!
  • The canvass is newspaper is completely untouched past times tape
    • nothing attaches the newspaper to the foam core
    • nothing attaches the acetate to the paper
  • Basically it's 1 large sandwich!
So instantly yous know!


Işık Güner (Turkey/Scotland) - Plants from the woods & forests of Chile


Işık Güner amongst Gold Medal Certificate
Işık Güner did a 1 calendar week intensive botanical fine art course of instruction amongst Christobel King inward 2002 - together with was hooked! She continued to have got classes amongst together with Paint amongst Christobel King through 2005 - piece she was doing her grade inward environmental engineering. After graduation inward 2006, she decided she's similar to pigment for a piece - together with her fine art has instantly learn her career. She has been a visiting botanical creative individual amongst the Royal Botanical Gardens inward Edinburgh since 2007 and now produces paintings for commissions, works on major projects together with teaches on:


Işık was awarded the Best Painting inward the Show Award for her panting of Gunnera tinctoria.

Approach


Işık alone begins to pigment 1 time she has collected all her botanical information. She hasn't studied phytology every bit a land of report but she does know a lot virtually the phytology of the plants she is painting.  Her aim is ever to arrive at a actually precise ikon together with ensures she ever know which parts she needs to present clearly.

The approach to her laid of paintings virtually Plants from the woods together with forests of Republic of Chile is unusual.

  • The actually difficult operate was inward the enquiry together with the training together with the design.  Her projection is linked to a major projection past times the Royal Botanical Gardens inward Edinburgh.  
  • It took her 3 years to laid upward all the sketches of all the dissimilar plants.  She did this past times visiting places inward Scotland where the flora grew for sure portions of the flora (e.g. leaf) together with also travelled to Republic of Chile to encounter the flora inward flower
  • When she came to pigment that took her 3 months together with indeed the Botanical Art Group on Facebook was enthralled every bit nosotros watched her pigment the rattling large fern on the left of the grouping below.

RHS Gold Medal display of paintings of Plants from the Woods together with Forests of Republic of Chile by Işık Güner GM

She sketches inward graphite together with uses watercolour for samples of the colours - ever remembering she's non trying to do a painting!

When she comes to ikon she starts amongst wet together with washy layers of watercolour together with establishes calorie-free together with shade. On top of this she starts to layer the dissimilar pigments she wants to usage inward price of edifice upward the painting.

In price of pattern together with constructing the composition of her ikon nosotros had a word virtually whether her applied scientific discipline background mightiness assistance her here.

You tin encounter a gallery devoted to her Chilean Plant Series inward her website. (Note All rights of these paintings are reserved past times RBGE. ). Her operate had already received a Gold Medal at the BISCOT (Botanical Images Scotia) and it was unsurprising that she topped this off amongst a Gold Medal from the RHS every bit well.

Materials


Işık uses Fabriano 5 - the rattling white white or Fabriano Artistico Extra White. Her paints are Winsor & Newton together with she uses the largest tubes. For some colours she goes to other brands together with likes Schminke's Brilliant Blue Violet together with the Sennelier Tyrian Rose. She doesn't ever desire to usage transparent paints together with is happy sometimes using opaque paints - it depends on what's required.

Her brushes are W&N serial 7 miniatures - she uses #4 together with #6. (This is the Winsor & Newton Series 7 leaflet)

Presentation


Her works aere large - together with 1 was rattling large - notwithstanding they all fitted on to the panels. It was obvious to me that some rattling precise calculation together with measuring had been made of what would fit!  Işık was using velcro strips together with tape to assistance stick the front end to the dorsum of her mounted artwork. She found that she needed to maintain checking them due to the environs within the hall.

RHS Gold Medal display of paintings of Plants from the Woods together with Forests of Republic of Chile by Işık Güner GM

Lynda de Wet (South Africa) - Parasitic Plants inward Situ amongst the Host Plant

Lynda de Wet amongst her Gold Medal together with the ikon purchased past times the RHSyou tin clearly encounter inward this ikon the 3 elements to her artwork
coloured ikon of speciment, graphite background featuring the host
together with array of botanical dissections along the bottom

Lynda de Wet (blog) started botanical fine art inward 1999 although she graduated amongst a grade inward fine art from the Michaelis School of Art at University of Cape Town inward 1972.

She instantly lives inward the Western Cape of South Africa together with regards herself every bit a bloom painter.

Approach


She's produced a collection of 960 master watercolours but for the purposes of identifying dissimilar plants together with flowers. They're all botanically right but rattling simple. They're all housed amongst a herbarium pressing together with the GPS of where they were seen together with collected inward a conservation centre on a farm.

Her website is a mine of information virtually the parasitic plants she portrays.  This is a adult woman amongst a passion for her land of report matter!

Between 2004-2006 she began exhibiting at Kirstenbosch. She's won 2 bronze medals together with 2 golds including 1 concluding year.

Lynda did a lot of enquiry virtually what was required. The vogue she uses is based on an approach which has been used before. Lynda started to comprise an environmental context for her plants inward graphite inward 2010 for the Kirstenbosch Biennale. In 2013, she started to add together inward the strip of botanical dissection along the bottom of the painting.

Lynda's practise is to go to a location, detect a specimen together with pick it. With parasitic plants she also needs to detect the host plant. She photographs the background together with uses the reference together with an chemical constituent of artistic licence to railroad train the background for the painting.

In price of painting, she instantly starts amongst the botanical strip at the bottom on the footing if she doesn't learn this right together with can't explicate the flora so she can't progress. Next she paints the flora together with so works on the environmental context inward graphite together with completes this working from left to right.

One of her paintings, "Mystropetalon thomii", was highly rated past times Dr Shirley Sherwood who bought it. It tin instantly hold out seen inward the "Botanical Art inward the 21st century"exhibition at Kew Gardens until tenth August 2014.

Materials


Lynda uses a express palette of Winsor & Newton watercolour paints on Arches Hot Press 300gsm.

Presentation


This is a persuasion of the presentation of 6 paintings - which yous tin also see on a dedicated page on her website.

Parasitic plants inward situ amongst the Host PlantNote the size of the bill of fare for naming together with explanatory narrative
I liked her cards for the provision of information virtually the plant.

Louise Lane (UK) - Ophrys (Bee Orchids) of Menorca


Louise Lane together with her RHS Gold Medal Winning watercolour paintings together with sketches of Menorcan Orphrys

Approach


her concluding Gold Medal inward 2012 when she was working inward graphite. In especial she wanted to learn dorsum into painting.  But she also had the challenge of how to follow a Gold Medal. Her reply - amongst some other Gold Medal!  It also effectively buries forever Louise alone ever existence identified every bit the adult woman who did the marvellous ferns inward graphite.

Her hubby grew upward inward Menorca together with the isle is a house they see on a regular basis. She knew 8 Orphrys grew inward Menorca but didn't know where they all grew.  So Louise laid to together with did her research, read books, contacted people, found the best people to furnish advice together with relevant information together with to a greater extent than oftentimes than non did everything she could to detect out all she could virtually the rattling pocket-sized bee orchids of Menorca BEFORE her fieldwork. (see her tip 3 in More Top Tips for winning an RHS Gold Medal for Botanical Art)

Fieldwork was undertaken over 2 weeks inward Apr 2013.  The orchids are rattling theme on habitat together with are thus non available from nurseries. (One does learn the impression that Judges similar people who have got taken the problem to go together with detect their plants!) 

She visited together with saw all the plants inward situ together with recorded them inward land sketches which each record measurements inward the land together with scale drawings together with annotated studies of them inward dissimilar profiles, color notes, together with the GPS location. The Judges provided feedback together with rattling much liked the land sketches together with color studies. I'm instantly expecting to encounter to a greater extent than of these inward future. It demonstrates commitment to your land of report affair together with the powerfulness to operate inward the classic manner.

After she got the identification of all her specimens confirmed past times the Professor she was liasing amongst she was able to start painting!

Her paintings are so built upward past times a procedure of layers together with glazes. It took her a calendar month to pigment each 1 together with displayed 8 paintings inward full inward the show.

six botanical artists who won RHS Gold Medals Interviews amongst 6 RHS Botanical Art Gold Medal Winners (2014)
Orphys Balearica past times Louise Lane
This Field Sketch includes:
top left: name, house found together with date
top right: GPS information for location
left - measured drawing inward the field
centre - annotated report of specific botanical aspects summation notes of variations betwixt plants at that site
right - color notes of the dissimilar parts of the orchid together with notes of how these vary summation specific paints used
bottom right: measurements of petals, sepals together with labellum
together with a banker's complaint virtually the presence of an ants nest!

Materials


Louise paints on Fabriano Artistico 300lb - primarily because she knew she would hold out working on large areas of watercolour ikon at 1 time.  She also uses Winsor together with Newton Series 7, sizes 2 together with 3 together with alone keeps them every bit long every bit they create a point

Presentation


The bee orchids are painted inward watercolour at x times their actual size. Louise also presented her land sketches beneath her watercolour paintings of each Orphys.  By doing so she created a potent presentation inward price of botanical information together with painted her land of report inward the classic means of focusing on the bloom together with its salient together with relevant botanical characteristics.

Louise also had a rattling handy perspex holder for the large printed postcards of the orchids which were selling fast!

Ophrys of Menorca past times Louise Lane GM (2012 together with 2014)
The botanical information is rattling much evident inward this display.
However it's contained inward the sketchbook display from fieldwork displayed below the botanical art

Nikki Marks (UK) - The Genus Arisaema


Nikki Marks GM - amongst business office of her display of The Genus Arisaema

Approach


Nikki Marks starts amongst the bloom together with builds from there. She uses upward to xv layers of pigment to build upward the flora or bloom rattling slowly.  Her command of the H2O inward the pigment gives her the tinting strength she requires

Materials


Absolutely everything is done inward paint. She uses M. Graham Watercolor Paints. She absolutely loves the silkiness of of pigment on newspaper due to the dear inward the pigment which actually makes it time period rattling easily. She also admires the lovely translucency she gets amongst her pigment instantly - together with this was sure enough rattling bear witness inward her Gold Medal winning display of Arisaema.

The switch to M. Graham was prompted past times having learn rather disillusioned amongst the means Winsor & Newton Paints have got changed since the house of industry changed (from Britain to France). In especial she is rattling fed upward amongst their Olive Green!  She idea the former W&N was brilliant together with actually does non similar the new!

The pigment tin hold out obtained inward the Britain from T. northward Lawrence of Hove.

Nikki's newspaper of alternative is Fabriano Artistico 300lb (640gsm) extra white. This is because she alone ever uses the newspaper itself for whatsoever whites inward a painting. Also because amongst this newspaper it does non buckle together with at that spot is no demand to stretch.

Presentation


A actually first-class presentation
Same size of mat, double mount, bevel cutting lent weight together with lineament to the presentation
Underneath a elementary description bill of fare summation sample bill of fare - available for sale from Nikki.
Nikki had an extremely smart together with rattling professional person presentation together with display of her paintings. I was a large fan! The display was prepared past times a framer who has unfortunately instantly retired. He used matboard front end together with dorsum amongst foamcore inbetween to give a fillet to the interior window. Both front end facing mat together with the foamcore were bevel cutting together with the foamcore had, I think, a fillet over the top.

All the matted pictures on display were but about virtually 15" foursquare together with uniform - except for the inteior window so that whatsoever departure inward the actual size of the ikon did non create a departure to the overall display

Display of Arisaema past times Nikki Marks GM

Sharon Tingey - amongst her 
Gold Medal Certificate together with 1 of her Helianthus

Sharon Tingey (UK/Scotland) - Sunflowers (Helianthus)


Sharon Tingey has been ikon for a long fourth dimension together with is a self taught watercolourist.

She's a previous pupil of the Certificate together with Diploma courses at Edinburgh. These taught her what she needed to know to pursue botanical fine art every bit a career together with she was awarded her diploma inward 2011.

Prior to winning her RHS Gold Medal, she had won a Gold Medal at BISCOT together with instantly teaches on the courses at RGBE.

Her teaching involves courses via Skype!

Approach


Sharon bought her flowers from Tesco. Which but goes to present yous don't absolutely have got to move to detect your land of report matter! You but demand a fresh have got on the land of report together with an first-class laid of paintings.

Her seed caput came inward the halt from an American Giant - a dissimilar type of sunflower which she obtained from the Botanical Garden. It's portrayed on a 1:1 scale

She started past times doing some sketches together with making swatches together with studies for color matching. Plus detailed drawings of dissections together with photographs for reference purposes.  Each proper ikon so took virtually a calendar week - she completed 5 inward Jan together with February.

As her ikon progressed she inevitably became to a greater extent than reliant on photographs every bit the master specimens had died. When using reference photographs, Sharon uses her Sansung Milky Way 2 for the paradigm - it so becomes rattling piece of cake to magnify if the reference photograph is adept enough.

Four of Sharon Tingey's Sunflowers (Helianthus)

Materials 


Sharon uses Fabriano 5 together with Winsor together with Newton Paints. (She mentioned - every bit did a publish of artists at the present - that she didn't similar the novel tubes every bit yous can't read the details easily. I sympathise W&N are instantly having a rethink!). Her brushes are W&N serial 7 and, like Işık,  she alone uses the Miniatures #4 together with #2. She strokes the pigment on together with so uses H2O to blend

Her preference is to maintain to a express palette. She used a rattling brilliant yellowish past times Daniel Smith's for her principal yellow.  For those also wanting to tackle helianthus, hither is the consummate laid of paints that Sharon used - although she emphasises that she onlu used pocket-sized amounts of some.
Daniel Smith: Hansa Yellow Light
Winsor & Newton:
  • Green Gold
  • New Gamboge
  • Quin aureate (small amount)
  • Cad. Orange (small amount)
  • Perm. Rose (small amount)
  • Perm Magenta (small amount)
  • Perylene maroon
  • Indanthrene Blue
  • Payne's Grey
  • Burnt Sienna (decaying bits)
  • Raw Umber (decaying bits)
  • Burnt Umber (decaying bits)
  • Sepia
  • Permanent White Gouache (Hairs)
This is a 2011 interview amongst Sharon Tingey on the Botanical Artists blog.

More virtually Botanical Art


These are links to previous weblog posts together with my resources for botanical artists websites.
2014
2013
2012
2011
2007

You tin detect to a greater extent than resources virtually Botanical Art inward my resources for artists websites:


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