More botanical art - and some sketches

I've got more links to botanical websites to go in the right hand column. I've always felt drawn to botanical art but have never been quite sure that I've got the patience for the very detailed work and control required for drawing and painting flowers within the context of botanical art.

I'm also on a really big flower "binge" at the moment - maybe it's all that colour that I need after what has been a very long and grey winter. Anyway, I'm running out of large vases! We had a warmer day with blue skies at the weekend and yesterday I noticed that suddenly everything is beginning to burst into bloom!

Anyway - back to the botanical art sites. These are listed below followed by comments on each:

• The American Society of Botanical Artists
• The Botanical Society of Australia
• Botanical Artists
• Botanical Artistry
• Ann Swan
  

Both of the national societies are very similar to the UK one - providing membership information, galleries of art by members, information about exhibitions and workshops and links to relevant organisations. Both societies also produce newsletters - but you can download the one from the american site - it's excellent and informative and I should think all those interested in botanical art will definitely want to take a look at it.

A new initiative within the botanical art world (at least one I've not seen before!) seems to be the development of websites by groups which provide a place to display art by more than one artist outside a botanical society framework and, at the same time, provide links to organisations of relevance to botanical artists.

All of the above websites provide an insight into the nature of botanical art and display art by a number of very gifted people. The reason for singling Ann Swan out - besides the fact she's a UK artist - is that Ann works in coloured pencil producing contemporary botanical art. Her sites demonstrates what can be accomplished with coloured pencil - and the oil paint depth of colour that can be achieved if you have the patience and the talent. Ann's site also usefully reproduces two articles which provide an insight to how she works.

I've provided links to each of the above in the flower section of the right hand column - it's about half way down - keep scrolling!

Finally - do please take a look at the gallery of flower drawings produced by Laura (of Lauralines) in 2005 which you can see on her blog. This is not botanical art per se - being more sketchy drawings and paintings produced in a much looser way but they are lovely and colourful and equally impressive.

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