Society of Botanical Artists Submission Day - and a botanical egg

Today was the day to submit work to the 2012 Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists - at Central Hall in Westminster.  This is a "show and tell" for all those people who submitted work - which eventually ended up in the Aldersgate Room along with mine.

This is what it looks like folks as you walk through the door!  Lots and lots of members accepting work submitted - and a few spouses who also do stirling work.

This is such a well organised art society!

Work is stacked against the walls all around the room Towards the back of the room is a table on which are some 70+ entries without frames from overseas.  The Society can arrange framing for those which are selected.

Not all the work submitted is small

The lady in the stripy jumper is Susan Christopher Coulson who is Vice President of the Society, standing in front of the submission desk for the members of the Society.  She does amazing botanical art in coloured pencil - I always look forward to seeing her new work each year.

As you can see from the photo, some of the members like to submit larger works.

The work is sorted into alphabetical stacks. I think the letters relate to the surname
This gives you an idea of the typical size of framed artwork which is submitted

This is how the work gets stacked.  When you see it like this you realise why work has to be submitted with the hanging gear or other protuberances on the back.  You can have D rings but they must be taped over.  Every work gets a number when it is submitted and a numbered sticker placed on the back and on the entry form.

Each work is submitted with two labels.

• One is a gummed label which is attached to the back with the basic details of title, name of the artist and price.
• the same details have to be repeated on a hanging label (swing tag) which must be capable of hanging over the front of the pic when it is hung.  That enables them the Society to match up the work to the proper printed labels when the work is hung.

This is my work - it's a bromeliad.  I ran into dreadful problems last week with both eyes (spotty cataracts) and hand (tenosynovitis) - I just can't do any sort of detail any more.  In the end I had to abandon two works and go back to finish a work which was originally intended for last year's exhibition but wasn't quite finished in time.

A young Neoregelia Scarlet Charlotte
coloured pencils, 7.5" x 11.5"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

If you'd like to see the exhibition, it's being held in the Aldersgate Room of Central Hall, Westminster between 20-29 April 2012 (11am - 5pm including Saturdays).  Admission is free.

On the way home I came across another botanical artwork.  This time it was one of the eggs in The Big Egg Hunt.

The Big Egg Hunt: Egg#31 Botanical Egg by Rebecca Clarke

It's been created by Rebecca Clarke.

International selling artist Rebecca Campbell is based in London, having grown up in Ireland. She studied at City and Guilds of London Art School (1st Class Honours) and now regularly exhibits her paintings at the Jonathan Cooper Park Walk Gallery in London and the Brian Sinfield Gallery in Burford, as well as in the USA and Mexico.

Here's a hint as to where you can find it.

The location of the Botanical Egg