Video and review: Florum 2014 Exhibition

Part of the Florum exhibition 2014 at Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve.
Two of my macro drawings of succulents are second from the right on the front panel
all artwork: copyright - the artists

I initially had some difficulties with my video of the Florum exhibition - hence why it wasn't posted earlier this week. However they seem to have resolved. Maybe I just didn't quite understand how long it took for the video to get off imovie and into my folders?

Anyway - here's the video - and you can see the exhibition yourself until 5pm on Saturday 13th September.



It was only when I watched it all the way through that I realised I had inadvertently omitted one very good wall my mistake!  The fact that it included two of my drawings which I really liked was also pretty galling! However you can see the wall at the bottom front of my photo (above) and these are my drawings below.

(top) Echeveria Laui
(bottom) Tesselation #2 (Agave victoriae)
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The exhibition is in a fairly small space but the ladies who do the hanging do a great job of getting all the artwork hung in a very short space of time prior to the Private View!

One of the panels in the centre of the room

My only comment this year is I think the far wall when you walk in could have done with a stronger motif to attract the eye - and I couldn't understand why two really excellent and colourful works by Susan Christopher Coulson and Billy Showell were located at the bottom of the stairs. These are both artists who are very popular and have a strong following - and their artwork needs to be easy to see!

IMO, this are the set of six paintings we should have seen on the far wall as we entered the exhibition. 

The artists who stood out for me this year were as follows.

I loved Rachel Munn's very small drawing of a Shoo Fly Plant - which I've not got a proper photograph of - but it showed me what can be done when using pen and ink and coloured pencil and crystallised for me what I've had in my head for a long time with respect to where I should take my pen and ink and coloured pencil sketches in terms of fine art drawings. Thanks to Rachel for providing the insight as to what is possible.

The show includes artwork which was awarded a Gold Medal by the Royal Horticultural Society at the RHS Show in Malvern earlier this year. These are:

• the wonderful watercolour paintings of hydrangeas of Gael Sellwood whose mother Christine Flintham provided the image for the exhibition website page.
• some fascinating pencil and coloured pencil drawings of different varieties of apples - by Julia Craig-McFeely. Julia is the daughter of another botanical artist Joanna Craig-McFeely

I loved both both sets which scream 'quality' at you as you view them.

Two of the apples drawn by Julia Craig-McFeely

The RHS Gold Medal winning artists
Three of Gael Sellwood's hydrangea paintings
Plus two more of Julia's apples.

One of the aspects of the show is embraces all forms of artmaking related to plant life - the jewellery for example is very popular with purchasers. A second room includes all the 'not botanical' artwork of flowers and plant life. This year Barbara Valentine's oil paintings on panels were particularly 'standout' - and were joined by a great oil painting of Autumn Bounty by Linda Wallis

four oil paintings by Barbara Valentine and one by Linda Wallis

Finally it was sad to see the late Wendy Cranston's small square paintings in gouache for one last time. Wendy sadly died in July.

Paintings of fruit and vegetables (gouache) by the late Wendy Cranston

If you have the opportunity to go and see the show I highly recommend you do so. All the visitors on Sunday when I was stewarding had been most impressed with what they saw.