An Abundance of Botanical Art over the next few weeks

This last few weeks, last weekend in particular and the next few weeks from the end of May through June are - for me - dominated by BOTANICAL ART.  

This post is about a very busy time for botanical art and artists - and me - with three major exhibitions (two in London) involving international botanical artists and illustrators during May, June and July.

So far we've been 

• celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society (CPGFS) - of which I'm the Treasurer - and holding the AGM (Accounts and Treasurer's Report)
• getting ready for the a display by CPGFS at the exhibition for the 40th anniversary of the Society of Botanical Artists (see below)

Botanical Art Worldwide 2025

Last weekend was The Worldwide Day of Botanical Art - with lots going on around the world. I was at Kew Gardens. (see Over 1,000 attend Worldwide Day of Botanical Art 2025 at Kew Gardens)

View of the part of the activities in the Nash Conservatory at Kew Gardens last Sunday

 

These three are multiple RHS Gold Medal winners

and renowned botanical artists and teachers

About to give the final talk of the day at Kew last Sunday

(L to R) Lucy T Smith, Scientific Botanical Illustrator at Kew Gardens and author of Botanical Sketchbooks: An Artist's Guide to Plant Studies

Ann Swan, a legend in botanical art in coloured pencils, so many people have been taught by her

Julia Trickey who developed a completely novel response during Covid and Julia Trickey Talks just seems to get bigger and better!

This week I've been putting a new page together for my Botanical Art and Artists website covering The Second World Wide Exhibition of Botanical Art 2025. 

• 31 countries around the world - in North and South America, East and West Europe, Africa, Australasia and Asia - all got together and coordinated a celebration of botanical art at the same time
• all celebrating with events and activities on The Worldwide Day of Botanical Art on Sunday 18th May 2025
• organised by a number of botanical art societies and other groups - led and managed predominantly by women (Yay!)
• see Botanical Art Worldwide 2025 - Exhibitions and Events in the UK
• SUMMARISED by me on ONE PAGE of my website!! (See link above. It took 3 days!)

All the Countries participating in Botanical Art Worldwide 2025
- with new countries this year highlighted

Plantae 2025 - Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists

Next week sees the opening of Plantae 2025 - the Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists - in all three galleries of the Mall Galleries. 

It opens to the public on 28th May and continues daily until 7th June 2025. (10am - 5pm)

RBA Rising Stars 2025 at the ROSL and three prizewinners

Earlier this month I attended the Private View and Awards Announcement for the RBA Rising Stars Exhibition at the Royal Overseas League.

View of the PV for the RBA Rising Stars Exhibition 2025 - speeches are getting underway

The Rising Stars art competition does two things:

• it produces a longlist of c.40 young artists (under the age of 35) who become semi-finalisrs for the Rome Scholarship who will have an opportunity to exhibit their artwork in an exhibition at the Royal Overseas League.
• reviewing the artwork and the applications also enables the identification of a shortlist of three artists who then go through a further process of being interviewed for the chance to win the Rome Scholarship - which is certainly a prize any young artist would think worth having 

The 3 Selected Finalists are advised to bring with them for interview any sketchbooks or journals which show their exploration of techniques or development of their ideas

The RBA Rome Scholarship

The competition is held as an Open Call by the Royal Society of British Artists.

• It's open to artists under the age of 35. Those applying need to be:
• living and working in the UK and 
• produce figurative artwork which can be a painting, drawing, printmaking or sculpture. 

This is the link to the Rome Scholarship 2025 webpage. 

It's officially known as The Marianne Von Werther Memorial Award - but in shorthand is also known as the "RBA Rome Scholarship"

The winner's prize comprises

• £5000 prize money
• Four weeks accommodation in a self-contained apartment, situated within a wonderful and extensive walled garden in the grounds of the Sala Uno gallery - a prestigious gallery in the centre of Rome
• Studio space - available within the gallery
• Two meals per day, provided at a nearby restaurant
• Return flights to Rome

The two runners-up also receive £1000 

Plus all three candidates will have one work included in the RBA Annual Exhibition in 2026.

Three Finalists

Here are the three artists who have been selected for a further review of their artwork and sketchbooks as part of a portfolio review / interview.

By way of a preview as to the challenge of the choice for this Scholarship, I will say that the last two winners of this award (Joshua Donkor 2024 and Aelfred Hillman 2023) are both producing exceptional art which is selling phenomenally well.

Below are the three young finalists for 2025 - who were announced at the PV

• TF Ashley @tfashleyart an artist and illustrator based in Oxford, UK. His recent work focuses on large-scale drawing in a wide variety of styles and traditional media and explores our shared human experience, engaging with themes such as identity, migration, and socio-political realities.
• Katie Kaur @katiekaur.art- a half-Indian British artist based in London, currently studying for an MA Painting at the Royal College of Art. Her work seeks a visual language that bridges the material and sensorial, the ephemeral and the physical.
• Ken Nwadiogbu @kennwadiogbu -  a Nigerian-born multidisciplinary visual artist, based in London. He's a graduate of the Royal College of Art, London (MA Painting).  He creates innovative conceptual drawings and paintings on various surfaces as he engages in multidisciplinary modes. He has also exhibited internationally.
  

The three finalists with the RBA team

The three artworks by the finalists for the Rome Scholarship

Royal Society of Portrait Artists Annual Exhibition 2025

I had an extremely pleasant time at the Private View yesterday for the Annual Exhibition 2025 of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. 

Overall it was a real pleasure to be able to meet artists and view an exhibition and the artwork in a very congenial environment. So much so it will be my abiding memory of the exhibition!

The catalogue of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition 2025

How to have a great Private View

The reasons for the congenial environment were:

• the Private View started at 11am and the speeches and prize giving was in the evening at 6pm, by which time I'd disappeared!
• at all times there were enough people around for it to be happily populated - but at no time was there any sort of crush or sense of standing room only
• as a result I could SEE THE ART!!! 
• More importantly for me, I was also able to talk to various artists - both members and open artists - without the sound of the constant chatter generated when you invite everybody to the same PV in a very short time slot!
• AND I was able to take photos of the galleries because they were not too crowded
• Net Result: I don't have to pay a second visit just to get photos - which always makes me rather grumpy....

Moreover, this was one of the best hung exhibition by the Royal Society of Portrait Painters that I've seen in recent years. It looks great and has got a really nice flow to it and, more importantly 90% of the artwork is worth a good look (Note: I never like everything!). I gather there was a new set of hangers this year and I think they should be encouraged to do a repeat job next year!

West Gallery

I took photos of all the artwork in the exhibition and 

• UPDATE: I have now uploaded my photos into three different folders on my Facebook Page - which you can access if you have a Facebook Account
• West Gallery
• East Gallery
• North Gallery
• plus my FB album RP Annual Exhibition 2025 - Artists with their paintings.

• my photos include the artwork I liked - as single artwork photos. It's always interesting to see which aligned with the views of the Judges. Plus there's commentary on some of the photos.

More about the exhibition after the innovations highlighted below!

• You can also see the exhibition online on this link.
• These are the Award winners - the news post about the artwork which won prizes - although you have to click it to see which prize, which I'm not a fan of - because that just turns the post into clickbait.
• This is the Events Programme

The Buyers' Preview

Sainsbury Wing reopens + Coronation Portraits on display

The unveiling of the two new Coronation Portraits

Two big events happened yesterday at the National Gallery in London.

• In the Central Hall the King and Queen unveiled the Coronation State Portraits, commissioned from the artists Peter Kuhfeld and Paul S. Benney. These portraits will remain on display at the National Galleryfor one month until 5 June, before they then move to the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace.
• the King officially "reopened" the Sainsbury Wing after the major £85m project to transform it over the last two years to marh the 200th anniversary of the National Gallery.

The new entrance to the National Gallery

Two Coronation Portraits

"Flowers - Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture" at the Saatchi Gallery - extended!

I'm never very sure why some art society selection panels have been somewhat sniffy about paintings of flowers. I've certainly encountered that view in the past (I think they ranked just above paintings of cats!). I guess this was associated with times when those running societies were somewhat sniffy about the participation of women...

However, anybody doubting the popularity of flowers should have been in Chelsea recently. Absolutely HORDES of people have been to see Flowers - Flora in Contemporary Art and Culture at the Saatchi Gallery (£20 entry or £12 if you like me are pensioner age)

Due to the popularity of this exhibition, pre-booking is strongly advised. Visitors are welcome to turn-up on the day, but may be turned away once the capacity for each ticket session is reached.

I've been meaning to go and see it but wanted to avoid the hordes at the beginning and weekends and holidays - and then forgot that it was supposed to finish on 5th May! 

So I scooted along yesterday morning before the hordes wanting to see it before it "finishes" on Bank Holiday Monday.

EXCEPT it's so VERY popular that the exhibition is reopening from 30th May to 31st August 2025.

We’ve been overwhelmed by the incredible response to Flowers. Visitor numbers and feedback have been exceptional, with audiences of all ages sharing feelings of joy, nostalgia, and wonder. We look forward to welcoming new audiences over the summer period, and those returning to enjoy the exhibition again.”

Which means it's on at the same time as the RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show for those who really like flower paintings!

About the Exhibition

It's very much a mulit-media exhibition - examining all the different ways flowers have been presented in visual culture and artefacts.

FLOWERS spans a wide array of media – including large-scale installations, fine art, photography, sculpture, fashion, film, literature, and music – offering a multifaceted exploration of the flower as artistic and cultural muse. The exhibition invites visitors of all ages to engage, learn and reflect on their personal response to flowers, with each section of the exhibition revealing different instance of flora through art, culture and our everyday lives.

It's a very curious exhibition. I'd love to be certain about the business model behind it - which I think I've worked out. Let's just say there's an element of commercial which is not very evident unless you observe and take a little time to think - and read a few exhibit labels.

Anyway, back to the exhibition.

I was glad I went. I saw some things I've never ever seen before.