Happy New Year

Wishing you all a Wonderfully create and exciting New Year.

My resolution is to do more blogs and newsletters. Always a lot to share and often no time to share it. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more images and frequent postings.

But I will share with you some paintings and sketches I have done this year. My mind never stops with new painting concepts and new places to explore.

This painting is for the Worldwide Botanical Art Exhibition which will be in Canberra , at the Ainslie Art Centre, Braddon 18-27th May 2018.

Let me take you through my working process. 

1. A collection of gum nuts and seeds from Western Australia.

2. Making an interesting and balanced composition.

3. Initial drawing.

3. Adding some colour with colour pencil to find the correct balanced colour to take the eye around the painting.

4. Colour study.

5. Detail of colour study

6. Work space.

7. Final painting

BASA Members Botanical Art Exhibition

I was honoured to judge the Botanical Art Society's Annual Members Exhibition which is on at the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens Palm House until 11th September 2017.

I was extremely impressed with the high standard of the work. I see a shift towards more contemporary work, rather than the earlier very scientific paintings, although there were still some for visitors to enjoy.

Almost half of the exhibitors have done workshops, classes or my Distance Learning course. It is so rewarding to see how they have continued with their painting, using the skills and experience of having done some structured botanical art with me initially. I get a real thrill walking around the exhibition and seeing familiar names and seeing how their work has developed.

The entrance to the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney

The Palm House

Inside the Palm House

Here are just a few images from the current exhibition. Having light coming in from three sides of the Palm House it is very difficult to photograph with the light reflected on the glass, but you can get an indication of what to expect at this exhibition.

Papaver nudicaule - Unfurling

Leda Turner

BEST IN SHOW

Telopea speciosissima and Acanthorhynchus

Janet Matthews

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Cynara scolymus

Sue Stuart

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Slipper Orchid

Gwenda Levy

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Some of the exhibited paintings

Every painting in the exhibition had merit and every person who exhibited needs to be congratulated on the standard of work they produced.