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by Teri Kuwahara, posted by Deb Shaw
The students in the Botanical Art and Illustration Class at the Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanical Garden will present ARTboretum!, botanical art show and sale. The beauty of capturing nature in a realistic style using watercolor and color pencil will be on display at the Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanical Garden on
Friday, Saturday and Sunday,
April 29, 30 and May 1, 2016,
11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m
“I have been honored to teach the botanical illustration class for the last four years,” said instructor Cristina Baltayian. “The best way to highlight the value of the Arboretum and its botanical art educational program is to allow you to see the inspiration, talents, and visions of the students.”
Twelve artists will display original art and fine art giclees in the Oak Room for this weekend event. In addition, prints and greeting cards will also be available for sale. Artists will demonstrate techniques and will be available to answer questions. The public is invited to attend the Artists’ Reception and Catalog Signing on Saturday, April 30 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Catalogs for the show will be available for sale while supplies last.
Admission to the art show and sale is free with admission to the Arboretum.
BAGSC Members participating in the show are: Cristina Baltayian, Nancy Beckham, Melanie Cambell-Carter, Nancy Grubb, Teri Kuwahara, Kathy Morgan, Juanita O’Marah, Marilyn Parrino, Robyn Reilman, Jude Wiesenfeld.
The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanical Garden is located at 301 North Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, CA.
by Patricia Kernan, posted by Deb Shaw
Focus on Nature logo
Unfortunately, the “Focus on Nature” (FON XIV) on-line submission form was not working today. Due to the cyber problems, the entry deadline for FON XIV will be extended until midnight on Thursday, March 17, 2016. The issues with the form are supposed to be resolved Thursday, but if anyone wishes to enter and has a problem with the form, please email Patricia Kernan directly to make sure your entry is recorded.
We appreciate your patience and apologize for the situation.
If you have already entered, you should have received an acknowledgement.
[Read the initial post about the “Focus on Nature XIV” on our BAGSC News blog at: https://bagscblog.com/2016/03/04/call-for-entries-focus-on-nature-natural-and-cultural-history-illustration-exhibition/%5D
by Ellie Tu and Deb Shaw
Dudleya greenei, watercolor by Ellie Tu, © 2016, all rights reserved.
BAGSC member Ellie Tu will have two displays of her botanical art, and will present two talks this coming weekend:
Saturday, March 19, 2016 at 1 pm
Ojai Library, Ojai, California
Ellie will present a talk entitled “Channel Islands National Park Guide Book Illustrations and a Glance at Traditional Botanical Art.” This talk will include a brief history of traditional botanical art and explain the equipment and materials used for painting and drawing.
Ellie will also speak on the process of creating the Channel Islands National Park guide book illustrations and give a drawing demonstration. She will bring some plant samples for guests to experience from a botanical illustrator’s point of view.
Ellie Tu illustrated the Channel Islands National Park guide books.
Ellie Tu illustrated the Channel Islands National Park guide books.
Ellie’s artwork will be on display in the library until the end of June, 2016.
This event is free and open to the public. For additional information, contact the library at (805) 646-1639. The E.P Foster Library is located at: 111 East Ojai Avenue, Ojai, California 93023.
Pen and ink illustrations of California native plants by Ellie Tu, © 2016, all rights reserved.
Sunday, March 20, 2016 at 2 pm
Oak Park Library, Oak Park, California
On Sunday, March 20, Ellie will present a talk entitled “Botanical Wonders: An introduction to Traditional Botanical Art.” Ellie will give a brief history of botanical art, show the step-by-step process of botanical painting, and give a watercolor demonstration. Those who attend get to create (and take home) their own botanical art! Ellie’s artwork will be on display in the library until April 3, 2016.
This event is free and open to the public. The address for the Oak Park Library is: 897 North Kanan Road, Oak Park, CA 91377.
Additionally, Ellie will be giving a talk at Channel Islands National Park auditorium on April 9th. Stay tuned — details will be posted to our BAGSC News blog.
Ellie demonstrated botanical art with BAGSC at the Bowers Museum and at Roger’s Gardens.
by Deb Shaw
Aristolochia californica, California Pipevine, watercolor by Lee McCaffree, © 2016, all rights reserved. This painting by Lee was part of the “Weird, Wild & Wonderful” exhibition.
The schedule for Lee McCaffree’s workshops, A Painting! What do you See? and Completing a Painting have been changed: both workshops have been rolled into one day, one workshop, on Saturday, March 19. The workshop will still be held at the Los Angeles Arboretum, from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm.
There are still a few seats available. If you would like to take the workshop, but have not yet registered, please email BAGSC Treasurer Janice Sharp to let her know and make arrangements to send a check and/or bring it to the workshop on Saturday.
Cost: BAGSC members, $100.00/non-members, $120.00
Maximum number of participants (in each class): 15
You can see the original BAGSC News blog posting about the class here, including materials list and Lee McAffree’s bio. Don’t miss this great opportunity to take this rare workshop.
by Ted Tegart, posted by Deb Shaw
The Arboretum is bringing back botany Professor Matt Ritter for a lecture and walk, discussing and celebrating the Arboretum’s Australian trees, “Australian Trees for a Drought-Stressed Southern California”.
Saturday, March 19, 2016, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Los Angeles Arboretum
301 N. Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007
10 am – 12 noon / Bamboo Room
Matt Ritter, Instructor
$30 members; $40 per non-member (includes Arboretum admission)
Reservations are preferred: Please call 626.821.4623 or pay at the door
Whether it’s an El Niño year or not, it’s dry in California and likely to get dryer. Trees from Australia can be part of the solution toward creating beautiful, diverse, and resilient urban forests that use less water.
We’ll explore drought-tolerant, appropriate Australian species for planting in our Southern California environment. This event will be partial classroom lecture and discussion, and part tree walk in the Arboretum’s world class collection of Australian trees. Come learn about Acacias, Eucalypts, Callistemons, Melaleucas, and Brachychitons, and so many more great Australian trees.
Matt Ritter is a professor in the Biology Department at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He has authored numerous scientific papers and botanical treatments, including the second edition of the Jepson Manual, the Flora of North America Project, and a natural history guide to San Luis Obispo’s native plants. He is also the author of A Californian’s Guide to the Trees Among Us, the state’s most popular natural history guide to the urban forest.
He is the California Coordinator of the American Forests Big Tree Registry, holds a Kenan Fellowship at the National Tropical Botanical Gardens, is the chair of the City of San Luis Obispo Tree Committee, and editor-in-chief of Madroño, the journal of the California Botanical Society. He is an avid woodworker and gardener.
by Melanie Campbell-Carter, posted by Deb Shaw
February 27, 2016 was a picture-perfect day for botanical art at Roger’s Gardens in Corona Del Mar! Featured prominently for the fourth Annual Day of Art at Roger’s Gardens, the BAGSC outreach table was well received by the public, with hardly a moment for breaks. Deborah Shaw, Diane Daly, and Clara Josephs presented a Nature Journaling workshop, delighting visitors with a chance to draw freesias, pansies, and other lovelies from the nursery.
Additional BAGSC members came as well, and there were a lot of visitors who had seen BAGSC at the Bowers Museum demonstrations and joined us at Rogers.
Theresa Marino, the Fine Art Gallery director, was thrilled with the art provided by our BAGSC artists. She can’t wait for the upcoming BAGSC exhibit, “Looking for Flora,” slated for May 21-June 5, 2016. (BAGSC members should have received the Roger’s Gardens “Call for Entries” for “Looking for Flora” in your email. If you haven’t received it, please contact Deb Shaw. Submission deadline is April 23, 2016.)
The framed art gallery on the shaded outdoor furniture pavilion was thronged with visitors most of the day, enjoying over 50 submissions in all media. Member Terri Munroe sold her lovely painting, and members Deborah Shaw and Melanie Campbell-Carter took home “Award of Excellence” blue ribbons for their submitted artworks. Thanks to all the participating members, as well as the visiting members, who helped make this another successful BAGSC outreach event.
Participating BAGSC artists included: Melanie Campbell-Carter, Clara Josephs, Suzanne Kuuskmae, Patricia Mark, Arillyn Moran-Lawrence, Terri Munroe, Diane Nelson Daly, Mitsuko Schultz, Deborah Shaw, and Ellie Yun-Hui Tu.
Click on the photo bubbles below to see the full image and caption.
Theresa Marino, Gallery Director, Roger’s Gardens, hanging blue ribbons after the judging. Photo: Linda Carpenter, © 2016, all rights reserved.
Deborah Shaw demonstrated on her painting of Opuntia with cochineal. Many of the visitors who had seen BAGSC at the Bowers Museum demonstrations commented, “Oh, you haven’t made much progress, have you?” Photo: Linda Carpenter, © 2016, all rights reserved.
The exhibition panels showcased botanical art and plein aire paintings. Photo: Linda Carpenter, © 2016, all rights reserved.
Melanie Campbell-Carter and Deborah Shaw with their blue ribbons. Photo: Linda Carpenter, © 2016, all rights reserved.
Suzanne Kuuskmae talking with visitors to the BAGSC info table about botanical art. Photo: Linda Carpenter, © 2016, all rights reserved.
Suzanne Kuuskmae’s palette and painting at her demonstration table. Photo: Linda Carpenter, © 2016, all rights reserved.
Ellie Tu and Suzanne Kuuskmae demonstrating. Photo: Linda Carpenter, © 2016, all rights reserved.
Arillyn Moran-Lawrence demonstrated graphite. Photo: Linda Carpenter, © 2016, all rights reserved.
by Cynthia Jackson and Clara Josephs, posted by Deb Shaw
Olga Eysymontt’s demonstration of carbon dust, graphite dust and pencil techniques. Photo by Cynthia Jackson, © 2016, all rights reserved.
In each of Olga’s classes, we show our progress on what we had started the class before. Recently, that meant we shared our composition of the seedpods, cotton plant, bottlebrush branch, pussy willow, or whatever each of us had chosen. After the critique we continued to finish the drawing we had started.
One session ago we had a demonstration of carbon dust technique by Olga. She had done a pepper using graphite dust, carbon dust, and a combination of both, including the pencils that she had listed on the list of supplies we got for the class. She uses old makeup brushes for some of the application of the dust. The shorter handles are easier to work with when applying the carbon dust or graphic dust. Olga suggested we start with an outline of a simple object—nothing complicated. It turns out this technique is a very fast way, comparatively, to do a drawing. One classmate had drawing almost completed before the end of the class, beautifully done. And it’s fun!
We were asked to try to continue practicing with the carbon dust and other work we had started. We are learning a lot!
by Emileigh Tanner, Program Manager, posted by Deb Shaw
Huyck Artist-in-Residence poster. Download a PDF of the poster for reproduction by clicking on the link at the end of this article.
The Huyck Preserve and Biological Research Station, in collaboration with the New York State Museum, is providing a unique opportunity for up to six natural history artists to immerse themselves in a two-week residency program in the picturesque Catskill hill-town village of Rensselaerville, New York. COM.EN.ART (Community. Environment. Art) is designed to provide concentrated field experience and study for illustrators, as well as encourage interaction and discussion about nature among artists, with scientists and with the community. This process affords the artist the opportunity to produce inspired and insightful natural history artwork.
Program Schedule:
Session I: June 20 – July 4
Session II: July 25 – August 8
Up to two applicants will be chosen for each session based on room availability
Application deadline: April 15, 2016
Formal decision and notification by May 1, 2016
Application can be found on our website: http://www.huyckpreserve.org/comenart-application-form
Artists and scientists have worked side by side for centuries, most notably in the realm of rendering the natural world. The COM.EN.ART Natural History Artist-in-Residency Program was inspired by that long-lived historic relationship and by a desire to provide artists with an opportunity to immerse themselves in nature, through the lens of science. The goal of this program is to provide a link to environmental stewardship, preservation and conservation through the aesthetics of art. The works completed under this residency contribute to the public understanding and appreciation of our natural landscape, as well as provide realistic representation of our many seasonal flora and fauna.
During their residencies, artists are free to produce artwork in their chosen manner and medium. The Preserve provides rustic housing, studio space, access to the laboratory, and over 2,000 acres of northeastern forest, fields, lakes and streams for exploration. In exchange, the artist is asked to contribute an original work constituting something appropriate for exhibition and publication, as well as a sketch page for our ongoing Artist’s Sketchbook.
This year, we are offer two traditional sessions as well as a new session focusing primarily on new art. Details about this new category will be available soon. More information about the artist-in-residency program, including logistics, expectations, and examples of previous artwork can be found online at http://www.huyckpreseve.org/comenart-program.
If you have any questions about COM.EN.ART, please contact us at comenart@huyckpreserve.org or by calling at 518.797.3440. If you would like to download the poster for posting to fellow artists, please do so by clicking here 869b62c1-4b4b-45ea-bc18-815763513388.
We hope you are encouraged to apply for this unique and exciting residency.
by Leslie Walker, posted by Deb Shaw
In a wonderful surprise, I found Margaret Best’s botanical art trip in October, 2016 announced in the Sunday LA Times, March 6, 2016, Travel Section. Entitled, [click the title to read] “Capture this on canvas: Painting workshop in Italy beckons artists,” by LA Times contact reporter Anne Harnagel, the article highlights Quench’s trip and Margaret’s botanical art class.
I can recommend this venue and teacher since I went there last Spring. I am going back this Fall to experience the area in a different season. Margaret is a great botanical artist and teacher and I’m looking forward to sharpening my skills in October.
Read Jan Clouse’s article and see pictures about Margaret’s last trip to Puglia on our BAGSC News blog. Details about the Puglia trip can be found at Quench.
by Deb Shaw
Cover, “A Botanical Reader for the Curious Gardener”, James P. Folsom, © 2016, all rights reserved.
It’s here! Jim Folsom, has just published his ebook as of February 29, 2016: “A Botanical Reader for the Curious Gardener.” The Reader is a wealth of resources; Jim’s Botany for Artists is just one chapter in a line-up of content that Jim lists in his introduction:
- Introductions (Chapters 1, 2, and 3) explain the organization of the Reader, suggest places and activities of interest, and lay out overarching themes that pervade the study and cultivation of plants.
- The Literature Review presents some commonly available texts and resources, suggesting which might be most useful for different readers.
- In Botanical Terms is a series of short essays dedicated to highlights that showcase topics fundamental to plant science and eliminate barriers presented by useful but arcane botanical terminology.
- Conversational Botany is a Primer that tells the story of plants in textbook-style.
- Issues – Plants, Politics, & Practice includes background and discussion of topics that are part of today’s public discourse as well as transcriptions of presentations I give on current topics.
- An annotated Plant Trivia Timeline gives snippets of plant-related stories and discoveries in chronological sequence, so as to provide historical context to plant use and cultivation.”
- Hands-on Discovery suggests particular plants and instructive techniques that will help students make their own observations and learn-through-doing, which is the most effective and delightful method.
Excerpt From: James P, Folsom. “A Botanical Reader.” James P. Folsom, 2016. iBooks. https://itun.es/us/XDT5ab.l
Chapter from “A Botanical Reader”, listing “Botany for Artists” as one of the sections. James P. Folsom, © 2016.
Easy to read, this is a book of RESOURCES. In addition botany, horticulture, gardening, food, and the secret world of plants, Jim introduces his readers to his favorite Plant Destinations (where we can see the “wonders of the plant world”) and compiles a list with descriptions of the books we should have on our shelves and the websites we need to have bookmarked in our browsers.
ASBA and BAGSC members will be treated to a three-part series, starting in the March issue of The Botanical Artist, excerpted from Jim’s chapter, Botany for Artists.
The ebook is downloadable for free from iBooks, at https://itun.es/us/XDT5ab.l It’s listed in the category of Life Sciences, and is a
Jim Folsom lecturing during the “Weird, Wild & Wonderful Symposium.” Photo by Clara Josephs, © 2015, all rights reserved.
About Jim Folsom, Telleen/Jorgensen Director of the Botanical Gardens, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Jim Folsom, PhD., rides the demographic peak of baby boomers, having been born in southeastern Alabama in 1950. His lifelong love of plants is reflected in a BS in Botany from Auburn University, an MA in Biology from Vanderbilt University, and a PhD in research botany from The University of Texas at Austin. Though his research has centered on the orchid family, with much of the research time spent in Tropical America (including a year in Colombia on a Fulbright Pre-Doctoral Fellowship), Jim’s botanical interests are wide-ranging. As Curator of the Botanical Gardens at The Huntington in San Marino, CA, he dedicates much of his effort to educational programs that increase public interest and understanding of the science, culture, and history of plants and gardens. He lives at The Huntington with his wife, Debra (also a botanist) and children Molly and Jimmy. Jim was recognized as a Friend of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America in 1996, a Member-at-Large of the Garden Club of America in 1998, and presented a Professional Citation by the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta in 1999. The Garden Club of America awarded him their Medal of Honor in 2007.
by Patricia A. Mark, posted by Deb Shaw
Aristolochia californica, California Pipevine, watercolor by Lee McCaffree, © 2016, all rights reserved. This painting by Lee was part of the “Weird, Wild & Wonderful” exhibition.
Do not miss out on two classes coming soon to the LA Arboretum, taught by Lee McCaffree: A Painting! What do you See? and Completing a Painting. I had the opportunity to take these classes from Lee at Filoli, and are excited about taking them again.
These classes are both exceptionally informative! “A Painting! What do you See?” will cover a variety of techniques to view paintings (both yours and others) with objective eyes. Every picture tells a story. As individual artists it’s easy to miss issues related to composition, specimen accuracy, painting skills, light source, focal point, and color. Gentle, kind (and fun) guidance will open your critical eye, enabling you to identify issues and improve your work. Class time will be spent on viewing paintings from the botanical art world, and examining our own works. We will have class time to make adjustments on our works in progress.
Completing a Painting is a “must attend”! As an artist I find myself continuously asking,”is this complete”? “Have I overworked an area? What have I missed? Is the form strong, not only on individual leaves or flowers, but on the painting as a whole? Is the perspective accurate? Do areas transition from light to dark smoothly? Are brush strokes visible, the shadows appropriate, my edges clean? How do I sign and label my work for a juried exhibition or for a commissioned sale? And what are those jurors looking for anyway?” So many questions, all focusing on completing a wonderful painting! There will be class time available during this workshop to work individually on any of your present works-in-progress.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
A Painting! What Do You See?
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Completing a Painting
Both classes will be held at the Los Angeles Arboretum, from 9:30 am – 3:30 pm. Each of these important subjects will be conducted in a friendly, Participants can take one class or both!
Cost: One class: BAGSC members, $100.00/non-members, $120.00, Both classes: BAGSC members, $200.00/non-members, $240.00
Maximum number of participants (in each class): 15
To Register: Send checks, made out to BAGSC, in full, to BAGSC Treasurer Janice Sharp. Cancellations up to two weeks before the class date will be charged a $30.00 cancellation fee.
You can see the original BAGSC News blog posting about the class here, including materials list and Lee McAffree’s bio. Don’t miss this great opportunity to take this rare workshop.
by Jody Williams, posted by Deb Shaw
OA Gallery logo
A new ASBA exhibition opportunity has materialized rather quickly: OA Gallery, a fine art gallery specializing in representational art is hosting an international exhibition of botanical art open exclusively to members of ASBA in June, 2016.
The Beauty of Botanicals 2016
A Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Botanical Art
by Members of the American Society of Botanical Artists
They are offering a $1000 (US) prize for Best in Show and will be contributing 20 percent of sales to ASBA, as well as providing opportunities to promote ASBA and ASBA membership in conjunction with this event.
We are also excited that Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson, President of the Missouri Botanical Garden has agreed to be on the selection jury for this exhibition.
OA Gallery, Call for Entries, The Beauty of Botanicals 2016. © OA Gallery, 2016, all rights reserved.
Entries are due soon: April 3, 2016. As this is a gallery exhibition, you may enter artwork that has been exhibited in prior exhibitions, including ASBA exhibitions.
OA Gallery is located in Kirkwood, MO, a charming suburb of St. Louis with neighborhoods of turn-of-the-century homes, a thriving business community, and an active interest in the arts and gardening. OA Gallery has joined ASBA as an institutional member and one of their partners, Steve Morris (whose work was recently accepted into Filoli’s next exhibition) is an individual member of ASBA.
We hope that this will be a step toward increasing awareness of botanical art in the St. Louis region, already a world renowned hotbed of activity in the plant sciences, horticulture and agriculture, and lay some groundwork for our ASBA conference in St. Louis in 2018.
You can see the call for entries on the ASBA website or on OnlineJuriedShows.com, which OA Gallery is using to handle entries. More information about the exhibition can be seen on the following websites:
by Patricia Kernan, posted by Deb Shaw
Focus on Nature logo
The submission deadline to enter the Focus on Nature: Natural and Cultural History Illustration Exhibition is March 16, 2016. The exhibition’s goal is to include diverse subjects, ranging from botanical and natural history art to subjects in geology and human culture.
The jury will be facilitated by the New York State Museum, but the exhibition will take place at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown, New York, December 3, 2016 – April 9, 2017. Please visit the FON website for information and entry form.
BAGSC News 