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by Clara Joseph, posted by Deb Shaw
Filoli grounds, image © 2012, Clara Josephs
The Artist Reception at Woodside’s Filoli Estates 14th Annual Botanical Art Exhibition was held the evening of March 29. The 56 pieces by 36 artists filled the Visitor and Education Center. BAGSC was well represented this year by the works of five members: Akiko Enokido, Clara Josephs, Deb Shaw, Mitsuko Schultz, and Patty Van Osterhoudt.
Artists and their guests were treated to a dusk stroll through the magnificent gardens prior to the reception. Tulips, camellias, and magnolias were at the height of their blooming display. The reception was a wonderful time for the artists to meet each other and share the excitement. The show was juried by Jean Emmons, botanical artist, and Dr. Peggy Fiedler, botanist and Director of the University of California Natural Reserve System.
This year’s Juror’s award went to Catherine Watters for distinction in botanical art presentation. The Bourn Award for distinction with an emphasis on horticultural presentation went to Pria Graves for her life sized portrait of Kentucky Wonder pole beans and Regina Gardner Milan received the Roth Award for distinction with an emphasis on Traditional botanical art presentation. The show will be on display until June 24. Don’t miss it!
Patty Van Osterhoudt with her painting, image © 2012
Mitsuko Schultz (L) and Clara Josephs (R) at the Filoli Artist Reception, image © 2012, Jerry Josephs
by Deb Shaw
BAGSC Member Sally Jacobs had a review of her upcoming show, “Nourishing Art” in the LA Times. See the article online at the “Daily Dish, The Inside Scoop on Food in Los Angeles“. Show and opening information is posted here on the BAGSC Blog.
Congrats Sally!
by Deb Shaw
It’s that time of year again, when we get together to share our art and eat delicious food! Come to the BAGSC Annual Holiday Party at Janice’s house on December 10, 2011, starting at 5 pm. Spouses, significant others, family and friends are all welcome!
Bring all of the creative work you’ve done during the year to share with fellow members — not just limited to botanical art! Last year, in addition to wonderful botanical art, we saw oil paintings, portraits, abstracts, landscapes, pastels, quilts, baskets, jewelry, crafts, and more! We’re a multi-talented group and it’s wonderful to see what everyone is doing.
We’ll also have a survey so members can let the Board know which instructors and classes they would like for next year along with announcements of next year’s officers. For those who can’t attend, surveys for class interest will be sent in an email blast.
Please RSVP by December 1 to Janice, by email or phone, and let her know what you’re bringing to the feast. An email blast will be sent out with more details. See everyone there!
by Akiko Enokido and Deb Shaw
The Horticultural Society of New York (Hort) is hosting a guided walkthrough of the 14th Annual International Juried Botanical Art Exhibition. Open only to members of the Hort and the American Society of Botanical Artists, the guided walkthrough provides a look at the show through the eyes of the jurors before the show closes on Wednesday, November 23rd. Forty-one artwork were selected from a field of 200 submissions by jurors Patricia Jonas, Kathie Miranda, and Derek Norman, by artists from the US, UK, Japan, Australia, Brazil, and Canada.
Images from the show can be seen on the ASBA’s Blog Posting. Catalogs from this show, as well as other ASBA exhibitions can be ordered through Tania Marien at ArtPlantae.
The walk through is from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. Admission is free, although walk through is open to Hort and ASBA members only. Light refreshments will be served. RSVP to Chris Murtha at the Hort.
The announcement from the Hort for the walk through came with a photo of the opening, showing Akiko Enokido’s and Deb Shaw’s entries in the show. The photo is also part of the opening page slide show on the Hort website (without the labels of course). What fun!
Photograph from the opening of the New York Hort show, © 2011, The NY Hort.
by Deb Shaw
The October 7th early bird discount date has passed for the Tuscany botanical art workshop taught by BAGSC member Margaret Best, in conjunction with Quench Trip Design. There has been a great response to the trip, and there are still a few spots open at the regular price.
Margaret will be teaching the workshop in Tuscany, in Spring 2012 (April/May). Participants will stay in a restored medieval village, drawing or painting some of the seasonal displays of flowers or choosing from the local fruit and vegetable offerings. This workshop has been designed for artists at every level, and also features an expert Italian-speaking cultural guide on a memorable eight-night visit to Italy.
The PDF, MargaretBestItaly, contains more details, or please e-mail Quench Trip Design, or call them at 416 366 2777 to book.
by Bonnie Born Ash (posted by Deb Shaw)
As announced at our September meeting, BAGSC was offered the opportunity to exhibit a group show for three months beginning in July 2012 at Elements, a fine dining restaurant adjacent to the Pasadena Playhouse. The exhibition, entitled “Garden Variety,” will be curated by Karen Sikie and Gwen Samuels, who recently informed us that the restaurant gallery program is on hold until January. We will give you a status update on the show and send out a “Call for Entries” in January.
In the meantime, please keep painting fruits, vegetables, and flowers from the garden in preparation for when the “Call for Entries” goes out, after the first of the year.
by Deb Shaw
Jodie Williams, Public Relations Committee Chair for the ASBA, has launched a blog for the 14th Annual International Juried Botanical Art Exhibition 2011. Click the link to read about various pieces in the show, and see an image of Bobbi Angell’s hand-colored etching of an apple tree branch with a single ripening fruit. Jody will update the blog through the opening and the length of the show, so check back frequently.
by Jody Williams, ASBA Public Relations Chair, via Leslie Walker
What began in 2006 with a preliminary call for entries to the membership of the American Society of Botanical Artists is culminating in the final showing of Losing Paradise? Endangered Plants Here and Around the World, a botanical art exhibition in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, UK. The exhibition opens Saturday, June 25 as part of a broader exhibition Plants in Peril which will be on view at the gallery until Sunday, October 16.
The exhibition opened at the Missouri Botanical Garden October 5, 2009 with an address by world renowned botanist and then President of the Garden, Dr. Peter Raven. It traveled to the Chicago Botanic Garden in January, The New York Botanical Garden in May, and concluded its originally planned tour of the United States at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. Then thanks in part to the efforts of Dr. Sherwood, a strong supporter of Losing Paradise? over the years, the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, UK was added to the schedule, the first International venue for an ASBA exhibition.
A catalog of the exhibition including images of the artwork and stories of each plant and the artists that depicted them as well as essays by leading plant scientists and conservationists is available for sale from the ASBA. A blog site showing artwork from the exhibition with excerpts from the catalog and hundreds of links to resources about the plants, conservation efforts, the artists, and other organizations is accessible online. A video interview with professional illustrator Alice Tangerini, images of herbarium specimens of the plants, and downloadable lesson plans based on the exhibition are available online from the Smithsonian Institute. See the links below:
Information about the exhibition at Kew
Information about the American Society of Botanical Artists
By Jesselyn Cyr
When I saw the announcement for Margaret Best’s “Color and Composition” workshop in Bermuda at the end of May I thought, “This is what I really need.” I checked my calendar and made the arrangements right away. I learned happily that Leslie Walker was scheduled to attend as well. This four day workshop took place in the Bermuda Society of the Arts (BSOA) gallery in the City Hall in Bermuda—an excellent central location with good light. The class was just the right size so we could work comfortably. The group’s skills were wide but most of us had good experience. It was a great chance to meet new painting friends.
Introduction and Goals from Margaret Best
Beautiful specimens available for students to paint.
While we reviewed the goals, the class was inspired by the plant specimens presented from an array of Bermuda plants that had been collected for the workshop. Bermuda is very beautiful and the local plant specimens ranged from plumeria, dates, ginger, passion flowers, agapanthus and more. After we each selected our specimens and while we started drawing, Margaret taught her ambitious subjects “Colour and Composition.” We started by discussing the palette of botanical watercolors that had been selected for the class—primarily transparent colors and most (but not all) of them from M. Graham.
Chroma and Value
The subject of how to test our watercolors for chroma was discussed and we reviewed the difference in chroma with various pigments such as yellows vs. blues. We started the process of color matching and value. Many of us had brought our color tests from previous classes so that we would have a starting place for color matching of our specimens. Then we tested our paper. Most of us used Arches 140# HP. Bermuda’s high humidity meant that our colors dried slower when we applied our watercolors to paper. Leslie and I were used to a faster drying process so we enjoyed time to move our paint.
Composition and Painting
Classroom in Bermuda.
We spent quite a bit of time drawing which was very helpful to understanding the specimens. Then the time came for Composition. Margaret offered a good fast course in various Composition styles while we traced our specimens. Since our class was in the Bermuda gallery we had the advantage of using many of the paintings in the gallery to look at composition techniques. One technique I used was to trace my drawings so that I could organize the right composition for my project.
Bermuda and Goodbye
Soon it was time for the class to end and look at our work. We all worked hard but no one’s goal was to finish, only developing new skills. We had all made excellent progress. Bermuda and this class had offered me a unique relaxed setting and workshop in which to learn. In the beginning I had said, “This is what I really need.” It was true. Then I headed home to LA with a new level of confidence.
By Cristina Baltayian
Eight of us BAGSC ladies got together with Margaret Best in Sally Jacobs light-filled, beautiful studio in Los Angeles. Our goal was to learn all about the color blue:
- How many varieties of blue (green shade, red shade. Indigo anyone? Or maybe cobalt? Is cerulean the bad-guy blue in the botanical palette, or does it have any redeeming qualities?);
- What’s the difference between Winson-Newton Ultramarine and M. Graham Ultramarine?;
- And what’s the scoop on reds? Which pairings make the best purples? The best greens?
Working hard in Margaret's class.
Along the way, Margaret, being Margaret, taught us a lot more than how to use blues in botanicals. We learned about matching colors for the automotive industry, and how we can apply some of the same principles in our own color matching. How the light in Bermuda can give a plumbago a different shade of blue than a plumbago in L.A; we had a contest, and won a prize. I could go on and on.
The mood was positive, we were excited about learning so much about a color that can be so daunting to a botanical artist, and we had a wonderful time.
From left to right: Carmen, Cristina, Norma, Jesslyn, Margaret and Bonnie.
I only wish I could have taken Margaret’s other classes on colors. But maybe I’ll have to wait for her book…
by Deb Shaw
Watercolor painting by Akiko Enokido, Pomegranate, Punica granatum, © 2010, all rights reserved.
An article in the April 2011 issue of American Art Collector features the upcoming exhibition, Green Currency: Plants in the Economy to be held at the New York Botanical Garden April 30 – July 31, with images of Akiko’s Pomegranate, Punica granatum; along with milly acharya’s Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea/D. lutea, and Karen Kluglein’s Corn, Zea mays.
The exhibit is organized and hosted by The New York Botanical Garden and curated by the American Society of Botanical Artists, and features 43 artworks of plants used for medicine, food, clothing, fuel, and shelter. Participating artists are from the US, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Japan, and the UK.
Art Collector 66001 Click the link to download the PDF and read the article and see the images.
Congratulations Akiko and all of the participating artists.
by Akiko Enokido, Deb Shaw, and Leslie Walker
Our friends in the Japanese botanical artist’s group will be having a meeting in Tokyo on May 8th, and BAGSC members are writing letters of sympathy and support on botanical art cards that Mieko Ishikawa will present at their meeting. Please bring your cards to any of the BAGSC gatherings in April (see below — Elaine Searle’s “Meet and Greet”; Margaret’s Blue Class; or Susan Frei Nathan’s Workshop), or send them to Akiko for inclusion in our package to them.
If you have cards of your own work, or would like to bring additional cards for others to sign, that would be wonderful.
Our hearts, prayers, and thoughts go out to everyone there, and all those who have friends and families in Japan.
Thank you.
Keep your eye on the calendar for April! An email blast was sent out to members with information on the following April dates:
Come Meet and Greet Elaine Searle (and potluck)
Saturday April 2, 2011
at Tania’s.
Margaret Best class: “A Brush with Blue”
April 15, 16 & 17, 2011, 10 am – 4 pm
at Sally’s new studio — there are still a few openings left. See the blog posting below and contact Leslie.
Susan Frei Nathan at the Huntington Library
April 28-29, 2011
See the blog posting below and contact Deb.
Next meeting
The next meeting will be May 21 instead of May 28, 2011 at Norma’s house.
by Deb Shaw
Susan Frei Nathan will be presenting a workshop at the The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens on
April 28-29, 2011
Susan Frei Nathan is an ASBA Board Member, and a gallery owner specializing in botanical art representing Jean Emmons, Martha Kemp, Karen Kluglein, Kate Nessler, Lizzie Sanders, Catherine Watters and Carol Woodin, among others.
She has a talent for helping artists bring their work to the next level. Susan will give a lecture on the morning of April 28 (cost $10 for members; $15 for non-members), followed by individual meetings with artists in a half-hour, one-on-one portfolio review/critique session ($50) that afternoon and on Friday, April 29. Susan will discuss each artist’s work as well as marketing and personal artistic goals.
The lecture/discussion will cover:
- the current market valuation for botanical art
- how botanical art has been valued over time
- choosing subject matters with the intention of selling your work
- quality of work and how this is determined
- how to find the right gallery to represent your work
- what collectors look for
- building collections
- dissecting specific collections Susan has built and exploring the collector’s mind
The individual critiques will cover:
- evaluation of the artist’s potential to sell artwork within the fine art market
- discussion of technique, composition, color, choice of subject matter
- individual professional goals
Take advantage of this valuable opportunity. To reserve your space for the lecture AND for an individual critique, send your $10 deposit to Deb Shaw. To schedule an individual session with Susan Frei Nathan contact Deb. Every attempt will be made to schedule BAGSC members who come from far away for the Thursday afternoon sessions after the lecture/discussion. The $50 payment for the individual session can be paid in advance, or the morning of the lecture.
by Deborah Shaw
Laying out tables of beautiful artwork to arrange for hanging.
A Brush with Nature, an exhibit of botanical art by The Botanical Artists Guild of Southern California (BAGSC) and presented by Chapman University Leatherby Libraries has been hung and is now open for viewing. Twenty-three BAGSC artists are exhibiting 75 works of art in watercolor, colored pencil, ink and graphite. (See list at the end of this article for participating artists.)
Exhibit dates are: Saturday, January 8 through Thursday, February 17, 2011
Doy and Dee Henley Reading Room and Clarke Gallery Wall
Leatherby Libraries, 2nd Floor
Chapman University
One University Drive, Orange, California 92866
For exhibit hours please visit the Chapman Leatherby Libraries website.
Leslie and Akiko working on the display case.
Visitor parking near the Leatherby Libraries is available for $2.00 – $3.00 and may be purchased from the permit dispenser.
For more detailed parking information, fees, maps and directions to Chapman University please visit the map on their website.
Information about the opening reception will be sent to all BAGSC members via email blast.
Participating artists:
Bonnie Born Ash • Cristina Baltayian • Margaret Best • Diane Daly • Akiko Enokido • Olga Eysymontt • Denise Genova • Irene Horiuchi • Barbara Jaynes • Clara Josephs • Morgan Kari • Joan Keesey • Suzanne Kuuskmae • Patricia Mark • Arillyn Moran-Lawrence • Norma Sarkin • Janice Sharp • Deborah Shaw • Mitsuko Schultz • Gilly Shaeffer • Gloria Whea-Fun Teng • Leslie Walker
The Leatherby Libraries staff were wonderful and professional on every level, greeting us with freshly painted walls, carts, levels and tape measures, hanging wires and labels. What a great team!
Stand with sign and price list.
One wall of the show.
BAGSC News 