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by Deb Shaw
Akiko Enokido has her first solo botanical art exhibition at the Beijing Botanical Garden, China.
Her 35 original artworks on display were painted from 2005 to 2019, the majority painted in California, Hawaii and Japan.
The exhibition is currently on view at the Beijing Botanical Garden until March 15, 2020.
Images of the exhibition can be viewed here.
by Deb Shaw
There are still a few spots available for BAGSC’s first Basic Botanical Art Workshop: A Day of Skills and Techniques for All Levels. Join us on:
Sunday, January 27, 2019
9:00 am to 3:00 pm
at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
for a day of mini-workshops and fun exploring techniques and supplies.
Cost, BAGSC Members: $50
Non-Members: $60
Register online at: https://bagsc.org/classes/bagsc-basic-botanical-art-workshop
Bring your own lunch or purchase from the Arboretum Café.
This day of botanical art is designed to allow participants of all levels an opportunity to enjoy a hands-on botanical art experience in different mediums. The day starts with a presentation about botanical art. Then, each participant can choose any combination of four (4) one-hour, hands-on workshops taught by skilled BAGSC instructors. Registration is for the entire day—no pre-registration for individual workshops is required.
Participants may choose to sit down with different artists to experience techniques applied to creating botanical art. Currently scheduled are:
- Creating 3D forms by light to dark shading in graphite
- How to do a watercolor wash
- Easy color mixing in watercolor (NEW—just added!)
- Dry brush techniques (NEW—just added!)
- Using pen and ink in scientific illustration
- Drawing with silverpoint
- Color pencil techniques in botanical art
- Labeling your painting with calligraphy
- Creating 3D forms by light to dark in watercolor
- How to draw a leaf in graphite
- Using mixed media in scientific illustration
- Graphite tips and tricks
- Perspective for plants
- Watercolor pencil techniques
BAGSC teacher members will be sharing their skills, displaying some of their works and bringing information. Currently scheduled to participate are:
- Cristina Baltayian
- Diane Daly
- Akiko Enokido (NEW—just added!)
- Sally Jacobs
- Lesley Randall
- Olga Ryabtsova
- Gilly Shaeffer
- Deborah Shaw
- Ellie Yun-Hui Tu
All basic supplies, including paper and paint, are included in the price. Additionally, most artists will bring special supplies to share that can be used with their techniques. Participants are welcome to bring some of their supplies if desired. Please see the lists in the right-hand column of BAGSC’s website about the class.
Questions about the Workshop? Contact the BAGSC Education Chair.
by Deb Shaw
The wonderful botanical art exhibitions at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Brody Botanical Center are in their final month of display.
Out of the Woods: Celebrating Trees in Public Gardens, The Third New York Botanical Garden Triennial and American Society of Botanical Artists will be on display until August 27, 2018, along with BAGSC’s adjunct exhibition “Amazing Trees.” BAGSC members will continue to have drop-in family botanical art activities and botanical art demonstrations every Saturday and Sunday through that time as well.
These exhibitions have been a whirlwind of wonderful opportunities. A few highlights have included:
, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Read the article here.
Deborah Friedman was interviewed and videotaped by Aric Allen, Video Producer, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens about her development of her painting of the California Sycamore, Platanus racemosa in “Out of the Woods.” See the insightful video interview on YouTube here.
Steve Hindle, Interim President of The Huntington, “President’s Message: The Gentle Giants Among Us,” July/August “Calendar.” Read a PDF of the Message: huntington-pres-ltr-OOTW
“Out of the Woods” has been featured in all kinds of publicity and outreach from The Huntington, including the “President’s Message: The Gentle Giants Among Us,” by Interim President Steve Hindle in the July/August issue of The Huntington’s “Calendar.”
BAGSC participated in a Huntington open house and reception for The Huntington Fellows on Tuesday evening, May 22, 2018. BAGSC members Catherine Dellor, Estelle DeRidder, Suz Landay, Patricia Mark, Veronica Raymond, Olga Ryabstova, Gilly Shaeffer, Deborah Shaw, and Jude Wiesenfeld demonstrated at the well-attended reception. BAGSC members Susan Bartow, Teri Kuwahara, Tania Norris, Mitsuko Schultz, Beth Stone, and Leslie Walker attended too. Concurrent with the botanical art demonstrations that evening in the Ahmanson at the Brody Botanical Center, the ASBA Worldwide exhibitions were on display on the large screen, including the US exhibition (currently on display at the US Botanic Gardens) and exhibitions from 24 other countries. (See information about the ASBA Worldwide exhibition here. Information about the participating countries in the botanical art Worldwide Exhibition can be found here. Be sure to see the gallery slideshows and instructions on ordering exhibition catalogs from the US and other countries.)
Click on any of the images below to see in slide show with captions.
Some of the signage for The Huntington’s Fellows reception and open house, with Esmée Winkel’s Leiden’s 300-year-old Liriodendron tulipifera in Autumn Liriodendron tulipifera Hortus Botanicus, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Phaleonopsis from The Huntington’s collections in luxurious display.
The open house/reception flowed from the demonstrations in the Ahmanson through the courtyard into the Brody Botanical Center.
Seating area just outside the Flora-Legium gallery, where “Out of the Woods” was on display.
L to R: Jim Folsom with BAGSC members Jude Wiesenfeld, Teri Kuwahara, Beth Stone.
Guests enjoying the “Out of the Woods” exhibition.
Guests enjoying the “Out of the Woods” exhibition.
Jim Folsom remarks.
Robert Hori remarks.
Tania Norris remarks.
Andrew Mitchell who hung “Out of the Woods” and “Amazing Trees”, with BAGSC member Leslie Walker.
Mitsuko Schultz, with her artwork in “Out of the Woods,” Sweet Gum Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Burgundy’ Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Arcadia, California.
Jim Folsom, always on the move.
The open house included displays with microscopes for guests to view specimens, as well as tours of the Herbarium, labs, and other research and library spaces in the Brody.
Kathy Musial, curator of living collections at The Huntington found a fruit of the Sausage Tree on The Huntington grounds. The tree was painted by Melanie Campbell-Carter for the “Amazing Trees” exhibition. As in every office, but especially necessary at The Huntington, it’s important to label what is food and “not food.”
Signage for the BAGSC artists who demonstrated botanical art during the evening.
Patricia Mark setting up for the botanical art demonstration, with Leslie Walker.
BAGSC members setting up for the botanical art demonstrations. L to R (seated): Estelle DeRidder, Jude Wiesenfeld, Olga Ryabstova; (standing) Teri Kuwahara.
BAGSC members (L to R) Veronica Raymond and Suz Landay, demonstrating botanical art.
BAGSC member Deborah Shaw demonstrating botanical art.
Jude Wiesenfeld demonstrating botanical art.
Guests viewing the botanical art demonstrations, with images from the ASBA Worldwide exhibition in the background.
The calm before the crowds: (L) BAGSC member Tania Norris and Robert Hori ready the tables for the drop-in family botanical art activities.
BAGSC members have provided drop-in family botanical art activities every weekend throughout the summer, including leaf-rubbings; botanical art demonstrations; a segment in cooperation with The Huntington’s education department for their “avocado day,” and lots more! Additionally, BAGSC members have been on hand to answer questions from the public about botanical art and artworks in the exhibitions. It has been wonderful (and inspiring) to find many visitors to the exhibitions who have not only returned to see them multiple times, but have brought others to see them as well.
BAGSC members also used the weekend demonstration opportunities to paint orchids generously supplied from The Huntington’s collection by Brandon Tam, orchid collection specialist at The Huntington. Look for these paintings and drawings in our next exhibition at The Huntington in the fall, entitled “Diversity of Orchids.”
In early June, BAGSC members had the good fortune to be able to have Carol Woodin, ASBA Exhibition Chair at our quarterly meeting. Carol was in Southern California presenting at the American Public Gardens Association Conference with Devin Dotson from the US Botanic Gardens. Carol spoke to BAGSC members about painting orchids, followed by an audience-requested tour through the “Out of the Woods” exhibition. Click on any of the images below to see an enlarged slide show of the images with captions.
BAGSC’s quarterly meeting at The Huntington was filled to capacity. BAGSC President, Janice Sharp, got the meeting started.
BAGSC members and guests at the meeting.
BAGSC members and guests at the meeting.
Carol Woodin reviewing her notes before her presentation about orchids. Carol discussed what she looked for in an orchid subject, as well as composition issues that orchids may present.
BAGSC Treasurer Beth Stone giving her report.
Jim Folsom documenting the meeting.
Tania Norris reporting about the BAGSC drop-in activities each weekend in conjunction with “Out of the Woods” and “Amazing Trees.”
“Out of the Woods” didactic inside the exhibition.
Carol graciously gave an impromptu tour of the “Out of the Woods” exhibition.
BAGSC members and guests attending the meeting had time to spend with the artworks.
Carol Woodin talking about the artwork in the “Out of the Woods” exhibition.
Carol Woodin talking about the artwork in the “Out of the Woods” exhibition.
Carol Woodin talking about the artwork in the “Out of the Woods” exhibition.
Mitsuko Schultz spoke about her artwork, Sweet Gum Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Burgundy’ Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Arcadia, California.
Olga Ryabstova spoke about the print-making process, as well as her piece in “Out of the Woods,” Roxburgh Fig Ficus auriculata San Diego Botanic Garden, Encinitas, California.
On Sunday, July 29, 2018, The Huntington hosted a stellar reception for the exhibitions for around 70 BAGSC members, family, friends and guests. Click on any of the images below to see a slideshow and read the captions.
BAGSC members and guests enjoyed “Out of the Woods” and “Amazing Trees.”
A few words from Jim Folsom.
L to R: BAGSC members Bonnie Born Ash and Tania Norris.
“Amazing Trees” is placed throughout the Brody atrium walls in a delightful display.
Time to visit with members and guests.
Time to visit with members and guests.
Lee and Chuck McAffree came down from Northern California.
Jim Folsom, cooked up an amazing reception spread. Jim, Robert Hori, Danielle Rudeen, and Melanie Thorpe staged an awesome reception.
Jim Folsom, cooked up an amazing reception spread. Jim, Robert Hori, Danielle Rudeen, and Melanie Thorpe staged an awesome reception.
Esmee van Winkel’s painting of Leiden’s 300-Year-Old Tulip Tree in Autumn, Liriodendron tulipifera, Hortus Botanicus Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands has graced all the signage, large and small, and the printed marketing materials produced by The Huntington. The signage is everywhere throughout the campus. Click on any of the images below for a small sampling, and to read the captions.
Signage at the front entrance of The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Digital signage in the front entrance courtyard area.
Digital signage above the ticket booths at the front entrance.
Table-top advertisements in the Café.
Large banner on the corner of the Brody Botanical Center.
Graphic just outside the Flora-Legium gallery where “Out of the Woods” is on display.
One of many free-standing signs in the Conservatory.
“Out of Woods” catalogs on display in The Huntington Store, along with a selection of notecards by BAGSC members in the “Out of the Woods” exhibition. Five of the six cards are shown here; The Huntington Store sometimes has them all together, other times they are grouped with like subject areas in the store.
“Out of the Woods” exhibition catalogs are on sale in The Huntington Store for $12.00 US. The Store also is carrying a limited edition of notecards with artwork by BAGSC members in the “Out of the Woods” exhibition, including Margaret Best (Screw-Pine, Pandanus utilis, Bermuda Arboretum, Bermuda), Akiko Enokido (Swamp Cypress, Taxodium distichum, Kobe Municipal Arboretum, Kobe, Japan), Deborah Friedman (California Sycamore, Platanus racemosa, detail from original, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California), Asuka Hishiki (Black Pine Half-cascade Style Bonsai, Pinus nigra, The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, Saitama, Japan), Olga Ryabstova (Roxburgh Fig, Ficus auriculata, The San Diego Botanic Garden, Encinitas, California), and Mitsuko Schultz (Sweet Gum, Liquidambar styraciflua, ‘Burgundy’, Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Arcadia, California).
Asuka Hishiki’s notecard in The Huntington Store on display in the Bonsai area of the Store.
A heartfelt thank you is due to too many to list here, but a special thank you to The Huntington’s Jim Folsom, Robert Hori, Danielle Rudeen, Melanie Thorpe and Andrew Mitchell, along with The Huntington’s Exhibition, Communications, Video, Education, Store and Graphics departments. Another special thank you to the BAGSC artists in “Out of the Woods,” who generously supported our test into The Huntington Store, and to all the other members who worked to make these exhibitions a success. And, last but not least, a heartfelt thank you to Tania Norris for all her work on the exhibition and coordinating the weekend botanical art activities.
by Deb Shaw
Botanical Art Worldwide is listed on the American Express Essentials Culture site as one of 15 Art Exhibitions to see this spring at this link: https://www.amexessentials.com/top-art-exhibitions-events-spring-2018/
Congratulations to Akiko Enokido, her Camellia japonica var. decumbens is included (number 14 of 15 in the slide show). Thank you to the ASBA facebook page for the notification!
BAGSC and ASBA member Akiko Enokido’s, Camellia japonica var. decumbens.
by Deb Shaw
The Third New York Botanical Garden Triennial, Out of the Woods: Celebrating Trees in Public Gardens is on display at the The New York Botanical Garden, in Bronx, New York from November 18, 2017 – April 22, 2018. Information about the exhibition, including images of all the artworks is on the ASBA website.
Forty-four artworks were selected from more than two hundred submissions, depicting one of the planet’s most important and beautiful resources: trees. Each of these subjects have been found in botanical gardens and arboreta throughout the United States and around the world.
Artists have been working on this project for the past three years, not only capturing images of trees, but also drawing attention to the institutions that shelter them: botanical gardens and arboreta. A central goal of the exhibition is to highlight the role of botanical gardens and arboreta in the research/scholarship they provide, as well as their education and outreach to the public.
The artists respond aesthetically to these inspiring subjects, and have depicted everything from seedpods to branches and bark to an entire forest floor. Each artist has written a statement about their artwork; artists’ statements can be read on the ASBA website.
Jurors for the exhibition were:
- Joanna Groarke, Director of Public Engagement and Library Exhibitions Curator, The New York Botanical Garden
- Todd Forrest, Arthur Ross VP for Horticulture and Living Collections, The New York Botanical Garden
- Robin A. Jess, Past Executive Director, ASBA
- Barbara Macklowe, Photographer, former Principal, Macklowe Gallery
Congratulations go to all artists participating, including BAGSC artists Akiko Enokido, Deborah Friedman, Asuka Hishiki, Olga Ryabtsova, and Mitsuko Schultz. (Clicking on the names of the artists goes to their artist’s statement page on the ASBA website; click on any of the images below to see them enlarged in a slide show format, with artist and painting information.)
© 2017 Akiko Enokido Swamp-Cypress Taxodium distichum Watercolor and graphite on paper 22-3/4″ x 16′
© 2016 Deborah Friedman California Sycamore Platanus racemosa Watercolor and ink on paper 24″ x 19″
© 2015-2017 Asuka Hishiki Black Pine Half-cascade Style Bonsai Pinus nigra Oil on paper 28-1/4″ x 36-1/2″
© 2017 Olga Ryabtsova Roxburgh Fig Ficus auriculata Watercolor on paper 18″ x 26″
© 2017 Mitsuko Schultz Sweet Gum Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Burgundy’ Watercolor on paper 11″ x 14″
Congratulations to the award-winners:
Gold Medal:
Asuka Hishiki, Black Pine Half-Cascade Style Bonsai, Pinus nigra
Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, Saitama, Japan
Oil on Paper
Silver Medal:
Lucy Martin
Bigleaf Maple with Inky-Cap Mushrooms, Acer macrophyllum, Coprinellus sp., University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley, CA, Gouache on Paper
Bronze Medal:
Ingrid Finnan
Snake Branch Spruce, Picea abies ‘Virgata’, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY, Oil on Paper
Honorable mentions:
Beverly Allen
New Guinea Dinner Plate Fig, Ficus dammaropsis, The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, Sydney, Australia, Watercolor on paper
Alexandra Negoita Vulcu
Bigleaf Magnolia, Magnolia macrophylla, Hortus Conclusus, Stone Ridge, NY, Watercolor and acrylic ink on paper
Barbara Oozeerally
Stone Oak, Lithocarpus pachyphyllus, Caerhays Estate, Gorran, St. Austell, England, Watercolor on paper
Beverly Fink
Tree Aloe, Aloe thraskii, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota, FL, Watercolor on paper
As with previous New York Triennial exhibitions, Out of the Woods will be traveling after the closing date at The New York Botanical Gardens, including coming to The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in May, 2018. Watch for future postings of lectures and other activities at The Huntington that will occur around the exhibition. BAGSC Members also will host a concurrent exhibition of local artists around the same theme at the Brody Botanical Education Center at The Huntington.
The current traveling schedule includes: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, CA, May 19 – August 27, 2018; Foundry Art Centre (in time for the next ASBA conference), St. Charles, MO, October 5 – December 28, 2018; Tucson Botanical Gardens, Tucson, AZ, January 25 – April 13, 2019; Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Chaska, MN, May 9 – August 13, 2019.
Front cover of exhibition catalog, featuring Leiden’s 300-year Old Liriodendron tulipifera, by © Esmée Winkel, watercolor on paper.
Exhibition catalogs may be purchased on the ASBA website for $12.00 ($10.80 for NYBG members). The full-color, 60-page catalog features all of the artwork in the exhibition as well as essays illuminating the pivotal importance of living collections in the conservation of the planet’s trees, and the continued significance of botanical art in the 21st century.
by Asuka Hishiki, posted by Deb Shaw
Flora Japonica opened mid-September, 2016 at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London. Before the opening, I personally felt very overwhelmed and was worried about how we would be received. It turned out GREAT! The people at the Kew were so nice and friendly. When Dr. Shirley Sherwood congratulated us at the opening speech, I felt so honored to be a part of the celebrated show.
There is so much to tell about the exhibition. There are, however, so many good writings about the show already available. Instead of summarizing those good reads, I thought I would make a list of the links for you to visit. Meanwhile, I would love to share my thoughts on several specific artworks. This are just my opinions and maybe rather boring ones at that, but I hope you enjoy walking with me through the show.
I have mentioned that these are just my opinions. Keep in mind, my bold statement is this: I think that most Japanese endemic plants are rather unflattering. Meaning that they are not obviously gorgeous like roses, tulips or tropical plants. Maybe this is the case not only with Japanese native plants; perhaps many endemic plants appear very humble looking. Well, really? It could be because these plants are not looked at properly.
Idesia polycarpa, watercolor on paper, © 2016, Akiko Enokido.
Take a look at the watercolor Idesia polycarpa by Akiko Enokido. I think the actual plant (not her painting!) is very modest looking. Its male and female flowers are especially small and plain. However, if you look at it up-close as Akiko did, it is obvious that the flower clusters are very gorgeous! Akiko successfully converted the modest look of the plant into a dynamic figure using her vivid and strong color. The beauty is sometimes there in front of us, but it doesn’t reveal itself until we open our eyes properly. I think as artists we have the wonderful power to help open the secret door, clearing the smoke that hides nature’s beauty.
Speaking of color, I thought many of the artists’ subjects held a very clean but pastel color. I wondered how they achieved their shades. On first look, I thought perhaps the artwork was done in color pencil, but no, it was watercolor. In some parts, I saw tiny, tiny brush strokes. Instead of washing those stitches out, the artists kept them, floating them onto white paper, like a Georges Seurat painting. I couldn’t get an answer about this technique from my fellow artists, so I will tell you when I find out.
Magnolia obovata, watercolor on paper, © 2016, Mieko Konishi.
You may have the same question I have: how to portray something huge like a whole tree, or a plant like Magnolia obovata, which has leaves that grow up to 45 cm long and 25 cm wide? Two fantastic artists had the answers for me in this show.
The way Mieko Konishi portrayed Magnolia obovata was awesome! She positioned a main flower right up the center, and from it huge leaves spread in all directions. The leaves are cropped off in the middle. Only the two front leaves show almost the complete leaf shape, but even these leaves are cropped off at the tips. This is a huge painting already, but Mieko uses cropping and composition to indicate that the plant is too big to fit the paper. Her image reminded me the surprise I had when I picked up a Magnolia obovata leaf from the ground. I knew it was big, but seeing the actual leaf and holding it gave me additional amazement.
Pinus x densithunbergii, watercolor on paper, © 2016, Masumi Yamanaka.
The other example is done by Masumi Yamanaka. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see her Pinus x densithunbergii in person. It was planed to be exhibited at the Japanese embassy in London a few weeks after I visited. This tree is known as the “Miracle Pine”, which survived the devastating tsunami that accompanied the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 and somehow remained standing, even though the entire 70,000-tree pine forest along the beach was uprooted.
I had a privilege, however, to visit her studio in Kew Garden where she works with other official botanical illustrators of Kew. I could go on and on about the visit, but I would like to go back to her tree painting. I wondered how she created the tree painting without the actual tree in front of her. I watched her short documentary about the painting. Yes, she had many many references of the tree. Yes, she visited the actual tree and made the color samples at the site. But if she had had only those references, the tree would not be portrayed as accurately as it is in her artwork. What her painting contains is her experience and knowledge as a botanical illustrator. She has studied hundreds and thousands of plants with her keen observation and has painted them. This wisdom is laid on underneath the image.
I think the time we spend on a painting is not only spent on that specific artwork, but the knowledge we gain remains and accumulates in us as wisdom.
When I walked in the Kew garden and bumped into one of the trees Yamanaka had portrayed, I had a warm sensation as if I had just run into someone I knew.
Lastly, I couldn’t pass up telling you about what I do not know how to explain. Confusing, yes.
Cercidiphyllum magnificum, watercolor on paper, © 2016, Mieko Ishikawa.
I just had a “wow” when I saw Mieko Ishikawa’s Cercidiphyllum magnificum. The plant itself is again, very humble looking at first glance. Yet it grabbed my attention immediately. What captured me the most is the perfection of the drawing, The leaves look soft and slightly rounded, and the male and female flowers are delicate, yet lively. It is extremely realistic, yet informative. Even though she includes many details in various sizes and different angles, everything fits fantastically into one frame. In her illustration, I think that Art and Science meets in a precise middle point and keep a golden balance. Well, to be honest with you, I have no background nor knowledge of the science of botany, so I may have no idea what I am talking about. There are just so many things in this one painting to gaze at, to be amazed by, to learn, and questions to pose and think about.
“Good artists copy; great artists steal.” This is a famous quote by Picasso. I simply wish he also told us how to steal it.
The Flora Japonica exhibition is open from 17 September 2016 to 5 March 2017, 10 am to 5:30 pm in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, London, UK. Price is included with entry to the Gardens.
This exhibition includes about one hundred Japanese wild, native, endemic plants, portrayed by 36 of the most eminent contemporary Japanese botanical artists. The exhibition also features historic drawings and paintings by some of Japan’s most revered botanists and artists such as Dr. Tomitaro Makino (1863-1957), Sessai Hattori and Chikusai Kato (Edo period artists 1603-1868).
Additionally, works from Kew’s Illustration and Economic Botany collections also are on display, including an early Japanese botanical illustration, Honzō Zufu by Kanen Iwasaki (1786–1842), an illustrated encyclopaedia of medicinal plants from 1828, and Japanese wood panels by Chikusai Kato (1878), which are made from the wood and framed with the bark of the trees that they depict.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is located at: Kew, Richmond TW9 3AB, United Kingdom, +44 20 8332 5655.
Find information about Flora Japonica on Kew’s website.
Two press releases about the exhibition can be found here, and here.
Purchase the Flora Japonica catalogue.
Read the DAIWA Foundation article about the exhibition.
Read about the Flora Japonica exhibition on Asuka’s website and view Asuka’s artworks and exhibitions.
by Deb Shaw
Prunus dulcis, Almond, watercolor by Margaret Best, © 2016, all rights reserved.
BAGSC members Margaret Best, Akiko Enokido, Asuka Hishiki, Mitsuko Schultz, and Deborah Shaw have been accepted into the 19th Annual International American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) and The Horticultural Society of New York.
Jurors Susan Fraser (Director, Mertz Library,The New York Botanical Garden), David Horak (Curator of the Aquatic House, Brooklyn Botanic Garden), and Catherine Watters (Botanical Artist) chose 48 artworks from 258 submissions. Works in the exhibition include artists from the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Camellia japonica ‘Hakuho’, Heirloom Camellia ‘Hakuho’ ‘White Phoenix’, watercolor on vellum by Akiko Enokido, © 2015, all rights reserved.
This year’s exhibition is in a new venue: it will be hosted by the New York Design Center and installed in their bright, airy, contemporary gallery space, 1stDibs, on the tenth floor. The Horticultural Society of New York, New York Design Center, and ASBA are designing special outreach events and programs, to be announced in September.
The opening reception will take place on Thursday evening, November 3, 2016 and will be on display through December 30, 2016. The catalog of artwork images will be posted on ASBA’s website the day of the opening. A full-color catalog will be published and available on ASBA’s website, as well as at the 1stDibs Gallery and at The Horticultural Society of New York. For further information please contact ASBA’s Exhibitions Director.
1stDibs is located on the 10th Floor of The New York Design Center, 200 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York, 10018. Gallery Hours are 9:30 – 5:30 Monday – Friday.
Solanum lycopersicm, Dancing Duo 34-A, Portrait of an Heirloom Tomato, watercolor by Asuka Hishiki, © 2016, all rights reserved.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Hibiscus, watercolor by Mitsuko Schultz, © 2016, all rights reserved.
Opuntia spp. Fruit, Tunas or Prickly Pear Cactus Fruit, watercolor on vellum by Deborah Shaw, © 2016, all rights reserved.
by Deb Shaw
Akiko Enokido at the RHS Exhibition with a few of her watercolors of heritage Camellia japonica.
Congratulations to Akiko Enokido for her Gold Medal at the RHS London Botanical Art Show, for her paintings of heritage Camellia japonica in watercolor on vellum.
Akiko sends a big hello to BAGSC members from London!
As Akiko explained, one of the oldest camellias among her paintings is ‘Masayoshi’. This camellia was carried to the Netherlands by Dr. Siebold in 1829 and named ‘Doncklaeri’. This is the plant that became the basis for the cultivation of many new types of Camellia in Europe during the 1800’s.
Congratulations to all the winners, including ASBA members:
Julie Nettleton (Best Botanical Painting)
Julie Nettleton (Australia), gold medal
Akiko Enokido (Japan), gold medal
Esmee Winkel (Netherlands), gold medal
Betsy Rogers-Knox (USA), silver-gilt
by Deb Shaw
Pincushion Protea, watercolor and colored pencil on paper, © 2015 Estelle DeRidder, all rights reserved.
The American Society of Botanical Artists and The Horticultural Society of New York announce the opening of the 18th Annual International at a new venue: the New York Design Center at a new venue. The ASBA’s longest-running collaboration, this prestigious exhibition will be held for the first time in mid-town Manhattan.
The opening reception will be on Wednesday, November 4, 2105 from 6 pm – 8 pm. Awards will be announced at 7 pm.
The evening’s events will begin with a book talk by author Amy Goldman at 5 pm. Limited seating is available. To attend Amy Goldman’s talk, an RSVP is required: scourtade@thehort.org. No RSVP is required to attend the opening reception.
As always, the catalog of the exhibition is available through ArtPlantae, starting November 4th.
BAGSC artists accepted into the exhibition include: Margaret Best, Melanie Campbell-Carter, Estelle DeRidder, Akiko Enokido, Asuka Hishiki, Joan Keesey, and Lesley Randall. Jurors for the exhibition were: Susan Fraser, Director, Mertz Library, The New York Botanical Garden; David Horak, Curator of Orchids and Aquatic House, Brooklyn Botanic Garden; Catherine Watters; Botanical Artist and ASBA Board Member.
The New York Design Center is located at: 200 Lexington Ave. New York 10016, (212) 679-9500.
by Melanie Campbell-Carter
Nepenthes! The very epitome of Weird, Wild, and Wonderful was the subject of a three-day pre-symposium workshop led by Mieko Ishikawa, a featured artist in the Weird, Wild & Wonderful exhibit currently on view at the Brody Botanical Center at The Huntington and also a Keynote Speaker at our symposium.
Mieko Ishikawa graciously traveled across the Pacific to join us here in Southern California. Her first event of the Symposium was her three-day workshop on Nepenthes. The Huntington botanical gardens staff kindly cultivated and provided living Nepenthes plants for the workshop, and Mieko provided Reindeer Vellum for her students’ paintings.
Meiko Ishikawa and Akiko Enokido unroll Reindeer Vellum to show the class what a whole skin looks like.
First Mieko treated us to a wonderful presentation about her adventures finding and painting the very special plants of Borneo. We then enjoyed a behind-the-scenes tour of The Huntington greenhouse where the Nepenthes were grown. Robert Hori of The Huntington and BAGSC’s very talented Akiko Enokido provided interpretive skills for the workshop.
Meiko demonstrating her techniques.
After three days of intense study, graphite drawing on our vellum, and very careful application of watercolor on our drawings with extremely tiny brushes, we all had a much greater understanding of the stunning talent and achievements of Mieko Ishikawa. Her mastery of the structure of the plants, as well as her breathtaking artistic talent, gave all of us an enormous dose of inspiration to continue learning and painting!
Many, many thanks to everyone who made the workshop possible – including The Huntington gardens’ staff, the ASBA, the amazing BAGSC women who organized the symposium, and especially our tireless and patient instructor, Mieko Ishikawa.
Workshop participants with their Nepenthes paintings.
By Akiko Enokido and Deb Shaw
Akiko Enokido, Camellia japonica ‘Kingyoba tsubaki’, common name, Goldfish Camellia. Watercolor on vellum, © 2014, all rights reserved.
In addition to previous postings about BAGSC members’ acceptances, BAGSC member Akiko Enokido was also accepted into the 18th Annual International Show of the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) at The Horticultural Society of New York.
Akiko sent this information about her painting:
The camellia cultivation started in 17th century in Japan. Goldfish Camellia is one of the old species. Most of the flowers are single layer, pink or white. But the foliage is appropriate to its name, and you can see the tip of the foliage split into three to five segments, which looks like a fishtail.
The leaves are unusually shaped and each leaf is different, showing different expressions and movement. These are really odd but lovely, even when they’re not in bloom. I picked one of the enchanting branch with leaves that looked like many fishes swimming and jumping.
Congratulations to Akiko and to all BAGSC members in the exhibition!
by Tania Norris, posted by Deb Shaw
Multi-petalled flower, watercolor work in progress. © 2014, Akiko Enokido.
Akiko Enokido will be coming to the Virginia Robinson Gardens to teach us how to work on multi-petalled flowers and how to shade. Plus, students can also bring unfinished work to finish.
For those who have taken a class from Akiko before, you know that she not only brings her wonderful artist’s talent to share but also a teacher’s understanding of how to help those of us who aspire to be better artists.
I look forward to seeing you, and if you have any questions please email me and I will try to to help.
VIRGINIA ROBINSON GARDENS
BOTANICAL ART CLASS with Master Teacher AKIKO ENOKIDO
JUNE 24 AND 25, 2014, 9.30 – 3.30 daily
Classes will be held in the Pool Pavilion, Virginia Robinson Gardens, 1008 Elden Way, Beverly Hills.
Fee for the two day session is $200 for Friends of Robinson Gardens and $225 for non-members. A non-refundable deposit of $100 to hold space can be accepted but full payment must be received by June 20.
To make reservations visit http://www.RobinsonGarens.org or call Bianca at (310) 550-2068.
Mail check, made payable to:
FRIENDS OF ROBINSON GARDEN
1008 Elden Way, Beverly Hills, Ca 90210
A supplies list will be sent to all participants upon registration. Coffee, tea and water will be provided, but please bring your own lunch.
Akiko Enokido is a long time award winning member of Botanical Artists organizations in America and Japan and and has been accepted in the most important exhibitions in both countries. Her beautifully rendered paintings are known for their exquisite color, detailing and composition and are prized by their owners including the Hunt Institution, curators of the most important modern botanical collection in America.
by Deb Shaw
The American Society of Botanical Artist’s (ASBA) contemporary botanical art show, entitled “Weird, Wild, & Wonderful” will open on Wednesday, April 16, 2014 in the Arthur and Janet Ross Gallery at The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG). The exhibition will be on display to the public from April 19 – September 21, 2014, and admission is included in any all-garden pass.
The Second New York Botanical Garden Triennial invited artists to seek visually unusual plants and create works of art that celebrate the bizarre, yet beautiful flora of the world.
Jurors Lugene Bruno, Curator of Art, Hunt Institute; Jean Emmons, Botanical Artist; and Marc Hachadourian, Manager of the Nolen Greenhouses, NYBG, pored over the 240 entries, selecting 46 artworks by 45 artists from the United States, Australia, Canada, India, Japan and the United Kingdom. Shirley Sherwood, D. Phil, Caroline A. Wamsler, Ph.D., and Jean Emmons form the Awards Jury, which will meet on April 16 to select recipients of The New York Botanical Garden Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals. Recipients of The New York Botanical Garden Medals will be presented by NYBG CEO Gregory Long at the opening reception.
More information about the exhibition, including the complete list of accepted artists can be found on the ASBA website. The exhibition catalog is available in The New York Botanical Garden’s shop in the garden, or online from ArtPlantae. ASBA members receive a discount on the catalog.
Five BAGSC members had works accepted into the “Weird, Wild, & Wonderful” exhibition: Margaret Best, Akiko Enokio, Joan Keesey, Lisa Pompelli, and Deborah Shaw.
Margaret Best had her watercolor of Tillandsia bulbosa accepted. Margaret wrote that she wanted to send thanks to Leslie Walker, Debbie Friedman and Deborah Shaw for helping her access Jeffrey Kent’s incredible Bromeliad collection near San Diego, where she discovered this remarkable specimen. This was one of the few paintings of Margaret’s that was not destroyed in the Calgary flood last June, which makes the painting as weird, wild, and wonderful as the subject matter.
Akiko Enokido, Tacca chantrieri, watercolor. © 2014, all rights reserved.
Akiko Enokido painted Tacca chantrieri, also known as “Cat Whiskers” or the “Bat Flower” in watercolor. She writes that it is named after the long bracts that emanate from the flower scape. This flowering plant is part of the yam family, Dioscoreaceae, which grows in the tropical forest of Yunnan Province, China, India, and East Asia. In such places, the roots are used as food. She found this mysterious plant at The Kyoto Uji-city Botanical Garden in Japan, blooming inside the green house in mid-June. She says, “I was just fascinated by the shape and the process in which the “cat” developed.”
Joan Keesey, Sarcodes sanguinea, watercolor. © 2014, all rights reserved.
Joan Keesey painted a watercolor of Sarcodes sanguinea, the Snow Plant. The Snow Plant, native to Western North America, and found from Oregon through California into Baja California, and is one of the first plants to appear in the Sierra Nevada in early spring just after the snow has melted. Because the landscape is still wintery and bleak, the Snow Plant is a real treat to find. The brilliant red color is quite shocking and unexpected. The botanical name, Sarcodes sanguinea, means bloody flesh. A really good fresh plant can look almost manufactured like a toy made out of bright red, red-orange, or rose-colored plastic.
Joan writes that the Snow Plant is a member of the Heath Family (Ericaceae) and a mycotrophic (fungus eating) plant. It is unable to photosynthesize and is a parasitic plant that derives sustenance from mycorrhizal fungi that attach to the roots of trees. The Snow Plant does not, however, kill the fungi. They have a symbiotic relationship; the Snow Plant provides fixed carbon to the fungus, and in return the fungus provides mineral nutrients, water, and protection from pathogens. The Snow Plant takes advantage of this mutualism by tapping into the network and stealing sugars from the tree, the photosynthetic partner, by way of the fungus.
Lisa Pompelli, Scadoxus puniceus, watercolor, © 2014, all rights reserved.
Lisa Pompelli painted Scadoxus puniceus, an African Blood Lily, in watercolor. She stated, “I look forward to seeing this strange flower appear in my garden each year and I hope to get seeds from it someday. This is the first time I have entered one of my botanicals in an ASBA show, and I am thrilled to be included.”
Deborah Shaw, Pisolithus tinctorius, watercolor. © 2014, all rights reserved.
Deborah Shaw painted a watercolor of Pisolithus tinctorius, also know as the Dog Turd Fungus, Dead Man’s Foot, or Dyemaker’s Puffball. Pisolithus tinctorius is frequently described in the literature as the least attractive of all fungi. P. tinctorius starts out as a ball shape when young, but then grows into bizarre monstrous shapes like stumps or giant molars. It is an ectomycorrhizal fungus that gets its nutrition in a mutualistic association with tree roots—an association that helps trees access scarce nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphate. It inhabits poor and disturbed soils, can withstand drought, high temperatures in the summer, acidic soils and soils contaminated with heavy metals and mine tailings. It is so beneficial to tree growth it is widely used in reforestation projects.
Congratulations to all! Weird, Wild & Wonderful promises to be an exciting show!
by Deb Shaw
BAGSC member Akiko Enokido is returning in December, 2013, and will teach two, three-day watercolor classes. BAGSC is experimenting with having the same teacher in two different locations for added convenience. Sign up for one or for both!
The first three-day session will be at the Los Angeles Arboretum:
Tuesday, December 10 – Thursday, December 12
9:30 am – 3 pm
Subject: Forced Bulbs
Cost: $200.00 BAGSC members
$225.00 non-members
Start forcing your choice of bulbs in November or sooner to bring to class, or you can even bring sprouting garlic or onions from the pantry; your subject matter is your choice. If you would like to have your drawing already prepared before class, that would be wonderful.
A $50.00 non-refundable deposit can be sent to Leslie, check made out to BAGSC, with “Akiko, Arboretum” in the memo line. Maximum class size is 16 people, first come, first served. The total amount is due by Friday, November 8. You can also send the total amount and skip the deposit step. Your check won’t be deposited until the start of class in December.
Bring your usual supplies for drawing and watercolor painting. If any special art supplies are needed, a supply list will be sent to participants upon registration.
Bring your own lunch, or you may purchase it at the Peacock Café at the Arboretum.
Quercus agrifolia, Coast Live Oak, watercolor by Akiko Enokido, © 2010, all rights reserved.
The second three-day session will be at the Santiago Creek Wildlife & Watershed Center, Santiago Park Nature Reserve, Santa Ana, right across from Main Street Plaza: Monday, December 16 – Wednesday, December 18
9:30 am – 3 pm
Subject: Acorns and Oak Leaves
Cost: $200.00 BAGSC members
$225.00 non-members
California native acorns and oak leaves will be provided; if you have other acorns and oak leaves you’ve collected and would like to paint, please feel free to bring them. If you have lots you want to share, please bring those as well! A $50.00 non-refundable deposit can be sent to Leslie, check made out to BAGSC, with “Akiko, Santiago” in the memo line.
Maximum class size is 16 people, first come, first served. The total amount is due by, Friday, November 8. You can also send the total amount and skip the deposit step. Your check won’t be deposited until the start of class in December.
Bring your usual supplies for drawing and watercolor painting. If any special art supplies are needed, a supply list will be sent to participants upon registration.
Detailed directions will be provided to class registrants. The Santiago Park Nature Reserve is not hard to find, and is easily accessible from the 5 and the 22 Freeways. It is highly recommended you bring your own lunch; There are large shopping centers across the street in two directions, but the lunch places are busy with business people, and it would take quite a bit of time away from class.
See you there!
by Tania Norris, posted by Deb Shaw
Akiko Enokido, Chrysanthemum morifolium “Kokka Seija”
© 2013
Watercolor, 11″ x 16″
Akiko Enokido is a long time member of the Botanical Artists organizations in America and Japan and has been accepted in major exhibitions. Her beautifully rendered paintings are known for their exquisite color, detailing and composition and are prized by their owners. Akiko has shown her work in the United States and Japan, including the ASBA/Horticultural Society of New York exhibitions, and the 13th Annual Exhibition of Botanical Art and Illustration from the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation.
In Akikoʼs words her class:
“will observe the shapes and shadows of leaves. You may be surprised to realize how often you are drawing from your own assumptions and not from how the object is actually expressing itself. I will demonstrate the approach of placing multiple layers of color, putting emphasis on capturing reflection of light and to show depth of the objectʼs dimensions.”
Classes will be held at Virginia Robinson Gardens, August 5, 6, and 7, 2013, from 9.30 am – 3.30 pm daily. A supplies list will be sent to all participants.
Coffee, tea and water will be provided, but please bring your own lunch. Fees for the three day session will be $375. for members and $450. for non-members. A deposit of $100. to hold space can be accepted but is non-refundable. Full payment must be made by August 1, 2013.
To make reservations, visit the Virginia Robinson Gardens website, or call (310) 550-2068.
Mail check to:
Friends of Robinson Gardens
1008 Elden Way, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
If you have any questions, please contact Tania Norris.
Camellia japonica ‘Chandleri Elegans’, Variegated Camellia, by Akiko Enokido, watercolor on vellum, © 2012, all rights reserved.
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