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by Lori Vreeke/Diane Daly/Deb Shaw

The jurors for the BAGSC exhibition at the Santa Barbara Zoological Gardens, “Zoo in Bloom” have been announced: Olga Eysymontt, Ann Swan, and Chris Briggs.

Their bios are as follows:

Olga Eysymontt:
Olga is one of the founding members of BAGSC, and has taught botanical illustration classes for the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden since 1997. She is a former instructor at Otis College of Art, and a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology in Fine Arts. Olga is passionate about teaching and the thrill of bringing out each student’s vision. In addition to botanical illustration, she enjoys landscape and macro photography.

Ann Swan:
Based in Wiltshire, UK, Ann works primarily in graphite and coloured pencil. She is well known for her exquisitely fine detail, vibrant colours and strong contemporary style. Ann champions the underdogs of the plant kingdom—drawing attention to Brussels sprouts or beetroots and demonstrating through her art that they are just as beautiful as the iris or tulip. She is equally passionate about coloured pencils, believing they are easy to master, forgiving and accessible, enabling even a complete beginner to produce quality artwork.

Ann began exhibiting in 1990 and now shows her work worldwide. Exhibitions include The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in 1994 and the Hunt Institute’s 8th International Exhibition in Pittsburgh. Ann is a member of the RHS Picture Committee and exhibits with the Society of Botanical Artists on a regular basis. She has exhibited numerous times at the Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows. Her work is represented in the prestigious Shirley Sherwood Collection and is in many private collections around the world.

Chris Briggs:
Following six years in the Navy and a seven year hiatus in Hawaii, Chris Briggs returned to the mainland to attend the University of Oregon in Political Science and Environmental Studies, and then the University of Florida for a degree in Photojournalism. He came to California in 1992 to attend Brooks Institute for a degree in Commercial Photography. Chris is currently the Director of Safety and Security at the Santa Barbara Zoo and personally hangs all the exhibitions at the Zoo. He continues to photograph nature and landscapes with an emphasis on Southern California.

Chris has spent the past 20+ years chasing, photographing, and identifying spring wildflowers. In his spare time he is an active gardener, or at least he was before the drought!

A warm welcome to our jurors.

More plants!

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Thank you to Diane and a very patient Jack Daly for more plant images. We’ve included Lori’s images in the slide show as well. They are the same as those published in the previous Santa Barbara “Zoo in Bloom” article, but are single images and larger here, so they may be easier to see.

As the exhibition title suggests, artwork of plants at the Zoo in flower fits the theme perfectly. Additionally, any plant species that grows at the zoo is eligible for entry even if it is not currently blooming.

Submission Deadline is September 5, 2015. Questions? Contact Lori Vreeke.