CelineSianiDjiakoua

BOTANICAL ILLUSTRATION :  "Botanical Illustration is a genre of art that endeavours to faithfully depict and represent the form, colour and detail of a plant, identifiable to species or cultivar level. As a technical discipline, botanical illustration emphasizes the depiction of accurate information, documenting the anatomical and functional aspect of a plant throughout its life cycle. The best botanical illustration successfully combines scientific accuracy with visual appeal. It must portray a plant with the precision and level of detail for it to be recognised and distinguished from another species. " (RHS) Botanical Accuracy: Drawings must be true to life and readily identifiable to the genus level. Artists are strongly advised to work from living specimens; work copied directly from photographs is unacceptable. Life-Size and Scale: Artworks should be at least life-size. If the drawing is not life-size, a precise, discrete bar scale must be included on the artwork...

Using this blog as a research sketchbook, here are some photos I took from the RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show 2026. My favourite work was Louise Sayers's. I was also touched by the words of some artists as they echoed with my own experiences and feelings from working with plants. I found Denise Bernon's work very Victorian in a macabre and dry scientific way. Corine Whitehouse's reminded me of my own interest for glasshouses, even though I am more interested in the artificiality and somehow in the selfishness of wanting to keep plants that without heating and watering wouldn't survive in our climate. EMILIJA PETRAUSKIENĖ Tulipa 'Libretto Parrot' 2025 Wet plate collodion negative, Gelatin silver print, Selenium toned LIBBY ELLIS "(...) I meet flowers where they live, growing in the garden, and find that communing with them in season and place deepens the intimacy of their portraits. (...) " Chrysanthemum 'Lava' #8399 2025 Archival Pigm...