Botanical Art

Botanical art is a fascinating subject, especially for those who enjoy gardening and studying plants. I began drawing botanical specimens with coloured pencils only a few years ago after taking a City of Ottawa course at the Nepean Arts Centre.

Botanical art has a long history. Early botanical drawings have been found among Egyptian artifacts. In Greece, a considerable history of botanical drawing can be traced back to around 50 and 70 AD. However, as a discipline, the golden years of botanical art really began in the 18th century, when printing opened the doors to botanical illustration. This era was also a period of geographic exploration, plant collecting, and plant breeding. Prior to the invention of photography, botanical illustration was the only way to accurately capture every detail of a botanical specimen.

When Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778), the father of taxonomy, classified plants using Latinized names, the recording of plant specimens became more organized. This was the real birth of botanical art. The botanical illustrations were often used by apothecaries, herbalists, horticulturists, and gardeners. The accurate depiction of the plant, from roots to stems to leaves to flowers to seeds, was usually shown in a single illustration.

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, it was almost impossible to bring live plant specimens back to Europe from Asia, Australia, or the Americas. The long sea voyage and the exposure to salt water killed most plants. For many plants, it was only possible to transport seeds, roots, cuttings, or pressed specimens. An accurate drawing of the mature plant was often the only way that a plant collector could understand what they were growing. Plant specimens could be brought back safely from long-distance explorations by the mid-19th century with the invention of the Wardian case, a sealed glass container that protected plant specimens during long sea voyages.

There are many notable botanical artists from the 18th and 19th centuries. Some became famous for their recording of plant specimens collected on voyages of exploration to different parts of the world. Others, such as Francis (Franz) Bauer (1758-1840), drew specimens in notable gardens. Franz Bauer was a botanical artist for 50 years at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew (southwest London, England). He had the title of “Botanick Painter to His Majesty” and illustrated many new plants that were brought back from around the world and grown at Kew. He particularly specialized in painting orchids, and his medium of choice was primarily watercolour.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has collected botanical illustration art since its foundation in 1804 and holds annual competitions of botanical art. The RHS defines botanical illustration as “a genre of art that endeavours faithfully to depict and represent the form, color, and detail of a plant, identifiable to species or cultivar level.” (“RHS Botanical Illustration: The Gold Medal Winners,” Charlotte Brooks, ACC Art Books, 2019). Botanical art is not floral painting. It is the accurate drawing of a botanical specimen without props, vases, or other ornamental decoration.

As a gardener, I have always been interested in the colour, shape, and form of plants as I position them in my garden. Having discovered the discipline of creating botanical art, I realize that I now look at all details of each plant more thoroughly than I did before. It has given me a finer appreciation of the complexity of plants. The necessity in botanical art to be accurate in the depiction of the plant specimen makes one look very closely at fine details that perhaps one would miss in a more superficial appreciation. Many questions arise. Are the leaves opposite or alternate on the stem? Are the leaf edges smooth or serrated? What is the precise shape of the leaf, and how are the veins of the leaf arranged? What is the precise structure of the flower? How many petals or sepals? What is the arrangement of the petals and the sexual parts of the flower?

It is certainly enjoyable to embark on a piece of artwork, especially of a living subject. To capture something that is alive and to give its depiction on paper some depth is not always easy with a plant that changes almost daily. While photographs can help with colour and form, drawing from a live specimen is far more interesting than drawing from a photograph. Nuances of light and shade are often flattened, and the three-dimensional aspect of the plant can be lost in a photograph.

During the winter of 2022, I had a beautiful amaryllis (Hippeastrum) that I watched daily as it emerged from the bulb. I worked out colours as the flower was emerging and did a sketch every two or three days. Eventually, I chose one of the sketches as my subject and then chose another of the flower in full bloom. It was a constant struggle to both sketch the flower and to identify shade patterns and colour before the flower changed shape yet again. Certainly, I did take photographs to help place petals in the right context, but the colours and shading had already been selected from observing the plant. I acquired an appreciation for how the amaryllis grew over time and how its flowers emerged.

Not all the botanical art has to be serious. It is fun to draw subjects that appeal just given the shape and the quirkiness of their structure. For me to draw a parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) as a piece of art would not be very appealing. However, when I dug up two parsnips that were intertwined, they became a source of interest and fun for a drawing. This root vegetable was easier to draw as it did not change daily!

The choice of medium for botanical art is varied. Some artists work in graphite, while others prefer coloured pencil, watercolor, or other media, including oils or acrylics. Looking at botanical artwork over the years and exhibitions of botanical art, the most preferred medium appears to be watercolour. The use of coloured pencils has grown over recent years, and they have become a popular medium.

Whether you are a beginner like me or a seasoned artist, looking in detail at a plant specimen and drawing it is a very satisfying endeavor, and the choice of subjects these days is enormous, both native plants and introduced plants. While botanical art exhibits and competitions have very strict rules and regulations governing the presentation of the work, for those of us who simply like to draw plants accurately, it is a source of great pleasure.

There are a great number of reference books on botanical art techniques. I have found two that are particularly useful. The first is by Sarah Simblet, Botany for the Artist (DK Publishing. 2020). The second is Botanical Art Techniques, edited by Carol Woodin and Robin A. Jess (Timber Press, 2020). There are also many courses offered online and in person. Of particular note is the Ottawa Society of Botanical Artists website, which provides details of the local society and illustrates some exceptional artwork.

Botanical art has opened up new insights and perspectives of the plant world to me. As a keen gardener, I now spend time looking in more detail at the plants in my garden and truly marvel at the intricacies and variations in nature.