Published on 1st October 2024

The Horsham School of Botanical Artists (HSBA) hosted an exhibition at Parham House and Gardens on 4 - 22 September. AAH visited the exhibition and met several members including Leigh Ann Gale, Eleanor Coate, Linda Lasham and Hazel Barnard to find out more…

YEAR OF CULTURE

The HSBA was founded in 2019, during the Horsham District Year of Culture. Jeremy Knight, formerly curator of Horsham Museum, played an important role in establishing the group, having recognised the abundance of high-quality botanical artists working locally. The museum’s art gallery hosted an exhibition of botanical art and since then, members have continued to run the group independently.  

Soon after its formation, there were 10 artists involved. While numbers have dipped slightly since, seven current members produce a wide range of art in a botanical style. For each of the past three years, the HSBA has organised an exhibition in the Seed Room at Parham House, with this year’s theme being Autumn, Flowers & Fruits. 

Eleanor Coate said: ‘We choose a different theme for each exhibition, with the first centred around the King’s Coronation. We found a website that purported to list the favourite flowers of various members of the Royal family, which inspired us to create new work for an exhibition. However, it’s not easy for all botanical artists to produce work quickly, especially if they adopt a scientific level of detail in their art, as they can be incredibly time-consuming.’ 

SCIENTIFIC STUDY

One of the most established artists involved in the HSBA is Leigh Ann Gale. As well as offering private tuition and leading workshops, Leigh Ann has published two books on the genre, Botanical Illustration – The Complete Guide and Colour for Botanical Artists and Illustrators, with a third expected soon.  Having gained a diploma in Botanical Art and Illustration at Chelsea Physic Garden, the English Gardening School, Leigh Ann adopts a traditional style of botanical art, accurately depicting various components of a plant including the stem, leaves, seeds and bulbs. 

‘My style is scientific and I enjoy capturing the finer detail,’ said Leigh Ann. ‘Sometimes, I will show a plant through different periods of its life cycle and record them through illustrations. Although I use watercolours, I adopt a dry brush technique that gives bold colours and allows for finer detail. There are styles of botanical art that are more expressive, but I find pleasure in this time-consuming and representational method, taking the time to perfect the detail and colouration of leaves, which are notoriously difficult to capture. I have one picture of rowan berries (left) that has been a work in progress for 10 years!’ 

WONKY CARROTS

One of the reasons why the group attracts interest is the range of styles demonstrated by members. Deborah Crago takes inspiration from the countryside for her finely-detailed pencil drawings. Heather Glenny has an expressive style, capturing the vibrant colours and textures of beautiful flowers such as peonies and foxgloves. Helen André is fascinated by natural processes, such as growth and decay, and her drawings of wonky carrots, twisted turnips and mis-shaped strawberries are amongst the most popular with exhibition visitors. 

Hazel Barnard is among those to have benefited from Leigh Ann’s tuition, so naturally her work also adopts a scientific approach. However, Hazel seeks out less obvious plants for her studies. ‘My pictures tend not to be colourful rhododendrons or azaleas,’ said Hazel. ‘I’m more attracted to weeds and even my picture of bryony berries depicts many of them as withered or dead. I am a perfectionist, so like working in a studious way that accurately depicts a plant, but I find beauty in the overlooked, such as garden weeds or fallen leaves.’

Linda Lasham’s love of gardening stems from her father, who taught her much of what she knows about flowers and plants. Linda took up botanical art after attending a course run by the Society of Botanical Artists and now creates bright, colourful art of her own.  

She said: ‘When I first started, my style was very artistic and expressive, but as I’ve developed my skills, I’ve introduced more detail. As well as plants, I enjoy painting fruit and vegetabes and loved capturing the subtle colour and textural changes of a marrow in one of my recent pieces.’

PHOTOGRAPHIC EYE

An interesting facet of the group is that it embraces photography too. At a glance, you may not tell that Eleanor Coate’s output comprises photos, such is the level of detail, yet her botanical studies have been recognised with a gold medal from the Royal Horticultural Society. Eleanor was already a keen photographer, exhibiting shots of wildflowers and landscapes at Horsham Museum before she was adopt a botanical style. Eleanor said: ‘I came across a book containing paintings from the age of discovery, when illustrators were employed to document plant species. I wondered if a photographer could emulate that same style and that was how my botanical journey began.’ 

‘Initially, I photographed wildflowers, but they soon wilted after being picked, so the images were disappointing. But when I combined wildflowers with grasses and other flora from their natural environment in collages, I found they created a more interesting story. I have since developed my skills in Photoshop and have become known for these composite images, with themes varying from meadows and woodlands to autumn fruits and winter berries. Now I’m experimenting ways in which to capture even greater detail!’ 

FLORILEGIUM DREAM 

One of the most important ongoing projects of the HSBA is a Florilegium, established at Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens in 2020. A florilegium (literally meaning a gathering of flowers) is a compilation of drawings and paintings depicting collections of rare and exotic species. The founder members of the florilegium hope to produce an extensive archive of botanical portraits, working in graphite, watercolours, pencils or photography to botanically record the floral collection.  

Leigh Ann said: ‘The Florilegium is a long-term project that will take time to build, but it would be a wonderful thing to do. Leonardslee is a grade-I listed gardens, with many rare and endangered species, some of which don’t exist anywhere else in the world. Some species could have been lost during the long closure of the gardens, before they re-opened, so it’s important that they are recorded through botanical illustration, as they could potentially be lost in future.’ 

WORDS: Ben Morris / PHOTOS: Alan Wright 

Further details:

With the HSBA website under development, please contact Leigh Ann Gale with enquiries, via the Contact Page of her website, www.la-botanicalart.co.uk