Flower Painters, Botanical Artists, Botanical Illustrators

I'm looking at Siriol Sherlock's Botanical Illlustration: Painting with Watercolours, drooling over the shimmering translucent flowers and fuzzy matt leaves that are the dazzling stock in trade of  good watercolorists. Yum!  Flower painters, botanical artists, and botanical illustrators have a stunning history and an exotic future.

Here are some websites to explore, some clubs to join, some artists to enjoy. And of course, some books...




Botanical Societies
American Society of Botanical Artists
Botanical Artists Guild of Southern California
Botanical Artists of Canada
The Society of Botanical Artists (U.K.)
The Botanical Art Society of Australia, Inc.


Historical Illustration online
The Romance of Orchid Discovery by John Day. The Kew Gardens (a.k.a. The Royal Botanic Gardens) are featuring an oline version of the Victorian botanical illustrator, John Day.

Floral and Botanical Artists
Ann Blockley
Coral Guest
Karen Klugein
Anna Knights
Jan Kunz
Ann Pember
Billy Showell
Marney Ward
Janet Whittle

Books
Wulf, A. (2009).  The Brothers Gardeners: Botany, Empire, and the Birth of an Obsession. New York: Knopf.
This is about how the obsession with botany and gardening got started in England. American colonies are involved...We have copies of this book at the Tomball Library.

Margaret Stevens (2004). The Art of Botanical Painting. London: Harper Collins.

Pierre-Joseph Redoute (2000). The Lilies. A reprint of one of the most famous historical botanical illustrators, who created these between 1802 and 1816.