THE S.A. BOTANICAL VOLUME 2013 - ISSUE 1

Artist

Western Cape

NEWSLETTER OF THE BOTANICAL ARTISTS’ ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

Gloriosa superba

Fay Anderson

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The painting of Gloriosa superba is by Fay Anderson. Fay, who lives in Cape Town, is an internationally acclaimed botanical artist and a Life Member of BAASA.'

Inside this issue: Botanical Art Course Royal Horticultural Society Botanical Art Award The Art of Making Fabriano Paper Eye Outreach In Malawi Art Assist What I Learnt at the Sarah Simblet Course What’s Happening Elsewhere Botanical Art Exhibitons in Johannesburg September 2014

Wendy Burchell Olwen Gibson Helen Meyer Stephen Gibson Riva Katz Vicki Thomas Gillian Condy

Botanical Art Course with Gillian Condy and Elsa Pooley The Cavern, Drakensberg Mountains, Natal 21-27 October 2012

Wendy Burchell Helen Meyer and I booked very early for our course in the ‘berg and looked forward to it for months. It fulfilled all our expectations and more! We flew to Lanseria, suitcases groaning with art materials, a few clothes for the week and our precious Arches hot pressed paper in an unwieldy, wide canvas bag to keep it pristine. Jackie Hugo, Helen’s sister-in-law and active member of BAASA Gauteng, fetched us from the airport and the following morning, drove us to ‘The Cavern’. I had forgotten how soft, green and beautiful the Drakensberg mountains are. On arrival at the hotel we were greeted by the sight of our teachers ferrying armfuls of art equipment, books, lamps and boxes of glass jars down to the large, light-filled studio that was to be our base for seven days. We chose tables, put down art bags and joined the rest of the group for an al fresco lunch on the patio upstairs. Five students – Helen Meyer, Jackie Hugo, Elaine Lucey, Patricia Whitbread and myself - and two teachers promised an exclusive ‘one on one’ tuition week in botanical watercolour painting. Classes started immediately after lunch with Elsa and Gill introducing themselves. We knew Elsa was ‘the tree specialist’ but didn’t know that she is first an artist, having been encouraged to paint the flora in her home surroundings at Ndumu Game Reserve by her late husband Tony, well known game warden and crocodile specialist. I was interested to learn that she illustrated the trees, wild flowers, ferns, sedges and restios sections in Vincent Carruther’s book “The Wildlife of South Africa” which I have consulted for years, as reference for my botanical needlepoint designs. Gill has led a fascinating, peripatetic life, painting and documenting the plants in England, Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa. Outside the studio was a long table laden with glass jars filled with freshly collected plant material. Flowers were selected from the many specimens: crinum lilies (Helen), agapanthus(Elaine), arums(Jackie), wild pomegranate (Pat ), scilla (Gill), anemone (Elsa) and irises . After two hours of drawing large lily buds, I realised I would never complete these in a week, so left that daunting task to Helen and chose dark purple irises which, of course, are not indigenous! My uncanny knack of choosing the exotic! We started with preliminary sketches using sharp HB or 2B pencils, drawing different angles to get the best view of the plant. Accurate measurements, tonal studies and notes on special characteristics of the plant followed. This took three full days! Only once Gill or Elsa had ‘passed the drawings’ could we proceed to the lightboxes in the darkroom at the side of the studio. Simple, clean, line drawings traced onto 90g tracing paper were used to transfer the plant drawings onto Arches HP paper.

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We learned a fundamental lesson - once the teacher’s approval has been given, do not change the drawing, even if the plant has changed, which it inevitably will, despite your efforts! Because it is living, buds open, flowers fade and leaves turn - hence the necessity for copious descriptive notes, good tonal studies and accurate paint samples accompanying initial drawings. We discovered the importance of sharp pencils which make a huge difference to plant accuracy. In fact, all rules and stages of botanical watercolour painting are vital – you cannot omit some and jump ahead as there will be noticeable, disappointing consequences. Botanical illustration will not be hurried! We took frequent breaks to rest our eyes, shoulders and lungs (yes one forgets to breathe with all that concentration) and The Cavern staff provided a range of teas, percolated coffee and delicious home-baked biscuits/cakes throughout the day. Self discipline was also needed here! Day four involved paint matching, mixing and making colour charts and only then we started our paintings. It was fascinating to watch the different styles emerging. Each problem was patiently resolved by our generous teachers with knowledge accumulated over years of practice and their experience of familiar frustrations. At night, Gill and Elsa would retire to the studio to work quietly on their own masterpieces - “gobsmackingly” beautiful and inspirational. Oh to acquire such painting ability! Every morning at 5:30 and afternoon at 4:30, weather permitting, Elsa led walks into the surrounding mountains, pointing out the flora and eco systems of each area. What a treat it was to walk with this tall, gentle soul and share her extraordinary knowledge of nature. She and Gilly were always armed with plastic bags and sharp secateurs in case they spotted: ‘a juicy plant specimen just asking to be painted’. The October weather was perfect with warm days and intermittent, cooling showers. Luckily the hotel shop offered raincoats, walking sticks, takkies and other requirements for hotel guests who forgot theirs! After showering and changing for dinner, we’d grab a drink at the cosy pub and head for the tv room to watch a series of Gill’s videos on watercolour painting. Candlelit, gourmet dinners were served by friendly, professional waiters who listened patiently to the very specific orders from our group with their various food allergies. The dining room and other hotel walls are adorned with original botanical artworks by Gill and past course members – so inspiring! On the last morning our paintings were put up in the studio for critical assessment. Gill and Elsa offered constructive comments and in turn, we commented on what we had derived from the course. Each artist had improved noticeably. The hotel owners, who show a keen interest in these courses, came to see our artwork and to hand out Gillian Condy certificates of attendance. They share a special relationship with Elsa and Gill which ensures a wonderful art experience at The Cavern in the Drakensberg Mountains.

Irises Wendy Burchell 2012

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Royal Horticultural Society Botanical Art Show

Congratulations to BAASA member Margaret de Villiers who won the gold medal and best in show award at the Royal Horticultural Society Botanical Art Show in London recently. Margaret is pictured here receiving her award for her beautiful paintings of Ericas.

THE ART OF MAKING FABRIANO PAPER Olwen Gibson I enjoy using Fabriano Academia 200g paper for sketching. Recently I thought it would be interesting to find out where Fabriano is and something about the background of its paper-making. Lots of information came off the internet. Fabriano, I found, is a manufacturing town in the Marche province of Italy, on the banks of a river flowing down the eastern Appenine slopes. Ancona on the Adriatic coast is the nearest port. The Arabs are accredited with introducing the craft of paper-making, learnt from the Chinese, to the Mediterranean. Fabriano was a logical location for the new craft as it was already a centre of woolen textiles, a craft that also needed lots of water. Fabriano's paper mills were formally established in 1264 after much experimentation and improving on the techniques taught by the Arabs. Within a few decades it became the cradle of paper handicraft in Europe.

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Paper manufacturing in Fabriano reached a height in the late fourteenth century when a noble feudal family, the Chiavelli, bought up small mills operated by the middle class artisans. They injected capital into the venture, controlled and protected the industry and issued fines should any secrets leak out. However, there was a decline in the industry in the 1700's when the French, Dutch, German and the English modernised their mills. The Italians upgraded in the 1800's and, with a further timely injection of capital and brilliant entrepreneurship, recaptured their lost markets. Today in Fabriano there is a Paper and Watermark Museum which has a fully-functional Fabrianese "gualchiera" or fulling mill. The museum demonstrates all the processes from rags to shipment that influenced the perfecting and distribution of paper in the Western world. One can see rags arriving from centres such as Perugia or Florence: their sorting, cleaning, bleaching and cutting. The reduction into basic fibres is demonstrated in an original multiple-hammer mill. An artisan then dips, with delicate hand movements, a wire screen into the tub extracting the same quantity of paste every time on the whole surface of the wire screen. The cast form is the means by which the fibre is felted: the cast form consists of metal wire encased by a "deckle" (a wooden frame) that rests on the perimeter of the wire screen to allow the bonding of the paste and limit the dimensions of the sheet of paper obtained. And so on, through hanging, drying, sizing and smoothing to the finished product. Thus the tradition of hand-made paper, which has remained exactly as it was 700 years ago, continues today. This top quality paper is used for prestigious editions, art prints, university degrees etc. Biennale exhibitions are held in the Paper and Watermark Museum and residential workshops are being planned. The Marche d'Acqua Prize is competed for by renowned and internationally acclaimed artists. More information about Fabriano and its products can be found on: http://www.museodellacarta.com

Hermanus is having a Festival of Arts in June. Taking inspiration from the wonderful backdrop at the Fernkloof botanical gardens, Vicki Thomas is giving a botanical art course featuring plants from the area on Monday 10th to Wednesday 12th June. She is also one of a number of speakers who will be giving an illustrated talk during the week. To see the programme go to www.hermanusfynarts.co.za or contact Mary at [email protected].

Mimetes cucullatus

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EYE OUTREACH IN MALAWI Helen Meyer Every year, for the past twelve years, a team of three ophthalmologists, two nurses and an optometrist, has travelled to Vila Ulónguè, in the Northern Tete Province of Mozambique, to perform an Eye Outreach Programme. I spent eight years as a nurse at the mobile clinic there and speak the language, so I do all the organizing in this regard. We have to acquire permission from the Malawian government for the outreach programme. This is easier now as Pascoal, the co-ordinator of the mobile clinic, knows the authorities and can get past all the red tape involved. As we are lent a car and all the equipment from the Eye Department of the Nkhoma Mission Hospital in Malawi, we have to fit in with their program. At Vila Ulongue we usually stay in one of the missionary houses and eat what is available from the local market - Carapao (small Angolan fish), bread rolls which are baked at the market and a variety of vegetables. In approximately one week we see about 800 patients with a variety of eye problems and operate on sixty to seventy blind people. We usually perform cataract operations and insert lenses. We do remove some pterigiums and "foreign bodies". Some patients arrive in taxis, some on the back of bicycles, many are assisted on foot. Last year 3 old men who could hardly see, walked all the way for 2 days through the bush. They were that keen to be operated on by our doctors! Unfortunately we are unable to help everyone, so we choose the people who have least vision. The reaction of those whom we help is amazing as they are so happy to be able to see again and to read their Bibles. One lady was so disgusted when she was able to see her clothes - she said she had such lovely clothes and her children must have sold them as she now had on an old faded dress! Another old man was so happy to see that his blanket had stripes on it. One of the old men said “I can see you are white!" It is an immense privilege to be part of such an outreach and is one of the highlights of my year as we restore people's physical eyesight and also, we pray that their spiritual eyes will be opened. I usually go up to Malawi earlier than the rest of the team to do all the preparations and then, each time, I try to paint a special flower. Last year I drew this Combretum, but I am unsure of the species. Helen

Combretum species

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Art Assist Stephen Gibson Art Assist is still going strong, thanks in no small part to support from BAASA artists. With the submission deadline for the Biennale coming up soon it's time to start thinking about scanning your originals and whether or not you are going to offer cards and prints for sale at the exhibition. You are, of course, not obliged to use Art Assist for this. I'm just one of the options available for scanning and printing. I just have a strong connection with BAASA and plenty of experience with and a passion for botanical art. Here's how I can help: I can scan your originals, capturing the colour, tone and detail very accurately. The master scan is very versatile and can be used in a number of different ways:  

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I can print very high quality reproductions on watercolour paper / canvas. I can prepare files for the laser printing of cards and small prints. I do not own a laser printer myself; I just set the cards / prints up and give you a file that will print very well at a print shop like Hot Ink or TopCopy. I can create the images needed for submission to the Biennale. I can create images to just about any specification - for use on websites / use in print / other submissions and more.

My contact details are in my advertisement in this newsletter. Good luck with your painting and your exhibition! Stephen Gibson Art Assist

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What I Learnt at the Sarah Simblet Course Riva Katz I attended the Sarah Simblet course and expected to sit at a desk and learn all the techniques of drawing with pen & ink but, there we were, sitting in a half circle listening to Sarah who took us into another world compared to composing music and dancing, all the ingredients that mastered the art of drawing. BEFORE STARTING TO COMPOSE, THE KEY INGREDIENTS ARE TO: 1. 2. 3. 4.

LOOK (SEE) UNDERSTAND, LEARN & REMEMBER (MEMORIZE) ie. RESEARCH & STUDY. ENGAGE WITH THE WORLD THAT SURROUNDS YOU THINK – PLAN - ORGANISE e.g. to compile a Book INTERPRET –EXPLAIN AND EXPRESS (SHARE INFORMATION AND UNDERSTANDING IDEAS EXPERIENCE THE FEELING. 5. VISUALISE IT BEING TRANSPARENT – GO STRAIGHT INTO THE CORE. Sarah draws in monochrome. The purpose for this is to be able to interpret expression of movement and texture with no colour. TOOLS TO START DRAWING: POSTURE & GRIP: Your whole body should relax and be involved in your creation. Relax your fingers and the pencil away from its tip. If your body is relaxed and you have a free flow from your hand, body and subject, it will reflect in your work. TO SKETCH: PENCIL 3H for UNDERDRAWING. When drawing a plant work with the trunk first. PENS: NIB HOLDER (5or6) Glass emery board to sharpen the nib (for a THICK LINE –Right way round and for a THIN LINE –Upside down. INK: 40% CHINESE/INDIAN OR JAPANESE (BROWN OR BLACK ) INK and 60% WATER -work from light ( USING MORE WATER) to dark. COMPOSITION: Draw the location of the Plant. Mark the position of the stem and start drawing loosely. Add the personality & the character (attitude) of the plant. Place it at the correct angle and in the boundary of what the plant can do. Go and see how the plant grows. While holding the plant in your left hand translate it into drawing with your right hand. Describe the plant in words e.g. Sharp, slippery, soft etc etc. Sometimes work it upside down and step back from your work and create balance and drama. So…….there we were on the 5th day, our last day, sitting in the half circle absorbing all the knowledge Sarah shared with us. Whenever Sarah described anything she wanted to say she would use her body and extend it in all direction to do so. At one point she described how she gathered plant material from the top of a tree for a book she was busy with and suddenly she leapt into an

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arabesque and we heard music with no sound, only to end a wonderful course with a BRAVO!!! We applauded with thanks……….

“Conduct and compose the rhythm of your drawing to the viewer” Sarah Simblet @Kirstenbosch

John Bryce It was with great sadness that we heard that John Bryce had died recently. John had filled the position of Honorary Auditor for BAASA (WC) for several years and had been an unfailing source of advice and support in all financial matters. He will be fondly remembered by all who knew him. Our deepest sympathy goes to Jenny Bryce, a well-known botanical artist and a member and past Chairperson of BAASA (WC), and to all the members of their family.

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WHAT’S HAPPENING ELSEWHERE … checking out the opposition! Vicki Thomas Dr Shirley Sherwood visited Cape Town recently and her amazing energy and enthusiasm for contemporary botanical art has not waned one bit. She told me that her last major exhibition “Plants in Peril”at Kew attracted over 125,000 visitors. She took some of these artworks over to Paderborn in Germany last year, where she showed 80-90 works from her collection in some old converted stables that had been made into a lovely gallery at the Natural History Museum. At Kew in 2012 the main section of the gallery named after her was used for a wood sculpture programme for the whole year, which she was not very happy about, but she managed to set up a lovely contemporary botanical exhibition of leaves and fungi paintings in the adjoining rooms which were very well attended. This year she had more exhibitions planned for the space featuring her growing collection of fine contemporary botanical art. Look out for some of the artists whose work she has purchased e.g. Mieko Ishikawa, Bev Allan, Ingrid Finnan, Annie Hughes, Anna Knights, Kate Nessler, Rachel Pedder Smith. Their work is truly inspirational. To check what is going on do look at the Kew webpage: www.kew.org and click on What’s On. Otherwise if you google Shirley Sherwood Botanical Art, you will get straight there. Also worth a bit of computer time is the American Society of Botanical Art, where you can see a whole range of delightful artworks.

EXHIBITIONS TO WATCH OUT FOR IN THE UK & EUROPE Rory McEwan’s artwork has been an inspiration to many botanical artists and Dr Shirley Sherwood is planning an exhibition and accompanying publication based largely on his work and called ‘The Colours of Reality.’ This is due to go into the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew in May. Another interesting exhibition due in the same gallery is Alicia and Isaac Sutton’s collection of contemporary botanical works called ‘Black and White in Colour’, all paintings in watercolour of white and black flowers. On 23rd April in Pisa, Italy, an exhibition opened at the Museo Della Graphica, which will run for 3 months, featuring works from Dr Sherwood’s collection. Looking further ahead, a large exhibition is planned for early next year at Kew, called “Botanical Art, into the 3rdMillenium”.

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Two major botanical art exhibitions planned for September 2014 in Johannesburg Gill Condy Calling all botanical artists. In 2014 there will be two major exhibitions seeking some of the best botanical paintings, both locally and internationally. These exhibitions are scheduled for September. The first exhibition will be at the Everard Read Gallery in Rosebank. The whole Gallery will be devoted to artworks depicting plants, with one or two of the rooms being devoted to skilled plant portraiture. For this section, we are looking for the very best work currently being done, what I call the “Kirstenbosch Golds”. The exhibition will open on 4 September. Artists will not be restricted to producing 4 paintings that hang well together, nor will there be a theme, but we would encourage artists to portray as many indigenous species as possible—be proudly South African. There will be a very strict selection process for this exhibition. We want to showcase the very best we have to offer and will have to compete with all the fine artists, including some very prominent names in the industry. The second exhibition will be the 21st World Orchid Conference at the Sandton Convention Centre from 10 to 14 September. The theme for the Conference is “Orchids: Gold in the Green Age”. As yet I am not quite sure how this exhibition will run. The event organizers are keen to have an on-line Gallery as well as paintings exhibited during the Conference. Traditionally this is a judged exhibition with medals for the best artworks. I am urging artists to start painting for these two exhibitions now. Don’t start thinking about it this time next year as you will be so limited with plant choices. Then, please keep your masterpieces and don’t sell, (unless the offer is just too good to resist). You are welcome to contact me for further details, but they will be communicated to BAASA members through the Blog site. Just another teaser, especially for those not living in Gauteng, The Standard Bank Art Gallery in Johannesburg will be having an exhibition covering 300 years of botanical art depicting South African plants. This is planned to open on 7 October 2014. We look forward to hosting you in Gauteng over those two months, as they will be events not to miss.

Happy Painting Gill Condy

BAASA Gauteng, contact: [email protected]; 012 843 5052