Monthly Archives: November 2018

Looking ahead

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BOOKINGS NOW BEING TAKEN 

Botanical Painting in Ireland
Workshop and Pre-workshop Southern Ireland Tour
July 8–19, 2019
http://www.goingplacestogether.com

Wildflowers in the Burren, Co. Clare, Ireland

Wildflowers in the Burren, Co. Clare, Ireland

My old friend and colleague Nancy Walsh, whom I have known since our days at Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD), now runs a very successful travel tour business in Canada, offering a wide variety of specialised group tours. For 2019, I am delighted that Nancy has invited me to play a part in her Irish tour: ‘Botanical Painting in Ireland’. The tour will begin with a six-day tour of Southern Ireland, visiting such popular destinations as Glendalough, Waterford Crystal, the ancient town of Kilkenny, Blarney Castle, Killarney, Cliffs of Moher and the Burren, ending up in Galway, the City of Tribes. For the following five days I will be conducting a botanical art workshop for the tour participants in the beautiful setting of Claregalway Castle. This is suitable for beginners and those who would like to improve their skills in botanical drawing and painting. Although Nancy is based in Canada, the tour is available worldwide, with participants meeting in Dublin on Monday 8 July. Full details, including prices, are available HERE. Anyone who would like more information or to book a place on the tour should contact Nancy via her website. She is a very experienced tour leader who will ensure that your trip is truly memorable. Book soon, because this is a popular tour. The deadline for registration is 31 January 2019.

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Wiener Schule der Botanischen Illustration
Vienna School of Botanical Illustration
GET TOGETHER 2019
12–19 May 2019
www.botanische-illustration.at

Vienna Botanic Garden (Wiki Commons)

Vienna Botanic Garden (Wiki Commons)

I am delighted to have been invited to teach a one day workshop in my favourite city, Vienna. In a week filled with workshops and many other activities, my own workshop will be held on Friday 17 May, and will focus on Drawing Skills, with reference to the teaching of John Ruskin. The workshop is suitable for beginners and those who wish to improve existing skills.

‘GET TOGETHER 2019 is  where botanical artists can meet, exchange ideas, and work together over an entire week so that there is sufficient time for participants to participate in practical expert-led workshops, and to visit museums and archive collections. During a field trip to the Donau-auen National Park attendees will also have an opportunity to sketch.

Portfolio showcases will be given by botanical illustrators and the workshop instructors; these will last about one to two hours in the morning, and will be followed by a discussion. The emphasis of the meeting will be on the varying approaches of traditional scientific botanical illustration. all components of the programme are independent, so attendees can decide on their level of involvement themselves.‘

For further details and to download application form, please CLICK HERE

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Classes and Workshops
at Áras Uilinn, Moycullen, County Galway
laragan.hall@gmail.com

Ophrys apifera Bee orchid ©Jane Stark

Ophrys apifera Bee orchid ©Jane Stark

As we move towards a new year, all indications are that it will be a busy one! Before 2018 comes to a close, there will be one more Basic Drawing Workshop on Saturday 1 December – part of a series of day-long classes that concentrate on basic drawing techniques. Subject matter is not exclusively botanical, and the exercises featured in the workshops would be useful to anyone wishing to improve their drawing skills. Absolute beginners are very welcome.

The next 8 week botanical art course will take place at Áras Uilinn in Moycullen, Co Galway on Thursday 27 January. The class is almost fully booked, so if you are interested in joining us, please email me at laragan.hall@gmail.com as soon as possible. The class takes place on Thursday mornings from 10 to 12.30.

Another Basic Drawing Workshop will be held on Saturday 29 January – details to come.

Catching up

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The front cover of Éireannach: Native Plants of Ireland

The front cover of Éireannach: Native Plants of Ireland

It has been a very busy year, and I have been woefully neglectful of my website, so in an effort to catch up, this post will take the form of a newsletter.

Éireannach: Native Plants of Ireland is the latest project of the Irish Society of Botanical Artists (ISBA) and was part of exciting Botanical Art Worldwide project initiated by the American Society of Botanical Artists. Irish artists painted native Irish wild plants and exhibited the paintings at the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin last May. A high quality book containing all the paintings was launched at the opening of the exhibition. While all of the paintings were featured in the book, it was much more than a catalogue. Each artist wrote a short piece about their plant(s) and a number of Irish conservation groups wrote articles and supplied photographs. Sharon Greene of Wild Irish Foragers contributed a lovely article about traditional uses of some Irish wild plants. In addition, each of the 25 participating countries supplied a representative painting from their own submissions to Botanical Art Worldwide, along with information about their native flora and how it is being portrayed by botanical artists.

The book and the exhibition were very well-received, and sales of books and paintings were brisk. You can still order the book (a great Christmas gift !) at www.irishbotanicalartists.ie/shop. For more information about the ground-breaking Worldwide project, see www.botanicalartworldwide.info – well worth a look at some of the wonderful artwork and stories relating the project.

Arum maculatum Lords and Ladies. ©Jane Stark

Arum maculatum Lords and Ladies (watercolour). ©Jane Stark

My own contributions to the project were paintings of Arum maculatum (lords and ladies),  and Eriophorum angustifolium (bog cotton).  Please scroll down the page for a picture of the bog cotton painting. Also included in the exhibition were paintings from two of my students, Anne Burns and Hataitip (Tim) Walsh) who were exhibiting for the first time as botanical artists.

Botanical and Floral Art in Bloom
As the Éireannach exhibition closed, the annual Botanical and Floral Art in Bloom exhibition was beginning at the Phoenix Park in Dublin, in association with Bloom in the Park. For this exhibition I submitted a watercolour of an Anthurium hybrid, and was delighted that it was awarded a silver medal.

Anthurium hybrid (watercolour) ©Jane Stark

Anthurium hybrid (watercolour) ©Jane Stark

Claregalway Castle Botanical Art Expo
The annual Claregalway Castle Botanical Art Expo was held in July in conjunction with the very popular Galway Garden Festival. This is the largest botanical art exhibition in the west of Ireland, and many visitors to the Garden Festival find their way in to the gallery. A number of the ur pop-up shop in the gallery featured Éireannach paintings were on view, along with a selection other works by Irish botanical artists. The pop-up shop, which offered botanical cards, prints, and other products, was very popular and sales were brisk.

A small selection of paintings on view at Claregalway Castle Botanical Art Expo in July 2018

A small selection of paintings on view at Claregalway Castle Botanical Art Expo in July 2018

A lovely surprise!
Autumn brought a lovely surprise when my painting of Sarracenia leucophylla found a very good home with a collector in the United States. Three of my limited edition prints also accompanied the painting. It is a huge pleasure to know that the painting has gone to someone who shares my own passion for carnivorous plants!

Looking to the future
Although 2018 is drawing to a close, there are still classes and a workshop to look forward to, and next year is shaping up to be another busy year. My next post will give more details on my classes, workshops and a couple of special events coming up in 2019.

Thank you to those who follow my blogposts, and for your great patience with the long periods in between them. I will try next year to make them more frequent!