MAKING A MARK: Respite & Recommendations

After five very full days of “full on” art gallery visiting, two press views,
two private views and photographing five exhibitions, plus a hospital
appointment to get my pre-assessment done for more surgery next month, I woke
up this morning feeling really very weird, which then turned into feeling
really rather ill for most of this morning. I’m unable to eat much of
anything.  Basically I’m nearly brain dead and my body is rebelling I
think! 

So…… My partner pointed out I’d obviously overdone
things (he is apt to do things like that!) – and we’ve cancelled
today’s Sunday Roast.

So…… Despite the fact I’d planned to do
my review of the annual exhibition of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water
Colours today I’m going to restrict myself to brief recommendations relating
to the exhibitions I’ve seen this week.

If you like dogs…

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Portraits of Dogs from Gainsborough to Hockney

If you like Paintings in Water Colours 

Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours | 211th Exhibition | Mall
Galleries

I’ve not seen it – but the artwork which you can see online suggests they
continue to pick artworks by painters with different ‘contemporary’
styles in recent times. 

If you’ve only got time to do one, then go to the RI Exhibition.

NEW Exhibitions about Plants

• Plants of the Qu’ran – a series of 25 botanical paintings by Sue Wickison
• The Wonderful World of Water Plants – botanical art and illustrations
• All the Flowers Are for Me – two installations by Anila Quayyum Agha

ALL three Exhibitions are on display at The Shirley Sherwood Gallery |
Kew Gardens until Sunday 17 September 2023.

They opened yesterday, while I was there and there were lots of people
flooding in…

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Plants of the Qu’ran 

This is
a series of 30 large botanical watercolour botanical paintings by Sue
Wickison. All of them are scientific botanical illustrations for a ground-breaking
book of the same name which will be published next month.

This is the sort of watercolour painting rarely seen in the exhibitions of
the RI or RWS. More’s the pity. 

This photo, after posting to my
Botanical Art and Artists Facebook Page  is currently drawing international admiration from botanical
artists from all over the world – and breaking lots of my FB Page records
for adulation! It’s an exhibition which is going to get a lot of visitors!

I’m also going to be reviewing it next week on my
News Blog on Botanical Art and Artists. I’ll also be publishing a video interview I did with Sue yesterday
morning before the gallery opened.

Sue Wickison with two of her paintings

The Wonderful World of Water Plants – botanical art and
illustrations | Gallery 6

This exhibition focuses on plants which are found:

• growing in the water
• on the margins of rivers and ponds
• in damp boggy areas

Artists come from all over the world and
include those like Lucy Smith – who produces scientific botanical
illustrations for Kew and Brazilian artists who came over to Kew
as Margaret Mee Scholars to learn about producing high quality
artwork and working with botanists.

Lucy talks about what was involved in producing her life-sized
painting of the underside of a Victoria amazonica waterlily leaf
in
Painting the Victoria Amazonica leaf – from sourcing the reference plant material to finding
paper big enough for the painting!

Lucy Smith and Dr Shirley Sherwood the founder of The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art This painting has been acquired by Shirley Sherwood for her extremely large collection of botanical art.

I was assured by the Director of Kew last week, that when Lucy
completes her project to create scientific botanical illustrations of
all three species of giant waterlilies, there’s going to be an
exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Galley. Maybe in 2025….

All the Flowers Are for Me 

This is a contemporary art installation created by
Anila Quayyum Agha a Pakistani/American artists. 

Speaking personally I much prefer the botanical art and
illustrations in the other two exhibitions.

So finally…..

Reviews of all the exhibitions will appear in due course – and as
soon as possible – after I can wake up and feel normal!