Botanical Art Society (Singapore)

Colours of Nature

An exhibition of botanical artworks by Botanical Art Society (Singapore) in partnership with the Woodlands Botanical Garden

Venue: Woodlands Botanical Garden, Woodlands Town Park East, 134 Marsiling Rd, Singapore 730134

Date: 9 - 25 December 2023

The Society will be exhibiting paintings of red and yellow flowers growing in the Woodlands Botanical Gardens (WBG) as well as artworks of orchids created by our members as part of the year end festivities held by the garden.

Ornamental cards of botanical artwork will be used to decorate the trellises throughout the garden for a festive look to welcome the new year.

About Woodlands Botanical Gardens

WBG is Singapore's largest community garden that has won the hearts of the people in Woodlands with its main initiative of mental well being and biodiversity preservation and conservation. It is a garden built 'by the Community for the Community' and is a proponent of the ‘kampung spirit’ that has attracted people of all ages to experience the garden's tranquility, the flowers, and the rich fauna such as bees, butterflies and birds!

It has won several accolades at the Community in Bloom Awards 2022 such as Garden of the Year (2022), Platinum Award (2022), and Outstanding Ornamental Garden (2022)

Congratulations to Sunanda Widel and Michele Rodda on being accepted into the Hunt Institute's 17th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration

Sunanda Widel's artwork Ficus auriculata and Michele Rodda's print Macaranga gigantea have been accepted into the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation's 17th International Exhibition of Botanical Art and Illustration.

Sunanda Widel - Ficus auriculata, Watercolour

Michele Rodda - Macaranga gigantea, Printmaking ink on Chinese machine-made xuan paper

Asia Pacific Orchid Conference

Botanical Art Society (Singapore) was invited to set up a booth in the 14th Asia Pacific Orchid Conference, jointly organized by the National Parks Board, Singapore, and the Orchid Society of South East Asia, held in Singapore from 16th to 20th August 2023

The Flora of Southeast Asia exhibition shown in Vietnam

Dates: 6 - 16 July, 2023

Venue: De La Sól - Sun Life Flagship, (244 Pasteur, District 3), Ho Chi Minh

This exhibition is a collaboration between Botanical Art Society (Singapore) and Sun Life Vietnam Life Insurance Company.

For the first time in Vietnam, a Botanical Art exhibition will be shown at De La Sól - Sun Life Flagship with more than 130 paintings of SEA native flora by artists from Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines.

The exhibition features a combination of visual art with simulated digital effects that takes viewers into surreal spaces that invoke them to question “What if, one day, we would only see these plants on digital platforms…?”.

Therefore, De La Sól by Sun Life Vietnam and Botanical Art Society (Singapore) wish to spread the message of protecting the plants, the environment, and our planet.

Find out more

Congratulations to Angelina Cheong on being accepted as an SBA Fellow

Angelina Cheong ’s application for the Society of Botanical Artists (SBA) Fellow Membership seemed like a natural progression after she completed the SBA DLDC16 in 2021 with a distinction.

SBA Fellowship is only awarded to artists who are consistently producing artwork of top quality that shows excellent artistry and observation, thus qualifying the artist to be among the best botanical artists from around the world.

The application is judged based on the artworks, the artist statement and the artist’s approach to botanical art as shared on their various social media accounts.

The five artworks Angelina submitted to SBA with her application showcased some of the different mediums that she works in - pen & ink, graphite, watercolour and silverpoint.

Angelina feels humbly honoured to have been accepted, and hopes to achieve much, much more as a botanical artist.

She joins BASS members Sunanda Widel and Deborah Montgomerie who are also SBA Fellows.

L to R, top row: Artocarpus integer - Graphite; SBA Diploma Cert; Coccoloba uvifera - Copic fineliner and watercolour L to R, bottom row: Hyacinthus orientalis - metalpoint and graphite; October Wreath - ink; Hoya pubicalyx - watercolour and Copic fine liner

Flora of Southeast Asia

The official opening event for Flora of Southeast Asia held on 18th November, 2022 was well attended by distinguished guests from NParks and from the embassies of Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines along with some artists from the four botanical art societies. The guests were given a tour of the exhibition by members and also attended live demonstrations by an artist each from Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand.

On 19th November, we held an artist's reception and awards ceremony. 23 awards in various categories were handed out in total. The networking session held thereafter was lively with more than 100 artists from the four societies mingling and enjoying light refreshments.

There was a guided tour of the SBG Herbarium, several live painting demonstrations and workshops specially organised for the event.

Award Winners in Flora of Southeast Asia

The Flora of Southeast Asia was juried by a team of 12 judges who were picked from each of the 4 participating countries. They were experienced botanical artists and botanists who carefully judged and scored the entries based on scientific accuracy, artistic merit, media mastery and overall impact.

A total of 23 award winners were selected in the following categories:

Best of Show
Certificate of Botanical Accuracy
Certificate of Artistic Merit
Certificate of Media Mastery - Watercolour
Certificate of Media Mastery - Acrylic
Certificate of Media Mastery - Colour Pencil
Certificate of Media Mastery - Graphite
Certificate of Media Mastery - Pen & Ink

You can see the list of award winners here

L to R: Best of Show winners Teo Nam Siang, Dianne Sutherland and Deinitisa Amarawi receiving their awards from Carrie-Ann Lee

Best of Show Artworks

Dianne Sutherland, Botanical Art Society (Singapore)

Stelechocarpus burahol (Blume) Hook.f. & Thomson

Nam Siang Teo, Botanical Art Society (Singapore)

Hydnophytum formicarum Jack

Deinitisa Amarawi, Indonesian Society of Botanical Artists

Sterculia oblongata R.Br.

Mieko Ishikawa wins the first Shirley Sherwood Award and the first Jessica Tcherepnine Lifetime Achievement Award!

We congratulate our society member Mieko Ishikawa on being selected the winner of the first Shirley Sherwood Award for Botanical Art on 21 May 2022.

The Shirley Sherwood Award for Botanical Art is given to one artist each year who has made a significant and broad contribution to the field of botanical art.

The main focus of Mieko’s art is on Japanese cherry blossoms and plants of the Borneo rainforests. She has been practising her artistry for over 30 years and runs her own Botanical Art Studio in Tokyo.

Mieko’s works can be found in the Hunt Institute, the Shirley Sherwood collection, RHS Lindley Library, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Highgrove Florilegium of His Majesty King Charles III. In 2006 she was awarded the gold medal by the RHS and in 2017 received the Diane Bouchier Artist Award for Excellence in Botanical Art.

Mieko also won the first Jessica Tcherepnine Lifetime Achievement Award from ASBA on 22 October 2022.

Jessica Tcherepnine made a major contribution to botanical art and she passed away in 2018. The following year, 2019, the Jessica Tcherepnine Lifetime Achievement Award was newly established, but no winner was announced until Mieko became the first recipient of the Award in 2022.

It was announced at the Banquet on the final day of the ASBA conference, in which Mieko participated via Zoom.

Mieko joined our society in 2022 and two of her paintings are on display in the ongoing Flora of Southeast Asia exhibition at Botanical Art Gallery, Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Read about the Shirley Sherwood Award Announcement

Read about the Award Presentation Event

The Straits Times, 1 December 2022

The Flora of Southeast Asia exhibition was covered by the Straits Times newspaper in its LIFE section. Read the article to know what our members Seey Seey Leong and Teo Nam Siang said about their botanical art practice.

Read the Article

Channel 8 TV feature: 狮城有约 'Hello Singapore'

27 May, 2022

Mediacorp Channel 8 TV did a feature about the Society on their 'Hello Singapore' program.

Our members Ai Hwa Goh and Nam Siang Teo spoke about their inspiration for creating botanical art and how it is a fine balance between art and science.

Society President, Carrie-Ann Lee discussed the history of botanical art and shared about the Society's goal to bring more awareness and recognition to the art and artists from Singapore.

Video Link

The Straits Times, 15 November 2021

The Straits Times team did an amazing job with this article about the Society! They accompanied a group of members sketching at the Singapore Botanical Gardens and even came to a workshop we were giving to find out all about what we do! Make sure to watch the accompanying video.

Video Link

Online Article Link

©Goh Ai Hwa

Lyssa zampa

Nature Art Lab Online Exhibition, Canberra, Australia

Society Member Ai Hwa Goh will have her watercolour of a Lyssa zampa moth in the Nature Art Lab Annual Exhibition. The exhibition will also be online 2-20 December, 2021.

ASBA Dare to be Square

Society Member Kelly Bassett has a coloured pencil drawing showing in the American Society of Botanical Artists' Dare to be Square non-juried exhibition, in conjunction with their annual conference. To see all the artwork, click on the link below.

Link to YouTube Dare to be Square Works 2021

©Sunanda Widel

Bulbophyllum bicolor

September 2021: American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art & Garden Center, USA

24th Annual International Exhibition

Society Member Sunanda Verma Widel's watercolour painting of the Bulbophyllum Orchid is on display from 19th September - 28th November, 2021 at the Marin Art & Garden Centre for ASBA's 24th Annual International Exhibition. Only 45 artworks from a record number of 260 entries were selected. Artists selected come from the US, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, and the UK.

Click on the link below and then select 'The Art' tab on the page to see all entries in the show.

View Exhibition

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Certificate in Botanical Illustration

Society Member Constance Zhao completed the RBGE CBI course and was awarded a Distinction!

Her final watercolour painting of the Hibiscus rosa-sinensis shows a branch with leaves, an orange flower and buds along with a dissection of its reproductive elements in graphite.

Photo courtesy of Singapore Botanic Gardens

Article in Gardenwise

Workshop in collaboration with Singapore Botanic Gardens highlighted in Gardenwise magazine

Earlier this year, the Society conducted a watercolour workshop in collaboration with the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ Education Branch.

Held at the Gardens, Society Member Debbie Teo guided the participants through the steps of painting a leaf of the Calathea ‘Beauty Star’.

You can read more about this workshop in the article “Framing nature through photography and botanical art”, published in the latest issue of the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ magazine, Gardenwise.

Click button to download a copy of Gardenwise, Vol 57 (August 2021)

Read Article

Exhibition

Botanical Illustrations by Society Member Waiwai Hove from the Garden of Miss Joaquim Collection

Singapore Botanic Gardens: People’s Gallery - Botany Centre (Tanglin Gate), Nassim Gate Visitor Centre and Botanic Gardens MRT Exit A (Bukit Timah Gate). 17 Aug to 17 Sept, 2021.

The collection showing was a commission by children’s book author, Linda Locke, who is the great-grandniece of Agnes Joaquim. It shows 44 botanical illustrations of fruits, flowers, plants, spices, and vegetables, commonly grown by horticulturists, and submitted to flower shows in the 19th century. These plants are believed to be the likely species that Agnes Joaquim grew and garnered awards for in the annual Flower Shows.

Book Publication

Tropical Plants in Focus

Botanical Illustration at the Singapore Botanic Gardens

Written by Society Member Michele Rodda, this new book outlines the development of botanical illustration in Singapore, and in particular at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. It includes illustrations of rare native species, edible and useful plants, and ornamental garden hybrids, each reflecting the changing priorities over the Gardens' history.

For purchase information, click here

Botanical art in watercolours of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis showing a branch with leaves, flowers and bud alongside dissections of flower

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Certificate in Botanical Illustration

Society Member Ai Hwa was recently awarded the RBGE CBI with Distinction! Shown here is her final watercolour project depicting Hibiscus rosa-sinensis - showing the leaves, flower and bud, along with a dissection of its reproductive elements.

June 2021: Plantae Exhibition, Society of Botanical Artists, UK

Two of our member's artworks are showing this year at the SBA's Plantae. This annual exhibition showcases the work of SBA Fellows & Foundation members, along with a selection of work from students on the SBA’s diploma course.

Watercolour painting of Ficus auriculata showing hanging cluster of fruits with dissections of the fruit at the bottom

©Sunanda WidelFicus auriculataCertificate of Botanical Merit Award Exhibiting Excellence Award for most innovative composition

Botanical art in graphite of Durio zibethinus 'Musang King' Durian showing full fruit alongside its dissections

June 2021: Margaret Flockton Exhibition, Sydney Australia

Two of our member's artworks were chosen to show at the Margaret Flockton Exhibition. This prestigious yearly show is held by the Foundation and Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney and gains submissions from the world's leading scientific botanical illustrators. The exhibition awards excellence in contemporary scientific botanical illustration, as distinct from botanical art.
Visit the exhibition online here: Margaret Flockton Award 2021

Botanical illustration in Pen & ink of Norrisia major showing branch with leaves and flowers alongside dissections of flower

Pen & ink illustration of Homalium grandiflorum showing branch with leaves and flowers alongside dissections of flower

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Colours of Nature

An exhibition of botanical artworks by Botanical Art Society (Singapore) in partnership with the Woodlands Botanical Garden

About Woodlands Botanical Gardens

Congratulations to Sunanda Widel and Michele Rodda on being accepted into the Hunt Institute's 17th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration

Asia Pacific Orchid Conference

The Flora of Southeast Asia exhibition shown in Vietnam

Congratulations to Angelina Cheong on being accepted as an SBA Fellow

Flora of Southeast Asia

Award Winners in Flora of Southeast Asia

Best of Show Artworks

Mieko Ishikawa wins the first Shirley Sherwood Award and the first Jessica Tcherepnine Lifetime Achievement Award!

The Straits Times, 1 December 2022

Channel 8 TV feature: 狮城有约 'Hello Singapore'

27 May, 2022

The Straits Times, 15 November 2021

Nature Art Lab Online Exhibition, Canberra, Australia

ASBA Dare to be Square

September 2021: American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art & Garden Center, USA

24th Annual International Exhibition

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Certificate in Botanical Illustration

Article in Gardenwise

Workshop in collaboration with Singapore Botanic Gardens highlighted in Gardenwise magazine

Exhibition

Botanical Illustrations by Society Member Waiwai Hove from the Garden of Miss Joaquim Collection

Book Publication

Tropical Plants in Focus

Botanical Illustration at the Singapore Botanic Gardens

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Certificate in Botanical Illustration

June 2021: Plantae Exhibition, Society of Botanical Artists, UK

June 2021: Margaret Flockton Exhibition, Sydney Australia

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