Tendrils November 2019 Issue 11
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Tendrils Newsletter Issue 11, November 2019 Australian Botanical Artists Regional Network (ABARN) Tendrils Australian Botanical Artists Regional Network (ABARN) (L to R) Telopea mongaensis (Monga Waratah); Telopea speciosissima (NSW Waratah); Telopea truncata (Tasmanian Waratah) Editor’s note Page Tendrils is an online newsletter distributed Contents across Australia. Commenced in 2017 by artists News from Regional Groups 2 from Bowral, Canberra, the Shoalhaven and Sydney, it aims to share ideas and information in Exhibitions 6 regional and metropolitan locations, among those Looking Back and Looking Forward 8 who share a passion for the botanical art genre. Talking About Botanical Art 11 We welcome news and articles from individuals and groups across the country. You are Artist’s Profile 13 encouraged to advertise workshops, events and Book Review 14 exhibitions free of charge. Traveller’s Tales 16 Please just send text contributions in a regular email. Images need to be jpegs that are easily Sketchbook Stories 17 emailed. Workshops and Events 20 Enquiries and contributions to Cathryn Coutts, Websites 23 at: [email protected] Issues are published in March, June, September and November. Deadline for contributions is the first Friday of each month of publication. 1 Tendrils Newsletter Issue 11, November 2019 Australian Botanical Artists Regional Network (ABARN) News from Regional Groups Central Coast Botanical Art Group Vale Rosalind Gordon (1940-2019) NSW - BDAS Botanical Artists Some members of our Bowral group knew Ros By Cathryn Coutts Gordon well. She contributed work for some of Our coordinator, Rosie Wade, has stepped aside our exhibitions and joined us for excursions, e.g. this year and her job is currently being shared by visiting the Royal Botanic Gardens Library in Jo Matthews and Janet Hicks. Many thanks to all Sydney in 2015, to see the collection of antique three people. We greatly appreciate the books and prints. She is remembered with great wonderful work you do for us. fondness and will be sadly missed. In March 2020 we will be having a two-day workshop in Mt. Annan Botanic Gardens, Sydney, with Barbara Duckworth. Planning has begun for our third ‘For the Love of Plants’ exhibition, to be held in October 2020. More details about this next year. Some of our group have become involved in a project at Ironmines Park, Mittagong to survey native plants there and collect specimens for the Janet Cosh Herbarium at the University of Wollongong. An earlier collection was BDAS Botanical Artists at the RBG Library undertaken in the 1990’s and those specimens (L-R) C Coutts, L Niyogi, R Gordon, I Willis, G Levy donated to the Herbarium then. This time we are Tasmania recording which plant species are still there from 25 years ago, which are new arrivals and which By Cathryn Coutts species are no longer there. We have been My trip to Tasmania this year included some surprised and delighted by the diversity still wonderful opportunities to meet other botanical evident on the site. An exhibition of art works of artists and appreciate the work they are doing. I the plants will be held when the survey work is encourage all our readers, when travelling, to finished in a year or so. call in if possible on various groups around the A site visit to Bundanoon NSW, on 1 October, country. It’s great to see what others are doing. involved some of our group. Once again we were Hobart - Meeting Tanya Scharaschkin visiting sites where the late Janet Cosh had A wonderful artist I met while in Tasmania is collected specimens. We were joined by Patsy Tanya Scharaschkin. We met up at Collinsvale Nagle, Curator of the Janet Cosh Herbarium. just outside of Hobart. Tanya is an inspiring and The visit was organized by local Bundanoon innovative artist who brings a strong scientific Field Naturalist, Sylvia David. Many thanks to background, coupled with great enthusiasm, to Sylvia, whose excellent planning meant that our her work. day was a great success. We found several species collected by Janet Cosh in the 1970’s and She started her science career as a vertebrate 80’s, which was very encouraging. paleontologist but changed to evolutionary history of plants. She is now a free-lance botanist Our meeting dates for Term 1, 2020 are: Monday and artist, who really enjoys teaching and being February 10, Monday March 9, Monday April able to combine art and science, which she says 20. is proving to be very a rewarding experience. We meet at Bowral Art Gallery, 1 Shepherd St. We can look forward to hearing more from Bowral, in Studio 3, from 10am to 4pm. New Tanya in Tendrils issues. In the meantime, she is members are always welcome. Bring your own shown below with one of her pictures. work, art materials, and lunch. 2 Tendrils Newsletter Issue 11, November 2019 Australian Botanical Artists Regional Network (ABARN) Hobart during my visit. They are an active and dedicated group, who are engaged in a number of exciting projects. Their work contributes greatly to our record of Tasmanian Flora. While in Hobart I visited Botaniko’s beautiful exhibition, Frederick Mackie: Quaker Plantsman at the Narryna Heritage Museum, Battery Point, on until February 22, 2020. More on this in the Exhibitions section of this issue (p.6) Leonie Norton Workshop in Hobart by Jean Henley What lies within? Pigment cells in native violet petals, Ink and Coloured Pencil, by Tanya Scharaschkin Nine ladies from near and far attended Leonie Norton’s workshop Contemporary Botanical Devonport – Meeting Brenda Haas Art: Bigger is Better at Fern Tree, in the foothills Just before boarding the Spirit of Tasmania ferry of Mt. Wellington, from 29 November to 1 to return home, I had the delightful opportunity December 2019. The workshop gave us the in Devonport to meet Brenda Haas, a remarkable opportunity to enlarge and paint our subjects botanical artist and one of our Tendrils readers. with some amazing results and a unique Brenda and I spent time discussing our shared botanical painting. The four days proved a huge interest in Tasmanian plants. Some of the success and offered an enormous and exciting rainforest plants I am familiar with here at home challenge. in the NSW Southern Highlands, also grow in and the Exhibition continues… Tasmania. Botaniko’s exhibition celebrating the Royal Brenda is currently completing a beautiful Tasmanian Botanical Gardens bicentenary in drawing of the Wollemia nobilis, Wollemi Pine. 2018 is set for what we believe to be its last She has used an interesting concept in her showing at the Morris Miller Library at the composition, putting coloured detail inserts into University of Tasmania from 9 January 2020. the picture. I look forward to hearing more from Brenda about her work. It is fitting that the exhibition ends its tour in this location as the Library holds the Royal Society of Tasmania Collection - the Gardens management was under the auspices of the Royal Society for 40 years. The Society’s early documents record the valuable plants introduced to the Gardens from throughout the world. These plants make up a large proportion of the significant plants in the Gardens today. Brenda Hass with her Wollemia nobilis drawing I was also very fortunate to be able to join the Botaniko group and work with Leonie Norton in 3 Tendrils Newsletter Issue 11, November 2019 Australian Botanical Artists Regional Network (ABARN) climbing plants in our local region, including the rainforests - Botanica 2019 - Jeepers Creepers. The ‘Jeepers Creepers’ botanical art exhibition focused on colourful, curious and captivating flora which are commonly known as Vines, Scramblers, Climbers, Creepers or Lianas. All are plants with long flexible climbing stems that have specialised structures or climbing strategies to support their growth, usually upwards. Some wrap, some adhere and some curl by way of - twining stems, petioles or leaves, clinging stem roots, tendrils or hooks and thorns. Other exciting news is that Janet Matthews will be doing a workshop with us on the weekend of 26/27 September. If you are interested in presenting a workshop we would love to hear from you and get it in our schedule and budget. Following are a selection of works from the Jeepers Creepers exhibition. Photos taken during Leonie Norton’s workshop. Passiflora sp. Passionfruit. Watercolour & Graphite, Julie Inkson Queensland Mackay Botanical Art Interest Group By Pamela Finger The Mackay Botanical Art Interest Group will have two exhibitions in 2020. The exhibition dates are: Banks and Solander - Wednesday May 27- Sunday June 28. Our Favourites - Wednesday 30 September - Sunday November 1. As always we would love to have visitors during (L) Smilax australis Barbwire Vine. Watercolour, Thelma Farmer the exhibitions or anytime of the year. Please call (R top) Elaeagnus triflora Millaa Millaa Vine. Watercolour, Pamela Finger. and come and join us. (R bottom) Freycinetia excelsa Climbing Pandanus Graphite & In 2019 we had an exhibition inspired by the Watercolour, Margaret McLean. name of this newsletter and the multitude of 4 Tendrils Newsletter Issue 11, November 2019 Australian Botanical Artists Regional Network (ABARN) Museum from May 1 to July 19, 2020. The committee is hoping that the exhibition can tour over two years to locations in Queensland, NSW and Victoria, if funding is available. More news on this next year. Following is a list of the Society members who are represented in the exhibition: Gillian Alfredson | Catherin Bull | Edwin Butler | Robyn Douglas | Naomi Florence | Sandra