The Indonesian Society of Botanical Artists: An Interview with Eunike Nugroho

This month's Botanical Artists feature is about a relatively new organisation, the Indonesian Society of Botanical Artists (IDSBA), which was formed in 2017.  I asked one of the founder members, Eunike Nugroho, a few questions about the formation of the Society, their achievements to date, their vision for Botanical Art in Indonesia and how they have responded to the challenge of Covid19. Our thanks go to Eunike for such a wonderful and inspiring insight into this wonderful and forward thinking Society.

Eunike Nugroho with her painting of Amorphophallus titanum, exhibited at the first IDSBA exhibition, for Worldwide Botanical Art Day, May 18 2018

Q. How and when did you first become interested in botanical art?
A. It started in 2012 after my encounter with the botanical societies, the Florilegium Society-Sheffield and Northern Society of Botanical Art (NSBA) in Sheffield, England. At first I had no idea what botanical art is, I just wanted to learn something new, start doing art, and make friends while accompanying my husband doing his doctoral programs in the city. In fact, before that I had lost my passion and spent too long a break from painting (about 9 years) due to having so many tasks at work. I suppose experiencing the English spring for the first time also triggered my new interest. Seeing blasts of colourful blossoms in the city and the Sheffield Botanic Gardens woke me up; it made me realise the beauty of plants that I used to take for granted in Indonesia. After that, I found  my passion in art again, with a new passion for plants and botanical painting that later I brought back to my home country. 

Q.Why do you think botanical art and illustration is important and what do you think the role of the contemporary botanical artist is today? 

A. While botanical illustration is still important to support botany, e.g. describing new species or taxa, I think that contemporary botanical art has its own advantages, namely to promote plants to the wider audience/public in a better, more emotional way. Just like art can pull heartstrings to bring about actions, it could be more effective than written facts. Hopefully botanical art can raise awareness and support the existence of plants, especially those that are threatened, and their conservations.

IDSBA members on a field trip, members share skills in botany and art to raise awareness about their native flora

Q. Did you find it easy to learn botanical art and illustration?
A. Nothing is easy, it requires persistence but I found the passion and communities to keep me going.
 

Q. Did you train with any other organisation or study any courses? 
A.Not really, I learned from books, workshops by many tutors, societies’ painting days, etc. I happened to have an educational background in visual communication design/graphic design that I think somehow provide the foundations in learning botanical art.

Q. Do you belong to any other Societies?
A.Yes, I am a fellow of the Society of Botanical Artists (SBA), UK and member of the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA), US.

About your Society

Q.  What is your role in IDSBA? Who are the other founders and the President?
A. I am one of the two founders of IDSBA, along with Jenny A. Kartawinata. The current President of IDSBA is Andiriana Wisnu.

Q. Why did you decide form a Society for botanical art in Indonesia? Was it difficult?
A. The urge to form the society was related to the plan to hold Botanical Art Worldwide exhibition in 2018 which required a botanical art society for a country to participate, which Indonesia did not have. If you remember, I joined the first International Congress of Botanical Art in Pittsburg in 2016, where the idea was proposed. I recall a panellist mentioning my case, and whether someone from a country without existing botanical art society like Indonesia can participate in the exhibition. The idea was intriguing but overwhelming at the same time. It meant a lot of homework for me personally because at the time I did not know anyone or have friends to make it happen. I knew only one other Indonesian artist who did similar botanical art (not exclusively), but we had never met before. So I put the idea aside, the dream of having botanical art society or joining the worldwide exhibition.

After the congress, I started to give workshops in several cities in Indonesia, where I finally met people with the same passions in botanical art. We kept in touch via Instagram and later via WhatsApp Group (WAG).

In 2017, I met Jenny A. Kartawinata in person. She contacted me first after finding my name as a participant of the 15^th international exhibition of botanical art and illustration by the Hunt Institute. She’s a member of ASBA and has been doing botanical art far longer than me. Her husband, Mr Kartawinata, is a senior botanist in Indonesia, former head of Herbarium Bogoriense, which exposes her to vast experiences and acquaintances in botanical affairs. We keep in touch by calls and e-mails.

Meanwhile in the WhatsApp Group, I and several friends from my workshops kept practising and supporting each other to paint botanical subject matters. At a certain point, not too far from the deadline of the Botanical Art Worldwide submission, I ventured to propose the event to them. Surprisingly they accepted it. So, everything else rolled from that, so to speak. The amazing (not to call it “crazy”) journey of forming IDSBA and preparing for our first exhibition can take hours to tell. In short, I think we are lucky to meet each other and somehow believe in each other, not to mention the “coincidences” (or blessings) that happened in our way.

The first team was also IDSBA committee right now: Andiriana Wisnu, Grace Syiariel, Deinitisa Amarawii, Elizabeth Soetopo, Youfeta Devy, Irene Ng, Fanny Agustina, Aida Makmur, Silvia Zulaika, etc.

Q.  When was your IDSBA founded? 

A.  Officially on 20 November 2017 at the Kartawinata’s house.

Q. Did you discover that many more people were interested in botanical art in Indonesia than you expected? or did you know that the interest and need for a society already existed?
A. Yes, although I didn’t expect it. I only realised the level of interests after I started doing workshops. My classes sold out in minutes. Later, after IDSBA was set up and the first exhibition announced, more people came and joined.

Members are very involved and love to share, here an Open Studio IDSBA event 2019

Q. Roughly how many members do you have? 

A.  At this time, we have about 100 members from Indonesia and aboard. We have members from Singapore, Malaysia, UAE, Turkey, and Canada. Some cannot speak Indonesian at all but they stay being a member for these years and they are quite engaged with the group’s activities. When needed, we converse in English too.

The participating member artists in Ragam Flora Indonesia, the first IDSBA exhibition, which was part of the Worldwide Botanical Art Day 18th May 2018, at Bogor Botanic Garden

Q.  Are members actively involved in helping to run the society.    

A.  Yes, I think we were so lucky to have helpful members who are willing to participate in our programs. We still communicate mostly via WhatsApp group on a daily basis where most of the members actively share their knowledge, skills, or information related to botanical art. For example, members with biological or botanical education help others to learn about botany, answer questions about plant identification, morphology, etc while artist members from various background and medium specialisation share their tips, tricks or insights in painting/drawing. I believe we complement each other.

Classes about botany, plant identification, morphology is mportant for IDSBA's artists, as shown in this class.   

Q. Did any other Societies, organisations or individuals inspire or encourage you to form IDSBA?
A. To be honest, I was not keen on organising, but encouraged (if I cannot call it forced) by my “workshop students” to initiate IDSBA. Beside the aforementioned names, I was also encouraged by Henny Herawati and Heranisvari and of course Mrs. and Mr. Kartawinata. Regarding the organisational matters, I took a lot of inspirations from ASBA. We look up to it when setting up our recruitment system, which is quite open and easy for anyone to join.

Eunike at one of her popular workshops, sharing knowledge and skills within a friendly environment is at the heart of  IDSBA

Q,  Indonesia is a very large country with many Islands, how do you promote the Society in such a large country?

A.  Since we are living in this era, when internet allows us to access and share things easily and globally, IDSBA is trying to make the best of social media or any feasible platform to promote our existence and botanical art in Indonesia. We also have offline activities in several cities, like painting days, workshops, mini trips, and many times we participated in education, art, or cultural events.

Q. What are the aims or plans for the Society and what do you feel is most important to achieve? Here are a few examples:  

Promote botanical art in Indonesia while promoting information about the importance and beauty of plants, particularly native Indonesian flora to the wider public. That’s the reason why we stick with native Indonesian plants themes for our annual exhibitions until now

o   Allow members to share and learn about their understanding of and illustration of plants in a botanically accurate way

o   Help members to improve the quality of their artwork by providing them with learning and sharing opportunities with other artists

o   Collaborate with other botanical or environmental organisations

o   Collaborate with botanical gardens

o   Organise annual exhibitions of members’ work  

Q. Do you have a structured annual plan for the IDSBA to help achieve your aims?
A. Sort of, but it’s not too strict. As a new society, we are still learning by doing. I think the committee is quite flexible while setting up the programs and plans that suit all of us.

Inspecting and reviewing work at the Ragam Flora Indonesia exhibition 

Q. Please tell us about some of the important things the Society has achieved to date, exhibitions, events, publications, sponsorship, media coverage etc. 

A.  Founded in late of 2017, we already had held 2 annual exhibitions. The 1^st “Ragam Flora Indonesia” exhibition (which was a part of the Botanical Art Worldwide) was held on 18-20 May 2018 in the Bogor Botanic Gardens in cooperation with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI). It was a beautiful coincidence that the botanical art day, 18 May 2018, was also the botanic garden’s 201st anniversary, which I believe helped us get the venue, which led to opening networking opportunities with other botanical organisations.

The 2^nd “Ragam Flora Indonesia” exhibition was held on 6-13 September 2019 in Bale Banjar Sangkring Art Gallery in Yogyakarta. This time it was in cooperation with the Faculty of Biology of Gadjah Mada University (UGM), one of the oldest universities in Indonesia. Since the second exhibition, we are lucky to have continual supports from The Tjiasmanto Conservation Fund. Later, it got us involved in a monograph project (forthcoming) as well.
Our exhibitions and events were covered by national television, radios, magazines, web sites, such as CNN Indonesia, Harper’s Bazaar Indonesia, National Geographic Indonesia. 

IDSBA have achieved much since their inception, having their exhibitions and events covered by national television and media, here and article by National Geographic Indonesia 

Media coverage at the Ragam Flora Indonesia exhibition 

Participating artists, Ragam Flora Indonesia 2 September 2019, Bale Bajar Sankring Art Gallery Yogykarta. Combining art and science through a collaboration with the Faculty of Biology, Gadjah Made University. 

Spacious gallery allowed at the Gadjah Made University

Q.  I know you planned to have third exhibition, 'Botanical Art for Friendship 2020', in Jakarta this year - in collaboration with the Korean Society. How did this collaboration come about? 

A.  At first, the Korea Botanical Arts Cooperative (KBAC) proposed a collaboration and asked for possibility to do an exhibition in Indonesia, which we happily accepted it. From our side, fortunately our previous exhibitions had introduced us to nationally prominent art curators, who helped us to propose our exhibition at the National Gallery of Indonesia, one of the most prestigious art venues in Indonesia. It is under the Ministry of Education and Culture. Later last year our proposal was accepted and our exhibition is supposedly set on this 9-28 June 2020, showing selected artworks of both countries’ native plants. 

Q.  Sadly Covid 19 has caused much disruption to exhibitions and events all over the world. Can you tell us what you have done to keep your members engaged in botanical art during this difficult time? 

A. Before this Covid 19 pandemic, we have offline regular painting day/meet up, some trips to botanical gardens or botanical institutions, and monthly online sessions. Due to the circumstances, we are focusing on online activities like painting/drawing challenges and BMB (Belajar Mandiri dan Berbagi, which means Independently Learn (then) Share), an online session using Zoom platform. Now we have more frequent, almost every weekend, meetings. Surprisingly the interest in joining the sessions is rising. Before, we only have about 20 members joined the session, now 35-50 members participate. Furthermore, the pandemic brought quite many new members to our society. I think the pandemic has blessings in disguise. We are happy that many members in different cities are now able to meet online and learn botanical art or about topics from their home. I am personally delighted to see many members, even the new ones, show progresses in their skills and knowledge.

In response to Covid 19 IDSBA have been pro active in focussing on more online activities, such as painting/drawing challenges and BMB (Belajar Mandiri dan Berbagi), which means 'Independently Learn (then) Share', which they share as online sessions using Zoom platform. Although IDSBA  always did communicate well using technology and social media, so this was a natural progression for them and they hold regular classes. Here Just one example of a Zoom class, as advertised on their Instagram. 

Regarding the BMB, each session has a specific theme, whether theoretical or practical, and it lasts about 1-3 hours. The practical sessions are usually followed with a homework; whose result can be posted on social media using a specific hash tag like #idsbadirumahaja on Instagram. So far we’ve learned and shared many things, e.g. painting leaves, mixing colours, ballpoint pen drawing, graphite, mixed media, tone and lighting, herbarium, artwork digitalisation, the history of botanical art, leaves morphology and more. All the slides or videos were archived and made accessible to the members. It is a fun way to learn!

Q.  Will the exhibition be rescheduled or are things still uncertain? 

A.  The exhibition will be rescheduled. We’re still waiting for the new schedule by the National Gallery of Indonesia. 

Q. Please provide links to the Society website and social media links  

A.  Website: www.idsba.com  Facebook: facebook.com/IDSBAart but the most up to date/active social media we have is Instagram account at instagram.com/idsba.

Thank you again to Eunike and IDSBA for participating in this article and for providing images. I'm sure you will all want to go check out their Instagram account now! 


All images copyright of IDSBA and their members. 

Sharon Tingey

This month's featuring artist is Sharon Tingey. She recently got her diploma with distinction in Botanical Illustration at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. 

Spring Flowers - watercolour on paper

 

1) First of all tell us a little about your background... where you grew up, where you live now, any jobs beside botanical art, family... stuff like that...

I grew up in rural Lincolnshire, where I spent much of my childhood up to my eyes in mud. I've lived in several places, including Coventry in the Midlands and Weston-Super-Mare near Bristol, but I now live in Edinburgh, a place where I really feel at home. Now I can't imagine living anywhere else.
I was always 'good at art', and I went from school to further education studying art.  However I was always a bit directionless and never seemed to settle into any discipline. Things came to a head when at Coventry University doing a Degree in Fine Art. What I thought of as fine art, and what my tutors thought of as fine art were apparently two very different things! I left there after two years as I had no interest in learning to talk pretentious bullsh*t about crap I knocked up five minutes before my finals.
I spent the next ten years getting married, having two children, working in home care for the elderly, and getting divorced.

2) How and when did you become interested in Botanical Art?

After I divorced I moved to Edinburgh and a friend here took me to visit the Royal Botanic Gardens. While we were sampling their excellent homemade soup in one of the cafes, I noticed a leaflet advertising a Diploma in Botanical Illustration. I knew immediately that it was something I'd been looking for all this time. I applied and was accepted.

3) Tell us a bit about your art training, your education and courses?

I have GCSE's (school leavers level 16+) in Art, and 3D art.
A Level (higher level) Art and Design
BTEC National Diploma in Art and Design
HND in General Education (this represents my two years of a Fine Art Degree)
These were all gained pre 1995.

Now of course I have a Diploma with distinction in Botanical Illustration from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

4) What’s the most valuable lesson you ever learned about drawing or painting?
Mix your own greens, and always add a little red

5) If you could choose a current botanical artist to watch over his/her shoulder when he/she is working.... who would you pick? Why you would choose this artist?

There are so many. Everyone has something that can be learned from. I've really enjoyed the chance to watch Lizzie Sanders at work, she teaches a part of the Diploma at the RBGE. 
I think Rachel Pedder-Smith would be great to watch as she does the type of subject I am very interested in - the dried nuts and seeds and so on.

6) Everybody learns all the time but is there something you would love to learn in botanical art more than anything else?

Complex forms, such as flowerheads full of stamens, or seedheads like the thistles and so on. 

7) Is there any subject or element within painting or drawing that you have difficulties with? Do you avoid these troubles or do you take a deep breath and go for it?
During my diploma I tried to push myself as much as possible. I did an entire painting of only yellow flowers for example. Yellow can actually be more difficult to depict than white, and I chose Primulas, Daffodils and yellowish foliage. I learned so much more that way, I think.

8) What is your best trick for fixing mistakes?

Don't make them! 
Actually, I tend to use Fabriano five paper and non-staining paints. This way I can lift off most mistakes with clean water and a stiff-ish brush. I've not needed to cut the paper or anything yet. 
Often my mistakes tend to be compositional or observational, and I end up restarting whole paintings as a consequence. Only more and more drawing beforehand and better observational skills can overcome these kinds of mistakes, so I keep practising.

9) Beginners are often very frightened of perspective. How did you learn to see and tackle perspective/foreshortening?

Perspective can be difficult. I think I had a headstart as I did life drawing from a model for many years, which really helped develop a good sense of perspective. I think the only way to learn it is to look and observe as closely as possible, and to practise, practise, practise. Draw what you see, not what you think you see.

Alnus glutinosa - watercolour on paper

10) Do you work with different mediums, and, is there one you prefer more than the others?
Pencil (graphite tonal work) and watercolour. I have used coloured pencils, but I think I'll leave them to the experts like Sigrid! I didn't really enjoy working with them so much. Now I tend to use coloured pencil (and gouache) to add accents to my work, or for really fine details like hairs. I use white gouache sparingly with my watercolours and find it good for doing bloom.

11) What are your favourite paints, brushes, paper or any other materials and tools? Why do you prefer these?
Fabriano 5, or Fabriano Artistico, depending on whether I want white or cream as a background. I've tried other papers and don't like any of them. Arches especially disagrees with me. The Fabriano is very forgiving, and allows erasing, lifting and plenty of re-drawing before becoming fuzzy, and even then is quite tolerant of being 'burnished' smooth with a piece of polished stone or the back of a spoon.
I use W&N artist's paints; My favourites at the moment are Indanthrene Blue, Perylene Maroon, Greengold, New Gamboge and Winsor Lemon.
W&N Series 7 miniature brushes. I mostly use a size 2, but use a 4 for larger washes (of which I don't do many) and a 000 for very fine details.
I have a putty rubber, which can be rolled over pencil to remove it, which disturbs the paper surface much less.  A piece of polished malachite for burnishing and a crow feather to brush dust or eraser bits from the painting (I never use my hand, as grease can be transferred to the paper that way)

12) Every plant has a different kind of green and artists need to be careful not to use the same green every time. Most botanical artists however have a green mix they love more than others. What is your favourite green mix?

Indanthrene Blue, with a touch of Perylene Maroon, and then either Winsor lemon, Greengold or New Gamboge for the yellow. Just about any shade of green can be made with these five colours.

13) What 6 colours would you choose for a basic botanical art palette?

The five above and maybe a premixed brown; like Sepia or Burnt Sienna.

14) Your workspace or studio... what does it look like?

It's a dedicated corner of my living room, basically a table with a table-easel on it, a stand for holding plant specimens and a box with all my 'stuff' in it. It's usually quite messy. It's right by the window (the window is on my left as I sit to paint) so I don't use artificial light sources.

15) Do you have a favourite book about botanical art?

Sarah Simblett's Botany for the Artist. Great illustrations and photos and very clear, easy to read text. Full of useful advice.
I also have some of Stellar Ross-Craig's Drawings of British Plants which are wonderful.

16) How would you describe your own style? What makes it differ from that of other artists?
My work has been described as very 'solid'.  I don't use much water and rarely do large washes.  As a result I think my work is bolder and looks more confident  than some others.

17) Do you have any favourite subjects or a plant you love to paint more than any other?

I love conifers, and pine cones. Everytime I go for a walk I come back with pockets full of pine cones and leaves and seeds.  I prefer green and brown plants to colourful flowers.

18) Do you have a favourite location to study and paint the local flora?

Scotland. I want to do more paintings of the local flora here.

19) What is your favourite painting or drawing made by yourself?

My favourite drawing is probably a pair of Bishop's Pine (Pinus muricata) cones attached to a short piece of branch that I did as preparation for my final diploma pieces.
My favourite painting is of the Alder (Alnus glutinosa) I did as my first year final piece.

20) What is your favourite painting or drawing by someone else?
The Monkey Puzzle by Isik Güner. It was exhibited here at the RBGE and later at BISCOT and the RHS, and is a wonderfully controlled depiction of a very complex subject.
http://chileanplants.rbge.org.uk/en/index.php/news/news_details/more-medals-for-iik-guener

Rosehips - graphite on paper

21) It’s always interesting to know which old master inspires you, do you have a particular favourite?

Da Vinci of course. I guess he kind of goes without saying.
I really like the Pre-Rahaelities for their bold realism and attention to detail and Alphonse Mucha for his beautiful flowing lines and subtle colouring.

22) Is there a current botanical artist that you admire?
Rachel Peddar-Smith, Lizzie Sanders, and Isik Güner.

23) What are you working on now? Or is it a secret?

I'm currently halfway through my spider plant. I should also be doing a small Alder piece, some Holly and a 'pink version' of my yellow flower composition.

24) What subject is on top of your wish list? The dream-project....

If we're talking dreams...I'd love to be the first Botanical Illustrator to paint a plant from another planet. While watching 'Avatar' recently I've been going mad trying to see the plants in more detail!  It really appeals to my geeky side.
More down to Earth: I'd like to do a book of all the rare Conifers (that's about half of all the species). 

25) Any final words?

You only improve by practising, and by doing things you are not comfortable doing. Push yourself and practise every day.

The word on the Distance learning course at the RBGE at the moment is that it'll be three years long (possibly 4) and will involve visiting the RBGE each year. They're also looking at introducing distance learning for more of their courses, including Botany and Science subjects. I'll keep you informed as I learn more.

And finally thanks for asking me to be artist of the month.


Sharon has a website where you can see more of her wonderful work: http://www.sharontingey.com/

cross section of a cone from Sciadopitys verticillata

Mindy Lighthipe

We're proud to have Mindy Lighthipe as our first Artist of the Month on this blog. A huge thank you to Mindy for taking the time to answer all the questions. 

Io Moth on Forest Pansy Redbud

1) First of all tell us a little about your background... where you grew up, where you live now, any jobs beside botanical art, family... stuff like that...

I am an only child and lived in New Jersey my entir life until this June, I now live in Gainesville Fl. I started collecting insects at the age of 5. I spent my summers outdoors at a YMCA camp which gave me a great appreciation for nature. I have a BFA & MFA in studio arts and art education. My major was actually in handweaving and textile design. I worked on a farm for 5 years where I apprenticed as a hand spinner and natural dyer. After graduation I worked for 15 years as a professional hand weaver making women's clothing and selling it through retail and wholesale venues. In 1990 I travelled to Costa Rica and fell in love with the flora and fauna. I decided to go back to school and study botanical illustration at the New York Botanical Garden. I was mostly interested in insect illustration but couldn't find anything but botanical illustrationa classes. After completing the certificate I started teaching at NYBG. In 1994 I became the coordinator until 2005. In 2000 I designed the certificate at NYBG in Natural Science Illustration. The program is in addition to the BIL certificate and is 250 hours. I started seriously painting in 2003 and began painting the life cycles of plants and insects, mostly butterfly host plants. My love for the tropics guided me towards leading tours for artists and photographers to exotic locations like Costa Rica, Belize, Galapagos, and Italy and France. I retired from NYBG so that I could paint more and pursue writing books. I am one of the 62 featured artists in the Contemporary Botanical Artists book. I wrote and illustrated Mother Monarch and Natures Wisdom Oracle Cards. I had a solo show at the Florida Museum of Natural History in 2010. I am currently exploring my new home and looking at what I want to do next!

2) How and when did you become interested in Botanical Art?

I always loved plants and animals. I became very interested in plants when I was growing natural dyes for spinning and weaving. I started more and more being concerned about growing native plants and sustainable gardening in the past 20 years. I joined the ASBA and GNSI in the early 90's. Working at NYBG certainly had a great impact on my life as did travelling to Costa Rica for the past 23 years. Exotic shapes and bold colors in both insects and plants are hard for me to pass up. For me, it is all about color, texture and patterns in both my hand weaving and my painting.

3) Tell us a bit about your art training, your education and courses?

I have a BFA, MFA from Kean University and Botanical illustration certificate from NYBG. I have taken classes with Jenny Philips, Margaret Saul, John Cody, Susan Fisher, Trudy Nicolson, and Billy Showell. I work in graphite, gouache, watercolor, pen & ink, scratchboard, colored pencil and pastel. I teach all of these mediums. I worked for a toy company doing animal drawings in pen & ink for 2 years. I have also done spot illustrations for magazines and journals over the years.

4) What’s the most valuable lesson you ever learned about drawing or painting?

In 2000 I was certified as an instructor by Dr Betty Edwards for "Drawing no the Right Side of the Brain". I learned that drawing was a skill, not a talent. Once the skill is learned it can be applied to any subject matter. I never realized this and thought that you needed a good amount of talent to pursue an art career. I learned that just like reading, driving and any other thing in life that if I was taught properly I could learn it. Talent comes into play after the skill is learned. It is the life experience, genetic disposition and environmental exposure that make up talent. Betty freed me from misconceptions about drawing. It was as if I saw the world with different eyes and there were no longer limitations. I always remember this for myself and teach it to my students.

5) If you could choose a current botanical artist to watch over his/her shoulder when he/she is working.... who would you pick? Why you would choose this artist?

My first response would have to be Jenny Phillips. I have watched her paint a few times and have learned so much. She is wonderful at demos and makes everything clear. An artist whose work I greatly admire is another Aussie, Susannah Blaxill. I paint boldly and so does she,but her eye for detail is amazing. I received the silver medal from the RHS and they commented that I could use more detail in my work. Most of the paintings were delicate and subtle. Mine are not. I like my style and wasn't sure I could obtain the level of detail in my work until I saw Blaxills work. I would love to see her paint.

6) Everybody learns all the time but is there something you would love to learn in botanical art more than anything else?

I might possibly like to learn oils. I love to take classes and I have taken so many that it is hard to say. I love to travel and find that I learn so much from going to places I have never been before. Oils are really the only medium I have never really learned that I haven't had an opportunity to study. I am currently studying intaglio printmaking and I love it. I want to keep going.

7) Is there any subject or element within painting or drawing that you have difficulties with? Do you avoid these troubles or do you take a deep breath and go for it?

I us to be awkward with foreshortening in drawing. I used to turn the plant or alter the view just to avoid it. Now I realized that this is not a good idea and that I things I were the most difficult was exactly where I needed to focus. I now purposely do things that are difficult for me. I also struggle with backgrounds and tackle them in my non-botanical work. I am still struggling. I love how John Cody combines his realism with his crazy abstract backgrounds. For me they are the very best. They are a challenge and fun to do but I am still working on it.

8) What is your best trick for fixing mistakes?

I love Mr Cleans magic eraser sponge to fix painting errors. I have 10 cats and they like to walk through my palette and onto the paper. I try to remember to cover the palette and painting when I leave the studio but one of them gets me every time. Mr Cleans magic eraser works miracles. There is some talk about them ruining the paper, but I have never had a problem with it. It is easy to use and corrects mistakes as well as cat tracks even with staining pigments.

9) Beginners are often very frightened of perspective. How did you learn to see and tackle perspective/foreshortening?

I learned perspective by learning the conventional way with 1, 2, & 3 point perspective, a pencil and a ruler. I hated it! I then learned to use plexi-glas as a picture plane to see foreshortening This was taught to me by Betty Edwards. I still use plexi-glas if I am having trouble "seeing" something. I isolate it and trace it on the plexi-glas and then look at it again. The isolation really helps to see the foreshortening and get it onto the paper properly. I also learned to measure and that helps too although I don't like to measure.

10) Do you work with different mediums, and, is there one you prefer more than the others?

I work in lots of mediums. Since I learned watercolor about 10 years ago I paint mostly in watercolor. I combine watercolor and gouache when I have something furry, feathery or hairy to paint. Gouache is my medium of choice for animals and birds. I love colored pencil during football season! I can easily watch the games with my husband and keep on working. It is easy to do anywhere. Scratchboard is my preference when I have black & white commercial jobs. It is easily correctable and I like working positive to negative and back again. It is richer than just straight pen and ink. For my books I work in wc, gouache, colored pencil and pastel. PanPastels are my new favorite medium. I have always loved pastels but didn't like the fact that they were so dusty. They seemed too dangerous to work in. The PanPastels have minimal dust and they are vibrant and work great over gouache and watercolor.

Dandelion Leaves
Gouache and Graphite Pencil

11) What are your favourite paints, brushes, paper or any other materials and tools? Why do you prefer these?

Fabriano Soft and Hot Press Watercolor paper 140lb and 300lb. These are my favorite papers to work on. They take a beating and have made painting so much easier than the other brands. I hate Arches. I know most people use it but I struggle so much with it I almost gave up painting! Once I switched to Fabriano it was so much better.

Daniel Smith watercolor paints are my favorite. I really love the granulating pigments as they lend themselves to my wet bold painting technique.

I use Turner gouache. It is far superior to Winsor&Newton. I have used a few others like MGraham, but i like Turner the best. It reconstitutes very well and is very cost efficient.

I use CHEAP brushes! I have tried expensive sable brushes and they are too mushy for me. I like Loew Cornell brushes and Robert Simmons White Sable. I also like the short round type brushes that are called detail brushes. Since I love to draw with the brush I like a stiffer point.

I love my kneaded eraser! It is one tool I couldn't live without. I use it all the time for graphite and it helps to get a wonderful range of tones. I also like an electric eraser by Sakura. It is expensive but it works great on all kinds of paper. The cheaper brands are not worth a penny. The rotation is too slow.

I LOVE MY iPAD!!!! I have given up getting pictures developed. I work from my digital pics to see details. I prefer it to my microscope. I take macro pics and then can enlarge them on the iPad. One of my goals was to go as paperless as possible and the iPad is just the most awesome thing I have encountered.

12) Every plant has a different kind of green and artists need to be careful not to use the same green every time. Most botanical artists however have a green mix they love more than others. What is your favourite green mix?

I mix Hansa Yellow Light with Ultramarine Blue and a tint of Cerulean Blue for my basic greens.

I use Perylene Green with this mixture to make dark deep greens. These are all Daniel Smith paints.

13) What 6 colours would you choose for a basic botanical art palette?

Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean Blue, Hansa Yellow Light, Permanent Yellow Deep, Quinacridone Magenta, Carmine Red
Daniel Smith

14) Your workspace or studio... what does it look like?

I just moved from a huge studio where I gave classes to my new studio. the new house had 3 bedrooms on the second floor and we tore down 2 of them to make one big room for my studio and a guest bedroom. There is a full bath joining the 2 rooms. I use the bathroom for printmaking. This is where I keep my acid solutions etc. I changed out the sink to a stainless steel sink that is very deep to avoid splashing. I have 2 flatfiles and a computer area. The floors are hardwood and there is plenty of natural light. I am working on a folding table because I sold my drafting table when I moved. I have a big closet for supplies and book shelves everywhere. I will probably buy a permanent table soon but haven't found anything I really like so for now it works.

15) Do you have a favourite book about botanical art?

I really love Billy Showells books. I have all of them and I think she has a fresh and wonderful approach to botanical art. If I could only have one book I would choose Plant Terminology by James Harris and Melinda Woolf Harris. The reason is this: I am awful with plant morphology and it is the BEST book I have found that not only defines the parts in wonderful written form, but there is a picture for each plant part. I am more a visual learner and have no memory for technical terms! It is the best cheat sheet out there.

Biriba Fruit & Butterfly
Gouache and Graphite

16) How would you describe your own style? What makes it differ from that of other artists?

My work is bold and bright. I have an over the top sense of color at times. The Royal Horticultural Society said that my work had "Great Wall Appeal". I agree with them. It jumps off the wall from a distance. Most botanical artists have a quiet way about their work, more intimate. You have to get up close to appreciate the detail and delicate strokes. I also think that I have so much fun with what I am doing that it shows through. I love to laugh and enjoy things and I think that people can see it when they view my work.

17) Do you have any favourite subjects or a plant you love to paint more than any other?

I love to paint orchids and anything that is exotic and flashy. And of course I love to paint INSECTS!!! I am not great with small flowers or weeds.

18) Do you have a favourite location to study and paint the local flora?

Hands down- COSTA RICA! I have been travelling there for 23 years and I always discover something fantastic. I started leading tours there so that I could continue to paint. I am never without too many things to paint. I adore it there. Now that I have moved to Florida there are the some of the same subjects here, but Costa Rica still holds for me the best place on earth.

19) What is your favourite painting or drawing made by yourself?

I really love my profile picture. It is a red-eyed tree frog and is part of painting I did over 10 years ago. For some reason it holds up for me. I sold it years ago and I scanned it. Just this last week I got new business cards done and decided to use it. This painting was done in gouache before I knew how to paint in watercolor. Here is the entire painting.

My favorite botanical is the one of the Passiflora and Julia Butterfly. I did this after I saw Susannah Blaxill's work and decided that I should try to get to the next level if I could. It slowed me down and I think that I am getting better and being more careful.

Julia Butterfly- Lifecycle
Gouache and graphite on 300lb Watercolor paper

20) What is your favourite painting or drawing by someone else?

Anything by John Cody. I have several of his prints and I adore his work. I also love the radish that is in Shirley Sherwood's book by Susannah Blaxill. It is soooooo amazing! I got to see it in person at the Shirley Sherwood gallery at Kew.

21) It’s always interesting to know which old master inspires you, do you have a particular favourite?

I love Henri Rousseau. I love the mystery in his paintings. I read that he had never been to the tropics, but only visited botanical gardens. His work is not realistic but it is mystical. As for traditional botanical artists I admire the freshness of Redoute. His work reads contemporary to me. So many of the other painters had an old appearance. His work looks like it was painted yesterday with the exception of the fugitive pigments.

22) Is there a current botanical artist that you admire?

Jenny Phillips, Susannah Blaxill. I recently have grown to love Luca Massenzio Palermo's work. I have been seeing his work on the Botanical Art Forum and it is breathtaking.

23) What are you working on now? Or is it a secret?

I am currently in a bit of limbo. Having just moved I am still learning about my surroundings and getting my studio set up. I am teaching a pastel class with watercolor, gouache and silverpointe in November and I think I will start playing around with this. I have also started a series of paintings from my local HomeDepot. The major growers of tropicals are here in my area and they are CHEAP! I have been buying plants like they are going out of style. Can't get enough!!!!

24) What subject is on top of your wish list? The dream-project....

I have a cat in the garden book I am dying to do. It combines everything I love. I just have to get my act together and go for it!

25) Any final words?

I am open for questions. I love to share and do not feel that I need to hold what I know close to me. I love to learn from others and I have learned so much from teaching. Beginners ask questions that I take for granted and ask questions I never thought of. I have heard that my passion for what I do is contagious, I hope so.

Mindy Lighthipe on Internet:

www.studio16online.com
www.flickr.com/photos/bugsbeastsbotanicals
www.facebook.com/BugsBeastsBotanicals.TheArtofMindyLighthipe
www.BotanicalArtPainting.com/ (Mindy's Blog)