BOTANICAL ART TALKS
Meet the artists behind the art, as they talk through
favourite botanical art projects or techniques.
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These one-hour online talks, started during the Pandemic, aim to connect those inspired by botanical art at every level, whether beginner or professional artist. Presentations (delivered via Zoom) are richly illustrated with examples of artwork and/or technique demonstrations, followed by the opportunity for Q&A. Every talk is unique in style, reflecting the personality and interests of each artist.
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Scroll down to see upcoming speakers. Book to either watch live, giving you the opportunity to interact with the speaker, or to watch a recording during the following week. (You can view short extracts from previous talks and full-length Best Bits videos HERE).
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Book more than one month in advance for a 25% discount. Further discounts are available periodically to newsletter subscribers.
Please read notes below or see comprehensive frequently-asked-questions HERE
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NEW FOR 2026​
TUTORIAL TALKS
Alongside the regular talks, I am introducing tutorials by leading botanical art tutors. These can be watched in the usual way, but are designed to take you start to finish through a subject, idea or focus, giving you the option to revisit and replicate the tutorial for two weeks following the live session, pausing the video as needed. These tutorials give you a taster of the tutors' style of teaching and will be accompanied by a materials list and any relevant tutor's notes. Look for the 'pink' boxes below.
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AUDIENCE ART
I am looking to showcase botanical artwork by audience members, at the end of each talk (One artwork per artist after one talk, of your own choice. Let's encourage one another! SUBMIT HERE
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VIEWING TIME
Access to recordings will be extended to two weeks, during which time you can view or revisit as often as you like.
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DISCOUNT
Subscribe to my newsletter (at the bottom of this page) to receive a £1 discount on each talks booked during January.
8 January 2026 RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE
2025 TALKS - BEST BITS
curated by Julia Trickey
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In the FREE webinar, Julia reflects on the speakers and talks from 2025 sharing video extracts and images from many of the sessions.
2025 Speakers included: Ann Swan, Billy Showell, Laura Silburn, Jessica Daigle, Sharon Field, Ly Nguyen, Laurence Hill, Daleen Roodt, Sue Wickison, Simon Williams, BAWW and RHS exhibitors, Sandrine Maugy, Emma van Klaveren, Vlada Repina, Mary Dillon, Isabel Mischka, Rhonda Nass, Alice Rosa, Deborah Lambkin, Sarah Morrish, Christiane Fashek, Lizzie Harper.
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Julia has been a botanical artist for over 25 years, exhibiting and teaching regularly in the UK and beyond, both face-to-face and online. She has many awards for her artwork and her work is held on prestigious collections.
Full profile here
Julia started these talks during the Pandemic as a way of supporting those passionate about botanical art at every level. She hosts internationally recognised artists and the talks now regularly attract a worldwide audience.
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FREE
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29 January 2026 - 7pm GMT
A FYNBOS LOVE AFFAIR
Vicki Thomas
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Vicki has spent over 40 years painting almost exclusively South African plants, mostly from the Western Cape, home of the richly diverse biome named Fynbos. This talk is about her life in botanical art, what she has learned along the way and some of her most memorable experiences with painting plants.
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Vicki Thomas has scientific works in several publications and mongraphs. She has artworks in exhibitions and collections worldwide, including The Shirley Sherwood Collection and several Florilegia. Over the years has taught many other botanical artists, been involved in the creation of The Botanical Artists’ Assoc of South Africa, curated exhibitions, and given talks. She has now retired but remains involved in assisting artists primarily through her last project - the Grootbos Florilegium.
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
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£12 (£9 If booked before end of January).
Recordings are available for two weeks.
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AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.​​
12 February 2026 - 7pm GMT
CLASSICAL TECHNIQUES
M. Joy Lemon
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Joy will guide you through the two foundational techniques of her classical training: the block-in method for achieving accurate proportions, and turning form to create volume and depth through subtle, nuanced value transitions. She will share her preferred materials and in-progress images while demonstrating these time-tested methods.
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M. Joy Lemon is a professional artist and instructor creating work in the classical realist style with an emphasis on luminosity and depth. Her approach combines extensive atelier training with the delicate precision of botanical illustration, whether she is painting in oils or drawing with charcoal and chalk. She seeks to capture the feeling of light, the beauty of it as it washes over a form and is absorbed, reflected, and illuminated within.
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£12 (£9 if booked before 12 January)
Recordings are available for two weeks.
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AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.​​​​
19 February 2026 - 7pm GMT (Rescheduled from 15 January)
PAINT A PEONY
TUTORIAL by Elaine Searle
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Elaine will show you how to paint Peony 'Coral Charm' in Watercolour. Typical of her close cropped compositions, techniques will include both washes and dry brushing. Demonstrations will be a mixture of sped up and actual speed video.
With over 20 years experience as a botanical artist Elaine Searle is also an internationally acclaimed tutor. Her work is held in The Hunt Institute, private collections and several Florilegia. She is member of the ASBA, Fellow of the SBA and member of the ABA.
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WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | PATREON​​​​​
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£12 (£9 If booked before end of January).
Recordings are available for two weeks.
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AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.​
26 February 2026 - 8pm GMT
CONTEMPORARY ART PRACTISE
John Pastoriza-Piñol
This talk explores John’s contemporary botanical art practise, examining how he balances scientific accuracy with personal expression. It considers the materials, techniques, and conceptual approaches that shape his current work within today’s visual culture. John will also present selected new works, from his highly anticipated solo exhibition scheduled for mid–late 2026.
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John Pastoriza-Piñol has received numerous prestigious awards, including the AmericanSociety of Botanical Artists (ASBA) Dianne Bouchier Award for Excellence in Botanical Art in 2013. His artwork is held in collections worldwide, including the National Gallery of Victoria, the Art Gallery of Ballarat, the Hunt Institute (USA), the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew (UK) and Melbourne, RMIT University, and the Collection of Alisa and Isaac M. Sutton. Additionally, he has contributed to the Highgrove and Transylvania Florilegia.​​​​​​​
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£12 (£9 if booked before 26 January)​​​
Recordings are available for two weeks.​
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AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.​
12 March 2026 - 7pm GMT
ILLUSTRATING SCIENCE
THROUGH ART
Christine Battle​
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Curtis's Botanical Magazine is the world’s longest running, continuously published botanical publication, having been founded in 1787 for the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. Christine will give us an insight into the process and problems of producing finely detailed illustrations for the magazine.
Christine has been painting for Curtis since 2012 and was awarded an RHS Gold Medal in 2010. Her work is held in numerous private and public collections, she is a member of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society, the Sydney Botanic Garden Florilegium and is a Fellow the the Linnean Society. She has also contributed three paintings to the King’s Transylvania Florilegium.
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£12 (£9 if booked before 12 February)
Recordings are available for two weeks.
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AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.​​
26 March 2026 - 7pm GMT
OIL OVER WATERCOLOUR
Svetlana Lanse
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Torn between her love for oil and watercolour, Svetlana reveals how she discovered an archival technique that combines the best qualities of both mediums. She offers personal tips and insights for working with these materials, accompanied by photos and videos of her workflow that demonstrate exactly how she layers them to create the final piece.
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Svetlana Lanse holds a Master's degree in Miniature and Decorative Painting and studied classical academic oil painting at the university before establishing herself in botanical watercolour. Her works are held in prestigious archives, including the Dr. Shirley Sherwood Collection and the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation. Currently, she combines her artistic practice with teaching, sharing her expertise in watercolor techniques.
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£12 (£9 if booked before 26 February)
Recordings are available for two weeks.
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AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.​​
9 April 2026 - 7pm GMT
ALL ABOUT VELLUM
Gael Sellwood
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Gael will describe how and why she paints on vellum. Drawing on more than 25 years of research, she will talk through the different types of vellum and how to prepare it, the best watercolour techniques to use, through to mounting and framing. She will also talk about her recent experience of painting on vellum formerly owned by Rory McEwen.
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Gael Sellwood is a UK botanical and natural history artist. A member and former president of the Society of Botanical Artists and an RHS gold medal winner, she has several paintings in the Shirley Sherwood collection, the Hunt Institute and the RHS Lindley Library. Her painting career started over 30 years ago, and initially ran alongside her management consultancy career where she ran a successful practice for many years. In her forties she left that behind to focus on painting and teaching painting.
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£12 (£9 if booked before 9 March).
Recordings are available for two weeks.
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AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.​
23 April 2026 - 7pm GMT
DRAWING AND DISSECTION
TUTORIAL by Lucy T Smith
Flowers are “more than just a pretty face.” To portray flowers with accuracy and true understanding, we must dig a little deeper into their botany and anatomy. Lucy will show you how to get started with flower drawing by: recognising universal shapes, observing the numbers and arrangement of floral parts, and understanding flower symmetry before dissecting and drawing them to show how all of these elements work together.
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Lucy T Smith, an Australian botanical artist and illustrator, is passionate about combining art and science. She has worked and taught as a botanical illustrator for Kew Gardens and beyond for the past 30 years. Lucy’s classes and book “Botanical Sketchbooks, An Artist’s Guide to Plant Studies” (The Crowood Press, 2024) have helped many gain the confidence to start studying and drawing plants in a detailed and methodical way.​
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
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£12 (£9 if booked before 23 March)
Recordings are available for two weeks.
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AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.​
7 May 2026 - 7pm GMT
EMERGING COMPOSITION
TUTORIAL by Sarah Morrish
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Many find composition challenging. In this session, Sarah will demonstrate one approach where you can use a gradually emerging composition as a learning tool within your creative practice. Using seasonal flora as subject matter, Sarah will guide you through the stages of bringing individual elements together to create a dynamic and aesthetically pleasing illustration.
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Sarah aims to inspire and encourage others to be more aware of the diverse and fascinating kingdom of plants, as well as animal species and the wider environment. She is a passionate educator who teaches for botanical art and natural science organisations, as well as her own popular courses and workshops across the UK, overseas and online. She is also author of the popular book, 'Natural History Illustration in Pen and Ink'.
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
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£12 (£9 if booked before 7 April)
Recordings are available for two weeks.
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AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.​
21 May 2026 - 7pm GMT
INSIDE WATERCOLOUR
BOTANICAL ART
Sarah Howard
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Watercolour Botanical Art is a new book for beginners in botanical painting, based on plant form, from the RHS. Sarah takes pages from the book to describe how it aims to inform, inspire and encourage, with tips and illustrations by artists from all over the world, including Rachel Pedder Smith.
Sarah Howard is an experienced botanical artist and writer based in Scotland. She gained a distinction in botanical illustration from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, and she won a RHS gold medal for Aloes in the Horn of Africa. She has illustrated plants in Ethiopia, Romania and in the UK in both watercolour and pen and ink.
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£12 (£9 if booked before 21 April)
Recordings are available for two weeks.
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AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.​​
4 June 2026 - 7pm GMT
GOSH - IT'S GOUACHE!
TUTORIAL by Simon Williams
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Simon will give a short botanical art tutorial on painting with gouache. Using step-by step videos, you will discover the fundamentals of gouache application on white paper. This taster tutorial is designed to show how versatile gouache application is and gosh….it is not that scary to use as a botanical art painting medium.
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Simon Williams is an RHS Gold medalist and one of the UK’s leading botanical painters. Originally training as a natural history illustrator, Simon worked as a freelance illustrator for agencies and publishers. He has tutored and led workshops for most of the main UK botanical societies and Florilegia. He runs his own 12-month mentored course programme in botanical painting both intermediate and advanced and is also the Course Director and moderator for the Society of Botanical Artists.
WEBSITE
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£12 (£9 if booked before 4 May).
Recordings are available for two weeks.
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AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.
18 June 2026 - 7pm GMT
CHARCOAL BOTANICAL ART
Nick McMillen
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This talk explores the artist’s botanical charcoal practice, focusing on the act of drawing trees as a method of close observation and material dialogue. Through the making of a new charcoal drawing of the Queen Elizabeth Oak, the artist reflects on time, growth, and the transformation of plant matter into mark and memory.
Nick McMillen is an artist and craftsman whose practice grows from a deep connection to woodlands and natural materials. His work spans botanical charcoal drawings that reveal the intricate beauty of British trees, plants, and lichens, and traditional tree-bark weaving that marries ancient craft with contemporary expression. Through his art, he invites close attention to the wonders of the natural world and a greater sense of care for its preservation.
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£12 (£9 if booked before 18 May)
Recordings are available for two weeks..
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AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.​​
NOTES
• Talks are delivered via Zoom Webinars (You will not be seen or heard, but you can write comments or questions via a Q&A box.).
• Talks are recorded and available to view or revisit for two weeks, making the talks accessible, regardless of your time zone or other commitments.
• Captions are available for the hard-of-hearing and, if watching live, in a range of languages.
• There is a 25% discount if you book more than a month in advance.
• You can cancel your registration at any time before the date of the talk.
• @botanicalarttalks is now on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, highlighting the artwork of BAT speakers past and future.
More Frequently Asked Questions HERE
PREVIOUS SPEAKERS INCLUDE: Julia Trickey, Elaine Searle, Laura Silburn, Sarah Gould, Mary Dillon, Ann Swan, Helen Allen, Transylvania School f Botanic Art, Martin Allen, IÅŸik Güner, Sue Wickison, Deborah Lambkin, Lucy T Smith, Simon Williams, Carol Woodin, Chris Thorogood, Sarah Jane Humphrey, Rui Jiang, RHS Show exhibitors, Carrie Di Costanzo, Sarah Morrish, Mariella Baldwin, Katherine Tyrrell, Yanny Petters, Lara Call Gastinger, Gill Condy, Rogerio Lupo, Janie Pirie, Pamela Taylor, Penny Brown, Julia Patience. Eden Project Florilegium Society. John Pastoriza-Piñol, Wendy Hollender, Shevaun Doherty, Esmée Winkel, Margaret Saylor, Denise Walsar-Kolar, Asuka Hishiki, Bridget Gillespie, Bobbi Angell, Ùrsula Romero, Christiane Fashek, Mindy Lighthipe, Crystal Shin, Susannah Blaxill, Roger Reynolds (IAPI), Helen Cousins, François Sockhom Mey, Sandrine Maugy, Guy Eves, Billy Showell, Sharon Field. Charlotte Brooks, Ly Nguyen, BAWW exhibitors, Laurence Hill, Emma van Klaveren, Daleen Roodt, Vlada Repina, Isabel Mischka, Rhonda Nass, Alice Rosa.