BOTANICAL ART TALKS
Meet the artists behind the art, as they talk through
favourite botanical art projects or techniques.
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.
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).
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
22 October 2026 - 7pm BST
QUICK MIXED MEDIA
TECHNIQUES
Wendy Hollender
For the past five years, Wendy has been creating The Album of Plant Families, featuring 24 large, detailed paintings of related plants. To complete the project more efficiently, she developed a technique combining coloured pencil and watercolour, which she will demonstrate in this presentation.
Wendy Hollender is a renowned botanical artist and author whose work has been exhibited at Kew Gardens, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Smithsonian, and featured in The New York Times and O: The Oprah Magazine. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, she authored bestselling books including The Joy of Botanical Drawing and Botanical Drawing in Color, and teaches botanical drawing worldwide.
WEBSITE | EDUCATIONAL WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
£12 (£9 if booked before 22 September)
Recordings are available the day after the live event, for two weeks.
AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.
5 November 2026 - 7pm GMT
MACQUARIE ISLAND FLORA
Maura Chamberlain
Maura’s recent work and talk will be about the flora of Macquarie Island - the world’s southernmost plant growing environment - and her project as a recipient of an Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship, which resulted in an exhibition and the book Saving Macquarie Island launching in May 2026.
Maura is a botanical artist working in Lutruwita/Tasmania. She trained at the Chelsea School of Botanical Illustration, Chelsea Physic Garden, London graduating in 2018. Maura returned to live in Tasmania, her childhood home, in early 2020. Her interest is in endemic and native species in their original locations.
£12 (£9 if booked before 5 October)
Recordings are available the day after the live event, for two weeks.
AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.
19 November 2026 - 7pm GMT
EMBROIDERING THE UNDERSTORY
Amanda Cobbett
What if a walk in a forest led to a new career path? Amanda Cobbett trained as a textile designer, but moving to the countryside 20 years ago shifted her focus from fast fashion to slow textiles. Inspired by overlooked forest species, she stitches them into being, to highlight their importance in our ecosystem. She invites you to tumble down the metaphoric rabbit hole with her through stitch and science.
Amanda Cobbett is an award-winning textile artist of over 30 years. Inspired by daily dog walks, she collects and studies forest debris, then uses a sewing machine to build layered thread into detailed textile sculptures. (Sometimes 130,000 stitches a day!) Amanda’s creations are not only a textile tour de force but are educational, highlighting the beauty and diversity of the undergrowth.
£12 (£9 if booked before 19 October)
Recordings are available the day after the live event, for two weeks.
AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.
3 December 2026 - 7pm GMT
PAINTING FRUIT WITH BLOOM
Liz Shippam
Liz will talk about how fruits with their natural protective waxy coatings became her favourite subjects to paint, exploring the visual appeal and subtle challenges they present. She will describe her approach to observing these surfaces closely and explain the techniques she uses in watercolour to capture their sheen, texture, and depth with accuracy and delicacy.
Liz Shippam likes to paint fruit before it reaches the supermarket shelves and to share its often unnoticed beauty through her work. She aims to capture something transient, a moment of stillness in a shifting world, which she hopes the viewer will feel. Liz exhibits in the UK and overseas and in recent years has begun sharing her practice through her own workshops and at West Dean College.
£12 (£9 if booked before 3 November)
Recordings are available the day after the live event, for two weeks.
AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.
10 December 2026 - 7pm GMT (Rescheduled from 8 October)
REALISM ON BLACK
BACKGROUNDS
Viv Rew
Vivienne will describe how she creates large paintings on black backgrounds.
She will share tips on how she uses photography, watercolour painting techniques and the use of acrylic markers to create dramatic, realistic images, accompanied by step-by-step photos of her workflow.
Vivienne Rew is a UK botanical artist. She has a SilverGilt RHS medal and artwork in the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation. She currently runs her artistic practice alongside her full-time career as an art director for fashion brands.
£12
Recordings are available the day after the live event, for two weeks.
AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.
17 December 2026 - 7pm GMT
ARTISTS TOGETHER
hosted by Julia Trickey
Three leading botanical artists compare notes on subjects such as current projects, favourite piece of equipment, guilty secrets and top tips.
LARA CALL GASTINGER is a botanical artist and illustrator in Central Virginia, USA with two gold medals awarded by the RHS . She was the chief illustrator for the Flora of Virginia Project. and is renowned for teaching how to create and maintain a perpetual journal.
DALEEN ROODT
Daleen specialises in indigenous orchids of South Africa. She has a passion for painting outdoors and portraying in situ scenes. Her work is in the Shirley Sherwood Collection as well as the Grootbos Florilegium. In 2024 her RHS exhibition received a Gold Medal, Best on Show and People’s Choice Award, and she received Best in Show at ASBA’s 27th Annual International Exhibition.
THIRD ARTIST TBC
£12 (£9 if booked before 17 November)
Recordings are available the day after the live event, for two weeks.
AUDIENCE ART - Display your artwork at the end of this talk - SUBMIT HERE.
![3970 TRAILER Julia Trickey [CRA] 009_edited_edited.png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/595fa9_b21502ee222249f390bed0b477c99de0~mv2.png/v1/crop/x_0,y_112,w_832,h_832/fill/w_86,h_86,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/3970%20TRAILER%20Julia%20Trickey%20%5BCRA%5D%20009_edited_edited.png)
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, Işik 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, Joy Lemon, Christine Battle, Svetlana Lanse, Gael Sellwood, Nick McMillen, Megan Seiter.