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
23 April 2026 - 7pm RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE
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.
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
£12 RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE
Recordings are available the day after the live event, for two weeks.
7 May 2026 - 7pm BST
ILLUSTRATING NATURAL
HISTORY LANDSCAPES
Typically, botanical illustrators depict plants on a white or plain background. But what if you are commissioned to show these plants in their natural habitat? Lizzie Harper explains how she researches, plans and composes her natural history landscapes and habitats, which may include birds, animals and butterflies, as well as plants.
Lizzie Harper is an experienced natural history and botanical illustrator whose work appears in books and magazines around the world, on postage stamps and mugs. She lives very happily in Hay on Wye, England and works her garden studio surrounded by plants and birds.
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
£12 (£9 if booked before 7 April)
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.
21 May 2026 - 7pm BST
INSIDE WATERCOLOUR
BOTANICAL ART
Sarah Howard with Rachel Pedder-Smith
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.
£12 (£9 if booked before 21 April)
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.
4 June 2026 - 7pm BST
GOSH - IT'S GOUACHE!
TUTORIAL by Simon Williams
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 for botanical art.
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
£12 (£9 if booked before 4 May).
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.
18 June 2026 - 7pm BST
CHARCOAL BOTANICAL ART
Nick McMillen
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.
£12 (£9 if booked before 18 May)
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.
2 July 2026 - 7pm BST
ORCHIDS FROM FIELD TO STUDIO
Carol Woodin
Carol has had a never-waning obsession with painting orchids for decades and is continually surprised by the unexpected projects and travels it inspires. Taking viewers on a journey through these fascinating projects, Carol will show how she creates field studies of orchids that must stay where they are. She’ll demonstrate how she uses these studies in the studio to create fully realized watercolor paintings on vellum.
Drawn into a 35-year companionship with botanical art, Carol Woodin has painted on vellum since the mid-90s and taught her techniques internationally. Her orchid paintings appear in three monographs published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. In 1995, she received an RHS Gold Medal, and most recently the Shirley Sherwood Award for 'broad and significant contributions to botanical art'.
£12 (£9 if booked before 2 June)
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.
16 July 2026 - 7pm BST
MIXING GREENS
TUTORIAL by Laura Silburn
Do you struggle to match the greens used most in botanical art? Laura demystifies mixing greens, explains the difference between colour and tone, why accuracy matters, and how using three primaries simplifies the process. She shares her method with a specific set of primaries and explores additional pigment properties to refine your mixes.
Laura Silburn is a botanical artist and tutor based in Devon and Cornwall. She is Vice Chair of the Eden Project Florilegium Society and teaches at the Eden Project, Heligan Gardens, RHS Rosemoor, and overseas. She has three RHS Gold Medals and multiple awards, with work held internationally. Recently, she illustrated 'Ferns: Lessons in Survival from Earth's Most Adaptable Plants' by Fay-Wei Li and Jacob Suissa, and continues to follow her love of painting ferns.
WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK
£12 (£9 if booked before 16 June)
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.
30 July 2026 - 7pm BST
PRIMROSE: LAYERING
WITH A LIMITED PALETTE
TUTORIAL by Helen Cousins
In this talk, Helen guides you through a complete primrose flower study from start to finish, demonstrating how a limited palette can produce luminous, richly detailed results. With a focus on her signature layering technique, Helen shows how building colour gradually in transparent washes brings depth, delicacy and life to this beautiful spring subject.
Helen Cousins is a botanical watercolour artist and teacher with over a decade of experience. Graduating with a distinction from the Society of Botanical Artists Distance Learning Diploma, she teaches students in 46 countries through her online courses, known for their warmth and focus on close observation.
£12 (£9 if booked before 30 June)
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.
13 August 2026 - 7pm BST
MIXED MEDIA TECHNIQUES
Megan Seiter
In this talk, Megan Seiter shares her approach to creating botanical still life drawings using colored pencil and pastel. She explores how colored pencil allows for fine detail and luminous layers of color, while pastel pencils and PanPastel help build texture and atmosphere. Megan will walk through her process and the reasoning behind combining these materials to create depth, softness, and realism.
Megan Seiter is a botanical artist known for her highly detailed colored pencil drawings that explore flowers in a still life setting. Her work combines traditional colored pencil techniques with mixed media to create soft, atmospheric drawings. She also teaches online courses focused on helping students develop strong foundational skills and their own artistic voice.
WEBSITE | EDUCATIONAL WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK
£12 (£9 if booked before 13 July)
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.
20 August 2026 - 7pm BST
LIGHTING DETAILS
Helen Allen
Helen has always been fascinated by pattern and the effect light has on patterned forms and what happens in the shadows. Helen will explain through illustrations and demonstrations how to achieve the maximum effect with the minimum of fuss.
Helen, originally trained in textile design and teaching, has been a botanical artist and tutor for 27 years. She taught at the English Gardening School before founding the Chelsea School of Botanical Art. Her work is held in UK and international collections, including the Highgrove and Transylvania Florilegia, both of which she led. She recently completed a residency at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation in Virginia, USA, and in 2025 was invited to teach online classes for the Royal Academy of Arts, London.
£12 (£9 if booked before 20 July)
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 September 2026 - 7pm BST
MIXING AND SHADING
IN COLOURED PENCIL
Janie Pirie
With hundreds of coloured pencils available, choosing the right shades for botanical art can be both exciting and challenging. This session explores reliable professional options and how to mix colours for accuracy and lifelike results. Janie will guide you through selecting and layering colours, including underpainting for shadows, with a live demonstration included.
Janie Pirie is a double RHS gold medallist, a Fellow member of the Society of Botanical Artists, a Fellow of the Linnean Society and a gold member of the UK Coloured Pencil Society. She is also a tutor of the SBA’s Distance Learning Diploma Course. Her work is held in the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation and Kew Gardens.
WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK
£12 (£9 if booked before 17 August)
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.
24 September 2026 - 7pm BST
CHINESE BOTANICAL ART
Charlotte Brooks
The RHS Reeves collection of Chinese botanical watercolours played a significant role in supporting nineteenth century botanical enquiry. China was rich in flora that was to become increasingly popular for British gardeners. And agents used drawings to help identify the plants they wanted. Yet often these artworks hold other cultural clues – critically, how they were named, used and described by local Chinese audiences.
Charlotte Brooks is the RHS Art Curator. She is Secretary of the RHS Botanical Art Judging Panel and co-curates the RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show at the Saatchi Gallery, London. She is currently undertaking a PhD at Queen Mary University London and has a number of publications to her name.
Image - RHS Reeves Collection / RHS Lindley Collections
£12 (£9 if booked before 24 August)
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.
8 October 2026 - 7pm BST
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 Siver Gilt RHS medal and work 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 (£9 if booked before 8 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.
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 Shippham
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.
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.
CHRISTINA HART-DAVIES
Christina has been a professional botanical artist and illustrator for about forty years. She has illustrated many books and periodicals, both scientific and popular, notably the lion’s share of the ground-breaking Collins Wildflower Guide. She has been awarded six RHS gold medals.
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.
£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.
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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.