SFN Botanical Art: The Blog » Gallery Visits https://www.sfnbotanicalart.com/blog Ideas about botanical art. Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:11:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6.1 Win an Original Botanical Watercolor Study https://www.sfnbotanicalart.com/blog/2012/05/30/win-an-original-botanical-watercolor-study/ https://www.sfnbotanicalart.com/blog/2012/05/30/win-an-original-botanical-watercolor-study/#comments Wed, 30 May 2012 18:28:26 +0000 susan https://www.sfnbotanicalart.com/blog/?p=131 Continue reading →]]>

Please visit our current exhibition, “The Magnified Eye:  Contemporary Botanical Portraiture, Watercolors and Drawings on Paper and Vellum” at the Reeves-Reed Arboretum in Summit, New Jersey or online at www.sfnbotanicalart.com, click on the slideshow to view these works and sign our guest book.

We are celebrating our 10th anniversary, by visiting the exhibition and filling in your contact information on our website you are automatically entered into a drawing. The winner will receive an original botanical watercolor study on paper.  To qualify for entry you must be new to our website, sign in through our guest book or use the contact tab and comment on your interests in botanical art.  We will randomly select one winner from the first 250 people who sign in.

A study is a preliminary drawing, sketch or painting executed by an artist done in preparation for a finished work.  It is a clear window into the artist’s mind as they work out ideas through these visual notes.

Attached is the prize, a Beverly Duncan watercolor study of Crookneck Squash and Squash Blossom:

 

Beverly Duncan, Crookneck Squash, 2009, Squash blossom added 2011, watercolor on paper, 6 x 7 inches, signed lower right.

Why do this?  We are trying to increase awareness and appreciation of this beautiful contemporary art form.  Our goal is to continue building important collections of botanical masterpieces by the finest artists working today.  This opportunity will jump start a new collector with a fabulous piece of art by one of America’s treasured botanical painters.

 

]]> https://www.sfnbotanicalart.com/blog/2012/05/30/win-an-original-botanical-watercolor-study/feed/ 0 The Contemporary Still life https://www.sfnbotanicalart.com/blog/2012/01/12/the-contemporary-still-life/ https://www.sfnbotanicalart.com/blog/2012/01/12/the-contemporary-still-life/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:05:55 +0000 susan https://www.sfnbotanicalart.com/blog/?p=114 Continue reading →]]> I recently visited the Horticultural Society of New York to see a fabulous exhibition entitled “Nature Morte”.  As Chris Murtha, Curator of The Hort writes in the press release, “This exhibition highlights three contemporary artists who utilize still life photography as a central part of their process.  It honors and subverts the traditions of the still life and explores how photography in turn has influenced the genre.”  I connected to the composition and clarity of Sharon Core’s work.  It also reminded me of a work by Lizzie Sanders after Cotan (1560-1627).

Core’s Early American, Watermelon and Blackberries is intentionally appropriated from works by 19th century American painter, Raphaelle Peale. It defers to the past but celebrates the 21st century, both centuries mingling in the picture with an obvious nod to the viewer to decide which they prefer.  I admire the use of photography in this genre, it pulls out the line of the objects so distinctly and closely compares to contemporary botanical painting where artists are practicing a traditional art form in modern times.  The type of contemporary botanical art I gravitate towards celebrates the same ideas.

Early American, Watermelon and Blackberries, 2009

Sharon Core, Early American Series, Watermelon and Blackberries, 2009, Chromogenic print, 14 x 18 inches

 

 


Lizzie Sanders' Still-life after Cotan, 2008, watercolor on paper, 28 x 35 inches

 

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