Plants

Plants for portraits

Plant portraiture also known as botanical painting, has a long and varied history. Painters such as John Day (1824 – 1888) produced around 3,000 portraits and illustrations of orchid species over a period of 25 years. He was also a collector and grower of orchids and knew his subject very well; enough to be able to paint and describe them accurately. His paintings are now at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in the London Borough of Richmond and are part of the Kew collection of botanical art.

For many collectors of plant portraiture, this is an important art form. It has a dual purpose, first it documents the plant species, especially the rare varieties and second, it can be very decorative. This fact makes the artworks valuable as in the case of John Day’s work and other painters like him. A lot of collectors of plant portraits have their favourite species from the traditional roses to exotic orchids and lilies. There are so many species of plants that can be portrayed it has become a major inspiration for many artists worldwide. From the professional to the amateur painter, plants hold a deep fascination as subjects to paint and draw. There has been some experimentation in the sculpture world to cast certain plants in bronze, a tricky and delicate job.

The colourful and diverse nature of plants, make these subjects ideal for the more decorative styles of art. Multiple species can be portrayed in a single painting to create a very pleasing design. This is not the same as painting the scientific style of portrait for the plant, but instead it’s using the plant or flowers natural shapes and colour to create interesting designs.

Plants can be painted or drawn in any medium depending on the style preferred and the finish required. The delicate nature of some plants, lend themselves to being painted in acrylics or watercolour, whereas others that are bold are sometimes best painted in oils.