Valerie Dugan
GSBI Annual Exhibition
Founded in 1993, the Gloucestershire Society for Botanical Illustration (GSBI) grew out of botanical art classes held in Cheltenham and Stroud with Michael Hickey, botanist, writer and illustrator for The Cambridge University Press.
For many years the GSBI has held its annual show at Nature in Art. As usual, exhibits this year are varied in style and mediums. All members, whether new or experienced, are exhibiting up to three pieces of their work.
Originals, prints and cards are for sale and visitors are encouraged to vote for a ‘People’s Favourite’.
A number of the Society’s more experienced members have won The Royal Horticultural Society’s Gold, Silver Gilt and Silver Medals or have gained distinctions with the Society of Botanical Artists.
Free to enter, in the Education Centre
This is the first time that we have shown a collection of work drawn and painted with raw earth and rock pigments prepared and transformed into paint and inks by the artist.
They are the latest pictures by Fiona McIntyre, whose work has been deeply influenced by living in Scotland, Scandinavia and Spain. She is a founding member of the Arborealists art movement and an elected associate member of the Royal Society of Painter-printmakers (ARE) and an RE councillor.
Recent years have been a revelation for Fiona who has changed her way of working, largely through research and experimentation. So, before committing ideas to paper or canvas Fiona says, ‘I now make my own paints from mineral pigments, some of which I forage, and I gather plants to make natural inks. Having largely rejected synthetically made media, my eyes have been opened to the extraordinary beauty and resonance of nature’s bounty when transformed into media for the artist’.
The project Sacred Earth: Water, Tree, Stone has been a labour of love. The wild landscapes of Iceland, Scotland and Galicia are the inspiration for this exhibition. These locations continue to need protection from glacial melting and erosion, so this exhibition has three themes running through it, based on basic building blocks of life – water (Iceland), tree (Scotland) and stone (Galicia).
She says ‘I spent time walking sketching and drawing in all of these wild locations, witnessing glaciers, pine forests and petroglyphs. These places were at times difficult to get to and weather was unpredictable. However, this is what inspires me to feel alive and excited. I hope that the experiences of being immersed like this in rain, snow, winds and sunshine will be transmitted to the viewers of my art’.
As well as paintings and drawings, visitors will be able to learn about natural pigments and the process of making paints. Fiona says ‘Mineral pigments have a translucent quality, as if capturing the light and memory of the landscapes from which they were sourced’.
The exhibition coincides with the launch evening (April 18th) of a new book of the same name with contributions from Christiana Payne, Professor Emerita of History of Art at Oxford Brookes University and Nicola Moorby, Curator of Historic British Art, 1790 – 1850 at Tate Britain. Copies will be available in Nature in Art’s shop.
See also: Natural Materials Into Paints & Inks with Fiona McIntyre on May 2nd-3rd
Course Suitability: Suitable for all
Maximum Participants: 12
Course Description:
Join artist Jamie Boots for a two-day exploration into the nuanced world of graphite pencil art. This workshop delves beyond basic sketching, offering insights into the subtle techniques that breathe life into your creations. Participants will discover the art of manipulating pencil sharpness, pressure and tones to convey the fine details such as skin textures and expressive eyes.
Materials Required:
All materials supplied within session.
Course details:
This is a linoprinting course using two to three colours, with a simple reduction method. Students will learn how to use tools safely, simple registration techniques, how to ink the plate correctly, and how to print by hand.
Materials and additional costs:
£5.50 to be paid to tutor in cash, for materials
Please bring sketches/reference photos for inspiration – think bold, graphic shapes rather than small detailed images.
Suitability:
Beginners and improvers
Spaces:
12
Price: £62 / £79
Course details:
I would like to bring the magic of bookbinding at Nature in Art and be inspired by its beautiful surroundings.
We will be creating a Coptic style binding; with our own designed cover.
I will guide individuals through the process of making a book from scratch. The gathering of the materials, the decoration of the book covers, the folding of the papers, the sewing of the sections, will be a lovely way to relax and build a book with its very own identity.
Individuals will leave the workshop with a gorgeous book that they can keep for themselves or gift to someone special.
Materials and additional costs:
Equipment supplied by tutor for £12 (cash)
Suitability:
Suitable for all
Spaces:
10
Price: £62 / £79
Mother of Pearl Butterfly by Phillip Grieve (south Africa. b.1922)
Animal A-Z
Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth, in all its forms, from genes and bacteria to entire ecosystems such as forests or coral reefs. Biodiversity forms the web of life that we depend on for so many things, including food, water, medicine, a stable climate and economic growth.
Over half of global GDP is dependent on nature. More than 1 billion people rely on forests for their livelihoods. And land and the ocean absorb more than half of all carbon emissions.
But nature is in crisis. Up to one million species are threatened with extinction, many within decades. Irreplaceable ecosystems like parts of the Amazon rainforest are turning from carbon sinks into carbon sources due to deforestation. And 85 per cent of wetlands, such as salt marshes and mangrove swamps which absorb large amounts of carbon, have disappeared.
The main driver of biodiversity loss remains humans’ use of land – primarily for food production. Human activity has already altered over 70 per cent of all ice-free land. When land is converted for agriculture, some animal and plant species may lose their habitat and face extinction. But climate change is playing an increasingly important role in the decline of biodiversity too. It has altered marine, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems around the world and has caused the loss of local species, increased diseases, and driven mass mortality of plants and animals, resulting in the first climate-driven extinctions.
climate-driven extinctions.
In response to this, the UN Environment programme has many initiatives, including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), adopted by 196 parties at COP15 in December 2022 under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. It is a landmark plan to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and achieve ‘living in harmony with nature’ by 2050. It includes 4 goals and 23 targets, such as protecting 30% of land/seas by 2030 and mobilizing billions of dollars annually for nature. The framework was unexpectedly encompassing, and provides hopes for building a new relationship between people, the economy and nature.
Just before the framework was agreed in 2022, the WWF Living Planet Report was released. It estimated a 69 percent average decline in wildlife populations since 1970. A frightening statistic.
So, this display has brought together a special selection of works for each year of the 21st century highlighting 26 animals, one for each letter of the alphabet. Together, they remind us of the diversity and wonder of nature and encourage us to not only celebrate the skill of the artist, but be reminded again, through their work, of the fragility of much of nature in the world today.
Rather than place the diverse exhibits together in one room, the 26 items, both 2D and 3D, will be scattered throughout the museum, to be searched out on an ‘art safari’. Younger visitors can follow a trail to help them discover the exhibits.
Course details:
On this one-day course, you will make plant climbers, plant supports, trellises and decorative Garden Hurdles, all out of willow and hazel grown in Somerset and Gloucestershire.
Helen will guide you through each stage of the process, whilst introducing you to the different varieties of willow/hazel which you can use to make your creations unique.
By the end of the day you should have been able to make 3-4 items to take home to put in the garden.
Materials and additional costs:
The tutor will provide the required materials for course participants. The cost per person will be £12, to be paid to the tutor on the day of the course. (Please try and bring the exact change)
Suitability:
Beginners – Improvers
Spaces:
12
Price: £62 / £79
Natural Materials Into Paints & Inks – with Fiona McIntyre ARE
Fiona McIntyre is an experienced tutor and artist working with mineral pigments and foraged plants. On this two day course she will guide you in the transformation of natural materials from the Earth into exquisite naturally harmonious inks and watercolours.
DAY 1
Processing and cooking plant material from trees and flowers into the three primaries plus brown and black. This is very hands on so you are advised to wear an apron and bring your favourite brushes to try the inks at the end of the day. Some tiny sample bottles will be provided to take home.
DAY 2
Fiona will talk you through some of the raw materials she forages from river beds, and the processes involved in making paint on a glass slab. You will make your own watercolour paint from pigments, and have an opportunity to try them out on paper towards the end of the day. You can also take some samples home in tiny shells or pans.
Materials and additional costs:
All materials including paper and gloves are provided.
Spaces:
12
Price: £124 / £158
Course details:
Immerse yourself in the vibrant world of impressionist style landscape painting over this two-day acrylic course. Guided by Jonathan, you’ll explore the expressive brushwork, luminous colour, and atmospheric effects that define the impressionist style. Through structured demonstrations and practical exercises, participants will learn to capture light, movement, and mood while working from photographs. Beginners and improvers are welcome, with all techniques explained step by step. At the end of the course, you’ll have created your own impressionist landscapes, gaining confidence and inspiration for future painting.
Materials and additional costs:
Supplied by tutor for £45 cash
Or email for materials list
Suitability:
Absolute beginners – improvers
Spaces:
12
Price: £124 / £158
Course details:
Immerse yourself in the vibrant world of impressionist style landscape painting over this two-day acrylic course. Guided by Jonathan, you’ll explore the expressive brushwork, luminous colour, and atmospheric effects that define the impressionist style. Through structured demonstrations and practical exercises, participants will learn to capture light, movement, and mood while working from photographs. Beginners and improvers are welcome, with all techniques explained step by step. At the end of the course, you’ll have created your own impressionist landscapes, gaining confidence and inspiration for future painting.
Materials and additional costs:
Supplied by tutor for £45 cash
Or email for materials list
Suitability:
Absolute beginners – improvers
Spaces:
12
Price: £124 / £158