Botanical illustration

Botanical illustration is the art of accurately depicting plants, or their components, for the purposes of professional or amateur botanists. The illustrations can be in watercolour, oils, ink, pencil, or other media.

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Quotes

The earliest flower drawings were for the most part made to assist the searcher after herbs and simples. Realism was desired and soon to a surprising degree achieved, for there can be little doubt, as we shall see, that the illustrations provided for herbals nearly two thousand years ago were highly naturalistic. Gradually, however, unintelligent copying led to a debased and stylised type of figure which was nothing more than a decorative embellishment to the text. With the Renaissance came a revival of naturalism, but the function of the botanical illustrator remained at first unchanged.
- Wilfrid Blunt with the assistance of William T. Stearn, "Chapter I. The Botanical Illustrator". The Art of Botanical Illustration: An Illustrated History (illustrated, unabridged, reprint ed.). Courier Corporation. 1994. ISBN 9780486272658. (304 pages; 1st edition 1950)

... in the first century AD, the first known copies of De Materia Medica ('On Medical Material') were produced, translated into both Latin and Arabic. These were written by a Roman physician of Greek origin called Pedanius Dioscorides. In this illustrated book he covered 600 plants with around a further 1,000 medicines made from them. It was widely read for thousands of years and was regarded as a pharmaceutical 'bible' for those in practice, becoming the most influential work on medicinal plants in both Christian and Islamic cultures. Astonishingly, a copy of the illustrated manuscript, dating back to the sixth century, is still in existence, held in Istanbul, Turkey.
- Sarah Jane Humphrey, "Chapter 1. The history of botanical and scientific illustration". Botanical Art with Scientific Illustration. Crowood Press Ltd. 2018. ISBN 9781785004209. (176 pages)

Choosing the subject for a drawing or painting is an important part of the creative process. Selecting a good example of the plant you are going to paint is the first step towards a good illustration.
- Christabel King, "Choosing the Subject". Kew Book of Botanical Illustration. Search Press Ltd. 2015. ISBN 9781781264119. (128 pages)

The artist may not ask any questions about the species at all, but rather look at a flower as an individual of nature with its own unique features of colour, texture, form, size, and proportion. Their first question may be 'how do I capture the essence of the flower in my canvas?' Or perhaps 'how do I create a work of true beauty that may equal or surpass nature itself?'
- W. John Kress and Shirley Sherwood, The Art of Plant Evolution (illustrated ed.). Kew Publishing. 2009. p. 10. ISBN 9781842464212. (320 pages)

The artist must decide whether the correct botanical information has been conveyed in the the drawing in the best way possible. When leaves and flowers are huddled together they can be repositioned to give a more open design; and leaves lining up with stems can be moved slightly so that the drawing can be clearly understood.
It is difficult to know whether to include insect damage and nibbled bits, as well as leaves that have been on the plant all year and look discoloured and weary. When you are illustrating a plant that retains its bare leaves all through the year, such as a primula, it would be unwise to tidy up the plant and remove the older leaves as this would destroy part of the plant's life history. Leaves with autumnal fruits will not appear as fresh as they would in the spring.
- Valerie Oxley, "What to Move or Leave Out". Botanical Illustration. Crowood. 2013. ISBN 9781847976611. (192 pages; 1st edition 2008)