As a relative newcomer to this type of art I’ve tried to develop my own answer to this question to try to ‘classify’ the Art I create and decide where to focus my studies. So far I feel that Botanical illustration is the scientific representation of a plant, or elements of a plant (leaf, flower, root system), with annotation, that enables a subject to be identified.
I feel that botanical art is very similar, but without the annotation, whereby a subject can still be identified and the art is a ’true’ representation of the subject but with more focus on the aesthetic. Flower painting can be more expressive and show elements of the subject, maybe more exaggerated or changed to match the aesthetic of the overall piece. Its a really interesting and emotive subject though, a great conversation to have. For me, I’d like to see ABBA share/inform about botanical art and botanical illustration with more of a focus on the botany of the subjects, but not necessarily limited to plants/trees. Fungi and the Algae’s are also very interesting and challenging subjects to recreate too. And thank you to Alan for the blog post, really thought provoking.
