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The Sarum College dining room has been transformed with 40 watercolours by Sally Pond. The botanical paintings exhibition runs until Sunday 2 March 2014.
Botanical painting is an exacting discipline which combines scientific observation with aesthetic appeal. It has its roots in the ancient herbals of the Middle Ages and gained huge popularity with the rise of interest in floriculture in the 16th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries it reached its zenith with the work of Linnaeus, Ehret, the Bauer bothers, Banks and Redoute. After a period of waning popularity it has once again become a vibrant and contemporary art form. The work of Shirley Sherwood and her gallery at Kew and the efforts of artists and teachers around the world has produced an international following of collectors and students giving botanical painting a secure place in the 21st century.
In 2012, a year after earning a Distinction in the Botanical Painting course at the Chelsea Physic Garden in London, Sally won a silver-gilt medal at the Royal Horticultural Society’s annual Botanical Painting Exhibition in Victoria. She also won the Society of Botanical Artists in Westminster, where she received a Certificate of Botanical Merit. Sally will be exhibiting work at the same events in April and May of this year as well as with the group Amicus Botanicus at the Shepherds Market Gallery in Mayfair.
She moved to Salisbury in 2011 and is now an established botanical painter and teacher. Sally participated in the 2012 Salisbury Art Trail and has exhibited locally at the Fisherton Mill Gallery and Studio 53.
She runs day workshops in botanical painting in Salisbury and Beaconsfield. The exhibition is free and open daily Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 2pm until Sunday 3 March. All the artwork in this exhibition is available for purchase. For more information about Sally Pond, visit her website at www.sallypond.co.uk.
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