The OSBA Sketchers

OSBA sketchers at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden

As soon as the weather warms up, enthusiastic members of OSBA have been gathering for a few hours each week to enjoy good company and our favourite activity: sketching outdoors!

Our numbers have grown as word spread about how much fun it is. Kerri Weller got us off to a good start with her spring class on how to approach Plein Air sketching. We found it so fulfilling we wanted to continue after the classes were finished. 

Inga Legere is the Sketching Co-ordinator, and does a wonderful job of scheduling the location and sketch day, each week.

Experience has taught us the best things to bring: a low folding chair or stool for getting close to the growing plants, sun hats, sun screen, mosquito repellent and water to drink, as well as our usual art supplies. Coffee and a snack help too!

Quickly we select our subjects and settle down to draw. A hush falls over the group. We become absorbed in capturing it on paper and a thrilling new world opens up. Nature comes alive for us. We become conscious of the clear air, the dappled light, the birds singing around us, the muted sounds of the city in the distance and the smell of the warm earth. For a few short hours we touch the reality of this wonderful world we live in. Our challenge is to show the beauty of the plants we sketch in hopes we can portray it to others in our artwork.

A beautiful summer day sketching in the Backyard Garden, FWG

We break at mid morning for coffee, and to share our work, thoughts and comments with each other. New friendships have evolved as we share our common interest.

We wish to thank the volunteers of the Fletcher Wildlife Garden for their care of the gardens. A special thank you to volunteer Isabelle Nicol, Backyard Garden Manager, for making us feel so welcome.

We invite anyone who wishes to join us to contact Sketching Coordinator, Inga Legere:  ilegere2@hotmail.com 

Thanks to Cecilia Martin for the great writeup! 

OSBA Fall Meeting & AGM, November 11, 7pm

Please join us on Monday evening for our annual AGM, social and to meet your 2014 executive. Bring your latest art work for display to your colleagues.

Presentation

It's movie night for botanical artists! Highlights from the DVDs, Painting a Leaf  by Rosie Saunders and A-Z of Flower Portraits by Billy Showell will be shown.

It will be a great primer on techniques of two top British artists.

Memberships:

Annual memberships will be renewable - $25. New members welcome!

Location: Events Room, Pallisades, 100 Isabella St. (parking on Isabella in front of building, and also on street and in lot behind building)

16th International Botanical Art Exhibit, Manhattan

16th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at The Horticultural Society of New York

September 20 – November 22, 2013

Ros Allchin and Kerri Weller were the two lone Canadians juried into this year's 16th International. Their work hangs alongside artists from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Italy, the USA and UK. 

Ros Allchin's watercolour, Birch, was awarded an Honourable mention

Her gorgeous painting graced the print invite and sold on opening night. BRAVO, Ros!

Ros Allchin, Birch, watercolour

Ros receives her award from Carole Woodin,
ASBA Director of Exhibitions 

Kerri Weller's Garlic & Scape, oil painting

16th International Opening Night
and the gallery is PACKED!

For more info including interviews with the artists: http://asba-art.org/exhibitions/16th-annual


OSBA Fall Exhibition
The NEW Boutique Gallery at Artistic Landscape showcases Ottawa's best contemporary botanical artists, the OSBA artists! Paintings celebrating the fall season are now on display. Many thanks to Inga Leger, Ros Allchin and Celia Godkin for hanging the current show.

Artistic Landscape's Boutique & Art Gallery are open until December 23.
Monday to Saturday 9 am  to 6 pm
Sunday 10 am to 4 pm
www.artisticlandscape.on.ca
2079 Bank Place, Ottawa


BOTANICA 2013 
Artistic Landscape Design, Boutique Gallery, Ottawa
For avid gardeners, Artistic is the place to go for rare and unusual plants.  Complementing their nursery and display gardens is a wonderful new boutique and gallery displaying works by OSBA and local artists. This summer, Artistic hosted our annual exhibition, BOTANICA. 

BOTANICA 2013, Exhibition notes

Inga arriving early for exhibition set up and hanging.

BOTANICA 2013, our annual exhibition was hosted by the Herb Garden in their Bergamot Barn Art Gallery, a beautifully restored animal barn with cedar log walls. It is a heritage barn built in the 1820's. Participating members were Ros Allchin, Bob Anderson, Mary Atkins, Carla Burns, Celia Godkin, Inga Leger, Cecila Martin,  Sue Quinn and Jan Salmon. 

The quality of the work was exceptional. The beauty of the plant world was celebrated through each artist's knowledge of their subject, mastery of technique, and individual artistry. Rather than interpretations of flowers, which is so often the case with floral paintings, the paintings presented were keenly observed, true to life representations of plant subjects. The opening was well attended and several paintings have been sold. CONGRATS!

Ros with her painting of dried grasses

All participants can feel proud of presenting an exemplary exhibition of contemporary botanical art, contributing  to the grassroots international renaissance in botanical art. 

Cecilia with her painting of Clementines 

The Botanical Art Gang- Kerri, Jan, Cecilia, Ros, Inga, Sue

BOTANICA 2013

The plant world through the eyes of artists

June 1 to 30

Bergamot Barn Art Gallery at the Herb Garden, Almonte
Opening reception: Sunday June 2, 1 to 4 pm

BOTANICA is an OPEN /non-juried exhibition. All current OSBA members are eligible and encouraged to participate. The subject matter is vast - the plant world! Artwork is to be delivered to the Herb Garden  on Saturday June 1, 9 to 10 am.  All details posted on the OSBA Exhibitions page.

OSBA Meeting, June 10, 2013

Please join us as we recap the highlights of OSBA's inaugural exhibition, BOTANICA 2013, June 1 to 30 at the Herb Garden.

Our Guest speaker for the evening is Isabelle Nichol, Natural History 

Many of us know Isabelle from her role as Volunteer Coordinator of the Backyard Garden at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden. She has a great talent for teaching and a wide knowledge of native wildflowers. Isabelle is a recipient of the Mary Stuart Education Award for outstanding achievements in the field of natural history education in the Ottawa region.

www.ofnc.ca/awards/2007/nichol.php

Meeting Notice, April 8

April 8
Guest speaker: Suzanne Patry Whitehouse Perennials, Almonte www.whitehouseperennials.com/ 

Suzanne Patry's presentation is sure to be engaging, informative and a first taste of spring!
Go to our Meetings page for more information.

Colours of Summer, June 2012 Exhibition

Kerri, Bob, Sengmany, Jan, Sue, Inga and Cecilia

Bergamot Barn Art Gallery

The Herb Garden in  Almonte

A year ago, the founding members of OSBA presented our plant portraits at the Bergamot Art Gallery, a beautifully restored animal barn on the grounds of the Herb Garden. It was a great experience and venue in which to display our work. Looking forward to the BOTANICA 2013 exhibition!