Mission Statement

Founded in 1997, the Rocky Mountain Society of Botanical Artists (RMSBA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is the first regional chapter of the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA).

The Society is dedicated to promoting public awareness of contemporary botanical art, honoring its traditions and furthering its development. It is open to all, artists and art patrons alike. We believe that by joining together, we foster increased awareness and appreciation for this beautiful art form. It is our goal to educate the public about botanical art, support the artist creating these works, and support awareness of plants place in the world, and their environmental challenges with a special focus on plants in peril.

These artworks are realistic portrayals of plants, their flowers, fruiting bodies, seeds, roots and pollinators. Each piece is scientifically accurate, insuring all aspects are true reflections of the plant portrayed. Modern elements of of light, depth, composition and increased 3-dimensionality grow the tradition. The resulting renderings are exquisitely detailed, able to illustrate far more detail than found in photographs.

Work is presented in all 2-dimensional media, including ink, watercolor, gouache, scratchboard, acrylics, oils, graphite, carbon and colored pencil, excluding photos and computer generated images. Sculpture that meets scientific accuracy is welcome.

We are in an era of resurgence of interest in botanial art. These artists produce images that seamlessly blend old traditions and new, scientfic facts with contemporary creative arts, resulting in works that bloom gracefully and endlessly.



Saturday, December 17, 2011

The Holidays are Upon Us!


Cardinals, colored pencil on film, Heidi Snyder

Let's celebrate the joys of the season - the friendships we share through our organization. Good food. Family and friends we haven't seen for awhile gathering together. The peace we've been granted this holiday season. Our thoughts for safety for those in harm's way protecting that peace. Crisp weather and pine-scented festive rooms. Cookies! The list goes on and on! Best wishes to all. Let's each be a light in the winter darkness this holiday, helping those in need, remembering friends near and far, and creating art to illuminate the world of plants.

Under Useful Documents you'll find the minutes from our Holiday Meeting which took place on December 11th at Susi Olson's festively decorated home. There's lots of good news there. New for 2012, RMSBA will have a meeting every month on the last Sunday of each month, instead of meeting quarterly, as we have done in the past. Julie Terry, our industrious program chairman, has been hard at work finding programs and venues for meetings for the year. She and her team created a bookmark that lists scheduled activities. Here's what's happening:


 

I think the appropriate comment here is, "Wow!" probably followed by, "Way to go, Julie!" Thank you for all the work that has gone into this project. We will all benefit from increased contact through the year.

Officer listings have been updated, to the right. Take a moment to say "Thanks for working for us," to the folks on the list. Lots of commitment and hard work there. Also look at Events, where exhibits and other goings on are listed. Dorothy DePaulo, our hard-charging president, has secured exhibition space at the Denver Botanic Gardens for our RARE II exhibition, and it will hang while the ASBA 20th anniversary conference is here hosted by the RMSBA in Denver. What a coup! Many thanks to Dorothy!

Our first online exhibition, Remembering Summer, has ended, but it was a wonderful display. During the 3 to 5 weeks that elapse between postings on this blog, we generally get 200 viewers. While the exhibition was online we had over 500 viewers. You're work is being seen! Congratulations.

The next online exhibition will be open for entries February 15, 2012. It's theme is Winter Wonders, and we're looking for your work during these colder months. So many saved specimens, hardy grasses. and luscious imported exotics from the florist will become works of art. Be sure to send your entries in. I'll post the guidelines in early February to remind you. Happy creating!

And finally, there are two new little gadgets on the right. One is a search block, allowing you to search the blog and blog links by key words that you determine, and the second called Bulletin Board. I welcome you to post your wants, needs, heck - even your desires! - there. You submit for the Bulletin Board by emailing the blog at rmsbartists@gmail.com. Make your announcement, wish list, help wanted entries, and they'll be posted for up to 6 weeks. It's another service we provide to members to make your art life easier and more productive.

Happy Holidays, and Best Wishes for a wonderful New Year in 2012!

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