Painters connecting to nature

IN the Ballarat area, there are one hundred and twenty rare and endangered indigenous plants.

To draw attention to these species, and the need for their protection, Friends of Ballarat Botanical Gardens’ own Botanical Illustrating Group have been busy painting them.

Convenor Valerie Richards said their upcoming Connections with Nature exhibition at the Robert Clark Horticultural Centre will feature depictions of 36 of these plants.

“Our aim within the group is to achieve botanically correct painting, and this is a project that everybody has been very enthusiastic about,” she said.

“Unusual species featured by the six artists in the exhibition include the spiny rice flower, fungus, orchids, and more. A variety of things will be on show.”

The painters researched using databases including VicFlora and New South Wales FloraOnline to gain a greater understanding, and visited revegetation sites and nurseries where they could purchase reference plants.

Species are often threatened due to habitat clearing for farming, logging or development, the introduction of weeds, and the changing climate.

“The exhibition really is all about raising awareness of what is around us in the environment, what’s threatened and limited by extra activity out in the wild,” Ms Richards said.

Mostly made up of amateur artists, the Botanical Art Group meets weekly and has 12 to 14 regular members.

Ms Richards said members have an idea to collate the art and make it part of an educational resource, possibly a catalogue or book, about the endangered species of Ballarat, which students and environmental groups could use.

Connections with Nature opens at the Robert Clark Horticultural Centre with an FBBG members-only launch on Friday, 23 September, before it is publicly accessible from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, 24 and Sunday, 25 September. A gold coin donation is requested on entry.