Precision As Art: Botanical Illustration at Denver Botanic Gardens
Students at Denver Botanic Gardens’ School of Botanical Art & Illustration (SBAI) work in symbiosis with each other. Whether advanced or green, SBAI gives all artists equal footing by teaching them how to create art from the analytical side of their brain.
At SBAI, art is science. The ability to make precise artworks through specific systems and processes also creates an emotional experience for artists returning to their passion — and a foundation for individual artistic growth for newbies.
The School of Botanical Art & Illustration’s roots run deep. Established more than 45 years ago, it’s the largest certificate program of its kind in the country. The school is just one piece of a larger network that includes the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA), which is holding its annual conference in Denver this year.
During the ASBA conference in Denver, SBAI showcases the innovative Freyer – Newman Center, as well as its cutting-edge technology and amenities — everything that makes SBAI more than a run-of-the-mill art program. The gardens, library, herbaria collections and galleries all become part of the classroom, allowing the School of Botanical Art & Illustration to rise above generic art classes with a concierge approach.
Just in time for the annual conference (and spooky season), a new botanical illustration exhibition, Curious Companions: Fungi, Parasites and Carnivores, opens. The exhibition highlights fantastic and strange organisms from worldwide artists, curated and juried by ASBA artists. Visitors will find intricate illustrations that expose the underlying drama of some of nature’s most unique relationships, unraveling symbiotic and parasitic relationships happening around us, from those that work in harmony to the most discordant foes.
Learn more about plant oddities on a Botanically Bewitched tour, which guides visitors through an array of the Gardens’ strangest plants, from aphrodisiacs to carnivores.
The School of Botanical Art & Illustration is where science, art and education meet. The breadth of the program (both in-person and online) allows for flexibility and accessibility for artists of all ages, nationalities and skillsets. SBAI connects students with plants, the arts and each other.
Check out the calendar of upcoming SBAI classes.
Gallery access is included with admission to the Gardens. Botanically Bewitched tours must be purchased separately and in advance.
Credit: Mieko Ishikawa, Nepenthes (Nepenthes lowii), watercolor, 2023.
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