TECHNIQUES
Watercolour

APPROACH AND INSPIRATION
My inspiration comes mainly from the plants themselves – the endless variations of shapes, textures and colours, and the way they change throughout the seasons. Now, more than ever before, we need to connect with the natural world. There is so much beauty in the detail, and I believe that botanical art can play a major role in raising awareness of this beauty in even the most humble plants. I also find inspiration in the work of other artists: Pandora Sellars, Arthur Harry Church, Mary Delaney, Margaret Mee, John Ruskin and others.

BIOGRAPHY
Graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, Canada; worked in commercial art studios in Canada and the US before moving to Ireland to work as a book designer and natural history illustrator. Wrote and published, with my husband, a popular field guide, Connemara Wild Flowers. As a botanical artist, I enjoy painting both wild and cultivated plants. Artist-in-residence at Claregalway Castle and curator of the annual Botanical Art Expo at Claregalway Castle. I teach botanical art courses and workshops in Co. Galway, and since 2015, teach the week-long summer workshop Botanical Art for Beginners at the Burren College of Art.

EXHIBITIONS AND AWARDS

Heritage Irish Plants – Plandaí Oidhreachta, ISBA Exhibition at National Botanic Gardens, 2016
Aibítir: The Irish Alphabet in Botanical Art, ISBA exhibition at National Botanic Gardens, Derry, Belfast, Limerick, Bunclody and Waterford 2014-15
Bloom Botanical and Floral Art Exhibition – 2014, 2015, 2016 (silver gilt medal 2015, silver medal 2016)
Claregalway Castle Botanical Art Expo 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Natural Law – group exhibition at the Law Library, Dublin 2016

MEMBERSHIP
Irish Society of Botanical Artists (founding member; Chair 2015-18)
Irish Orchid Society

CONTACT

janestarkbotanicals@gmail.com
www.janestark.net
https://www.facebook.com/jane.stark3