Hello! I am an award-winning British artist creating beautiful, realistic botanical art.

My detailed plant portraits blend artistry and science to fascinate and connect with the viewer.

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I create art which invites you to slow down and examine the awe-inspiring beauty of a flower or leaf.

Nature is indeed the best artist, but I aim to capture and distill in my portraits what we all love the most about plants.

"There is a quality to the best botanical art that captures the essence as well as the detail. Just like a good human portrait, there is an indefinable element that seemingly evades mere description or photography."

MONTY DON,

PATRON OF THE SOCIETY OF BOTANICAL ARTISTS

Contact Katy

Get in touch for more information on any of my original artworks, framed prints, or if you would like to discuss a botanical commission or commercial project.

‘Defloresence’ Part 3 ..

Details and full tonal range 🤍🩶🖤
As ever, how to achieve balance with a very detailed monochrome subject and not lose the light?

Real time elapsed ~10hrs, a couple of days.
Always leave it for a day on a shelf, periodic reviews with fresh eyes, and come back to adjust.

Pencils - @fabercastelluk #fabercastell9000 #fabercastellmattgraphite 2H H HB 2B
The matt graphite achieves fab dense matt tones, no shine.
A blending stump to press in some light graphite dust where initial layer wasn’t enough (see Part 2). And a soft brush to remove stray dust which makes paper grubby if it gets pressed in.

Why don’t more botanical artists post reels of the drawing stage? Generally, bot artists are technically brilliant and usually draw from life. I’d love to see more WIPs shared xx

#drawing #botanicalart #botanicalillustration #hydrangea #artist #artofinstagram #drawingoftheday #artreel #godalmingartist #surreyartist #graphite #graphitedrawing #hydrangeaart

Tonal Values ✍🏻🩶..
Part 2 vid of ‘Deflorescence’ - study of a withered hydrangea in graphite.
Real time elapsed = 40mins.

After the line drawing, I map out core tonal values, ignoring detail. Its hard to resist temptation of overworking a small area, going too dark and losing the light, especially with small intricate textured subjects (most botanical art!). Working with hard pencils only (2H, H..) these smooth layers also create a lovely base.

#botanicalart #flowerdrawings #graphitedrawing #pencildrawing #drawfromlife #artistsoninstagram #wip #wipdrawing #wipart #surreyartist #godalming

Let’s draw .. 🩶✍🏻

Part 1 of ‘Deflorescence’ - outline drawing of withered hydrangea graphite study. Tonal values Part2, Details Part 3.
Real time elapsed for Part 1 = 2hours (inc tea break 🫖)

Very inconsistent lighting here - I sit in front of a bifold door for max light and it’s been so utterly grey and miserable, the vids are super gloomy. But you can spot the occasional sunlit moment! ⛅️

#botanicalart #flowerdrawings #graphitedrawing #pencildrawing #drawfromlife #artistsoninstagram #wip #wipdrawing #wipart #surreyartist #godalming

All the colours! Sweetgum branch (Liquidamber styraciflua).
🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🤎
I finally got around to adding the dried gumball, which has burst open to shed its two winged seeds and a load of chaff. I was going to add more (dissection?) but this was what I had in mind when starting out and I don’t think the composition allows for much more.

297x210mm, #watercolour @winsorandnewton on #stcuthbertsmill Bockingford HP 300gsm cotton

#watercolor #watercolorpainting #botanicalart #botanicalillustration #surreyartist #godalmingartist #mumlife #paintingoftheday #sweetgum #treepainting #rainbowleaves

Witches Balls.. Monkey Balls.. Gumballs. fascinating to study, but a bugger on the lawn.

Liquidamber styraciflua (sweetgum) seedpods.

#watercolour #surreyartist #surreylife #godalmingcommunity #artistsoninstagram #artistmum #botanicalart #tree #sweetgum #paintingwip #seeds

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams 🤍

An hour spent drawing this fragile hydrangea flower in the weak early Spring sunlight.
#fabercastell pencils 2H >> H >> HB #fabercastellpittgraphitematt >> 2B >> H

#graphite #graphitedrawing #botanicaldrawing #artistsoninstagram #artoftheday #reelart #surreyartist #haslemereartsociety #realismart #realismdrawing #pencildrawing #hydrangeas #flowerdrawings #fragile

Back to the drawing board after half term with the crazies 🧘🏻‍♀️ ✍🏻
Desiccation gives us such obliging tonal subjects.
There’s grace and softness in this rescued deadhead (decapited by errant football)

#graphite #drawing #hydrangea #drawdrawdraw #dailydrawing #mindfulness #artoftheday #ilovedrawing #realismdrawing #botanical #botanicalpencildrawing #botanicalillustraion #surreyartist #haslemereartsociety #godalming #godalmingcommunity

A very happy Christmas to you all! My watercolour painting of Fir and Eucalyptus wreath, with gorgeous gold foil 🌟 I hope you like it 🌟
Lots of love to you and yours from me and mine
❤️💖💝❤️💖💝❤️💖💝❤️💖💝❤️💖💝

#arty #christmascard #christmaslove #christmasart #watercolour #botanicalart #christmastime #surreylife #surreyartist #godalming #godalmingcommunity #mumartist #mumlife #artist #cardmaking

Meet Me Underneath the Mistletoe 🤍💚🤍
Remix of a couple of reels that you all reeeally seemed to like this time last year. It’ll be interesting to see how the IG Algorithm 🤖 treats it this year.
Painted this stock [free] mistletoe pic last min last year, with some changes inc ribbon, for Xmas cards. Carol of the Bells is one of my alltime favs 🎶 but it will forever be Home Alone (alongside O Holy Night..)
It’s Sunday afternoon and nearly time for a family board game and a Baileys. We have a Panto later! 😮‍💨
💫 E N J O Y 💫

Thrilled and proud to have been offered Fellowship of the @societybotanicalartists. I was an honorary Student member for years whilst studying for my SBA Diploma, but I needed to demonstrate dedication to my practice since graduating, so this has been a long journey.

I set my heart on becoming a Fellow back in 2019 when I applied for the course, noting that there was a clear path to recognition from an esteemed worldwide society with benchmark standards of excellence. It’s been such a wonderful learning experience, with so many friends made along the way. I’m delighted to be (officially) part of this warm and welcoming community! Early Christmas gift indeed.

Congratulations to all my newbie Fellows, I’m excited to see everyone’s beautiful applications being shared online @societybotanicalartists (<give them a follow if you don’t already!)

#societybotanicalartistsfellow #societyofbotanicalartists #botanicalart #botanicalillustration #surreyartist #sbafellow #ukartist #plantart #plantartist

You can tell the weather from the changing light! 🌧️ ☀️
Liquidambar, sweet gum - a quick study in #watercolour 💜🩷❤️🧡💛💚💛🧡❤️🩷💜

#autumnvibes #autumncolors #autumnleaves #watercolor #artreel #artwip #surrey #artistsoninstagram #surreyartist #leafpainting #paint #paintingoftheday #paintingwatercolor #mindfulliving

Surely the best tree for Autumn colour - the sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) has leaves similar to maple 🍁 which turn from green to yellow, orange, pink, crimson, then deep purple. There’s a lovely sweet aromatic smell when the leaves are bruised. It’s also an RHS Gardeners Merit award winner 🥇
I fancied starting with this paler-pink underside leaf, then will move onto upper-side ones in green/crimson/purple in the coming days. The spiky acid green “gumball” fruit will be painted last as contrasting flourish!
Undersides of leaves are fun to paint because the veins are prominent.
This pic is taken under a daylight bulb - the light was appalling all day as it frankly pissed it down.
🩷🤎💜🧡💚💛❤️

#autumnleaves #sweetgumtree #watercolour #botanicalart #botanicalillustration #surreylife #godalming #godalmingcommunity #surreyartist #surreyart #mumwhopaints #artistwip #wipart

🍁 Wet-in-wet first layers 🍁💦 #watercolour

A little study of Liquidambar styraciflua, sweet gum, with rainbow Autumn leaves and spiky green fruit 🩷❤️🧡💛💚

#botanicalart #botanicalillustration #watercolourwip #reelart #autumnleaves #surreylife #surreymums #artistsoninstagram #artreels #painting #paintingtips

White poppy tonal study, no 🤍or 🖤 🤔
WIP // white album

#watercolour #graphic #botanicalart

#surreyartist #flowerart #watercolor #artwip #wipartwork #reelart #coolart #whiteflowers

I’ve spent much of this year singing with @godalmingchoralsociety1 (est.1856!) to prepare for Verdi’s Requiem 🎶🖤🤍

Yesterday, we joined with 3 other Surrey choirs to put on a truly dramatic performance of this famous operatic masterpiece at the gorgeous @grangeparkopera .

Alongside my fellow top sop buddies @gemster78 @lanelizzie I had such an exhilarating and fun time belting out the fiercely dramatic Dies Irae, stumbling through stereophonic Sanctus, and wringing every last emotive drop from plaintive Libera Me. My 10yo son came and said, “I actually enjoyed it mum, it was quite exciting music” 🥹

Tickets sold out in super quick time months ago, so I didn’t get the chance to promote the concert on here, but if you’re #surrey based I can’t recommend this musical venue highly enough! Gorgeous setting and fabulous rotunda 🎶🌸
(pic credits- choirs on stage, Gemma’s dad; full audience website pic Fintan O’Conner)

Apologies that this post is a little cul de sac diversion from botanicals, but music is art, right?! and it’s back to the drawing board tmrw ✍🏻🎨

#surreylife #surreyhills #surreymums #verdi #grangeparkopera #godalmingcommunity #godalming #godalmingmusic #surreymusic #opera

Glorious sunshine to highlight!
WIP // The White Album

#whiteflowers #nowhitepaint
#nowhitepaintwasused #botanicalart #flowerpower #flowerportrait #dahlia #haslemerelife #godalmingcommunity #surreylife #surreyartist #mumlife

Dahlia // Line drawing ✍🏻 1hr >>
graphite #flowerdrawing #botanicalart #wipart
Next, add tone 🤍🩶🖤

Painting in the leaves for the lovely Rosa “Golden Celebration” #davidaustinroses. I was trying to make this rose portrait glow as if in glorious golden summer sunshine, so the leaves needed strong highlights to match the lighting of the flower. As ever, I adore high tonal contrast and tend to sketch in the light first then go dark quickly to develop the form and show me where all the middle tones should be mapped. I know others prefer to work methodically from light to dark. Note, with watercolour, you have to be very careful not to lose the light, as opposed to other mediums where you can add highlights at the end. I’m always super critical that I’ve gone too heavy, but.. all light shines brightest in the dark 💫

#roseart #watercolourpainting #wip #wipart #artistsoninstagram #artoftheday #surreyartist #godalmingartist #haslemereartsociety #mumartist #commissionsopen #commissionswelcome #botanicalart #flowerart

Live life in warm yellows! Sunshine hues for this glorious Rosa, #davidaustinroses “Golden Celebration” 💛
Excuse the low production value - end of term haste means no time to waste on rigging or lighting! Plus such changeable skies each day ☀️ ⛅️ 🌧️ ⛅️ ☀️

#reelart #reelartist #rose #rosa #artwip #watercolourart #flowerart #flowerpainting #artist #surreyartist #godalmingcommunity

In May, I wrote a little piece for Surrey magazine, The Bridge, on one of our (unsung, imo) local heroes, Gertrude Jekyll. She was famous in her lifetime for magnificent ground-breaking garden designs across the world (more than 400) and lived on the outskirts of Godalming at Munstead Wood.

I wrote in my article (and the SBA diploma essay it originated from) that I felt Jekyll is not particularly well known beyond gardening enthusiasts, and certainly not as celebrated as many of Godalming’s past residents. Dear old Jack Phillips of Titanic fame has a pub, memorial garden, and permanence in local schools’ curriculum!

It’s wonderful and timely that the @nationaltrust has just announced they have purchased her estate with a view to restoring it and opening to the public.

This will be a fantastic NT addition to our beautiful corner of Surrey! Plus it means the public can pop to Munstead Wood then on to Winkworth Arboretum (also NT) a mile down the road.

Jekyll’s innovation in garden design was due in no small part to her deep appreciation of colour theory, learned at art school. Both Jekyll and Dr Fox, who created the visionary Winkworth Arboretum, wanted to “paint the landscape with colour”, the former with garden borders, the latter with trees.

The article is on my website (link in bio, or type this into your browser..
katybennett.art/projects

Swipe to see my painting of Rosa “Munstead Wood” (@david_austin_roses , sadly discontinued)

Credit to @timeoutlondon for the news image/story.

#munsteadwood #godalmingcommunity #surreylife #surreyhills #gertrudejekyll #gertrudejekyllgarden #nationaltrust #surreydaysout #surreydaysoutwithkids #godalming #busbridge

Very proud of these beautiful certificates received in the past 12mths from the @societybotanicalartists.
I need to find a quiet moment to hang these properly on the wall with some of my favourite paintings and drawings! The kids said, “Mummy, you can put them on the fridge if you want” (prime position, obvs)

#societyofbotanicalartists #sbaplantae2023 #artistsoninstagram #botanicalartist #artistlife #artistmum #surreyartist #surreyart

Delighted to find two of my paintings sold at the private view of Cranleigh Open Exhibition 🔴🔴

The little Spring Bluebells, with an Early bumblebee, is still available if you’d like to give it home.
Painted with professional Winsor&Newton lightfast watercolours on 300gsm cotton hotpress paper.
I will be using these lovely subtle ivory wood frames again as I received some good feedback 🤍🤍🤍

The show is on until 16th June and there are some lovely interesting pieces in a variety of media on the theme of Wild Things.

Photo credit for PV @cranleigharts.
I didn’t manage get a clear shot of my pieces in situ.

#cranleighartscentre #surreyart #cranleighcommunity #godalmingcommunity #surreyartist #artexhibition

Pteridium aquilinum - bracken fern 🫶🏻

Finished this late last night with a glass of celebratory vino after a fab day in London stewarding at Plantae. I nearly left it behind at @mallgalleries (demo-painting) as I was racing to beat rush hour tube with a massive packing box under an armpit. Less haste more speed - volte face at Waterloo, back to pick up Little Fern, then had to get a packed train back home with box blocking the aisle.
Many hours and wines later, I got a bit trigger-happy and stuck in some unplanned shadows on the stalks as a final flourish. Painting under an artificial light, even with a decent “daylight” bulb, it’s so hard to get hue and tone correct, so it was literally the first thing I thought about when I opened my eyes. Had I gone to bold, too blue, too random!? Anyhoo, nothing ventured.. and it’s done and handed in for @cranleigharts exhibition! Phewf.

#fiddleheads #bracken #watercolour #watercolour_planet #painting #botanicalart #mumartist #mumartistlife #godalmingcommunity #surreylife #surreyhills #surreyartist #artexhibition

Happy World Botanical Art Day!

Hyacinthoides non-scripta -
English bluebells 💙💜🩵

#dowhatyoulove #loveart #botanical #botanicalartist #worldwidebotanicalartday #lovenature #bluebellseason #bluebells #wallart #artprint

My ‘Charlie’s Sunflower’ won the Exhibiting Excellence Award for Graphite at the SBA Plantae 2023 exhibition, I’m so happy!
When I told my son this morning before school he said he was really proud 🥹
I’m feeling very honoured and had the best night at the packed-out Private View with my amazing @jimbo_bennett, meeting such lovely talented artists.

I was asked a few times whether it was drawn life size - yes, you can see the severed flowerhead next to a 30cm ruler for ref. >>
We worked out there were ~2k seeds! It grew even bigger than the photo shown, but we went on summer hols end of August and came back to it listing and droopy, so that’s when we chopped its head off.

I’m going back to steward at the show on Thursday and can’t wait to take my time to admire the hundreds of gorgeous artworks. Congratulations to all the artists involved and the incredibly hard working @societybotanicalartists council who organised the show.

#graphitedrawing #artaward #sbaplantae2023 #mallgalleries #botanicalart #londonexhibition

Putting on a global art exhibition ✨Behind the scenes at #SBAplantae2023 @mallgalleries 🇬🇧 by @societybotanicalartists 🌺🌿🌸🌴🌷🌻

#artshow
#newexhibition
#artexhibition
#mallgalleries
#artcollector
#thingstodoinlondon
#londonartist
#botanicalartist
#botanicalart

Fiddleheads unfurling 🫶🏻💚 bracken fern WIP

For @hallwardy B & D, who love #hydonsball

#hambledon #ferns #fiddleheads #godalming #godalmingcommunity #surreylife #surreyhills #surreyartist #botanicalart #paintingwip #paintingvideo #paintingreels #watercolourvideo #watercolourart #plantlover #plantart #commissionsopen #commissionpainting

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