Margaret Flockton Award 2010

The Margaret Flockton Award commemorates the contribution Margaret Flockton made to Australian scientific botanical illustration.

The Friends of The Gardens, as a major fundraising organisation and supporter of the Botanic Gardens Trust, is pleased to sponsor the Margaret Flockton Award for Botanical Illustration. Through its members, The Friends is committed to funding projects that embellish and enrich the four estates of the Botanic Gardens Trust. In supporting this Award, the Friends helps the Trust and its staff to continue to pursue excellence in all that they do. The Friends also holds an annual exhibition of botanical art: Botanica 2010 - see Friends Special Events.

• The Award and Exhibition
• Instructions to artists
• Postage
• Judging
• Insurance, commissions and rights
• Enquiries and further Information
• A guide to scientific botanical illustration
• Judges' comments on previous submissions
• Biographies
• Pricing artwork and the GST

The Award and Exhibition

1. The Margaret Flockton Award is open to Australian and overseas artists producing scientific botanical illustrations of a high standard. Prizes of AU$5000 and AU$2000 respectively will be presented to the first and second best entries. At their discretion the judges may also award up to three Highly Commended certificates for works considered to be of an exceptionally high standard.
2. Artists who have previously won first prize in the Margaret Flockton Award will no longer be eligible to enter the competition. However, past winners will be invited to send good quality copies of their new work plus information on their current projects to be included in the Margaret Flockton Award Exhibition.
3. The prize winners will be announced on the opening night of the Margaret Flockton Award Exhibition on Thursday 8 April 2010. Prize winners will be notified in the week prior to the opening.
4. The judges will select the works for inclusion in the Margaret Flockton Award Exhibition to be held at the Red Box Gallery in the National Herbarium of New South Wales from Friday 9 April to Friday 9 July. Inclusion of art works in the exhibition and the manner of framing and exhibition of works will be at the sole discretion of the Botanic Gardens Trust.

Instructions to artists 

1. Entries to be submitted by close of business, Friday 5 February 2010.
2. Work must have been produced after February 2008.
3. There will be no entry fees for the Margaret Flockton Award 2010.
4. Each artist may submit up to two original illustrations. Reproductions or copies will not be accepted. Only original black and white (for example pen and ink, graphite or scraperboard) illustrations, either published or unpublished, will be considered.
5. Only full plate illustrations will be accepted (inclusive of habit study and diagnostic features of the species). Inclusion of scale bars, whilst not compulsory, is highly recommended.
6. The illustration should include a small, neatly written legend, with plant name and all lettered components, at the bottom of the artwork, outside of the frameable image area.
7. Entries should be on paper, illustration board, scraper board or drafting film with an image size no larger than A3 size (295 mm x 420 mm). Larger works will not be accepted. Image size must allow a minimum 1.5 centimetre border for mounting and framing.
8. Entries should be submitted unframed. Illustrations selected for exhibition will be mounted and framed in our standard exhibition frames.
9. Each illustration must be accompanied by a signed entry form. Please tick all of the checklist boxes to ensure your entry package is complete. Incomplete entries may not be considered eligible.
10. A taxonomic description (either published or unpublished) must be provided with each illustration. The taxonomic description should be typed (not hand written) on a separate sheet of A4 paper. This will not be framed with the art work but will be available in a separate folder during the exhibition. Examples of such descriptions can be found in local Flora publications or on PlantNET, our on-line resource on the Plants of New South Wales.
11. Each illustration is to be accompanied by a completed label template with the scientific name of the plant, medium, artist's name and the legend of the drawing. These will be printed and displayed with each work. The template should be completed and emailed to botanical.illustration@rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au. If completion of the template is not possible, please email word document or include information with the posted entry.
12. For the exhibition we request each artist to send a brief biography (see biographies) with a scanned portrait or suitable passport photo of the artist included. These will be displayed in a folder during the exhibition. We ask that you fill out the artist biography template provided and preferably email to botanical.illustration@rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au or alternately mail it with the posted entry. (Note - The provision of biographical information or artist's photo, whilst preferred, is optional).
13. Sales and tax forms must also be completed. Overseas artists must complete a Statement by Supplier for the exemption from Australian Goods and Services Tax. Australian artists please read the GST Explanation form and ensure you attach either a Statement by Supplier and/or ABN and GST registration details.

>> Download entry form
>> Download label template
>> Download artist biography example
>> Download complete your own biography template
>> Download declaration of GST form
>> Download Statement by a Supplier

Postage

1. To minimise the possibility of damage, all works are to be submitted flat, between two sheets of acid-free paper and packed between sheets of thick board (i.e. mount board) or similar solid, waterproof material. Artists are asked to label their packaging to enable ease of repacking.
2. Neither the Botanic Gardens Trust nor the Friends of The Gardens will be responsible for any loss or damage of works in transit. Artists are advised to arrange suitable transit insurance and if possible retain a high resolution digital copy of the artwork for their records and publication.
3. After judging (or in the case of exhibited works, at the conclusion of the exhibition period), all works will be returned to the artist (unless specific arrangements are noted on the entry form to collect works from the Illustration unit at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney).

Judging

1. Entries will be assessed in accordance with the following criteria (see below for more detailed information on the preparation of drawings): accurate interpretation and portrayal of plant characters and diagnostic features, technical merit, reproducibility, composition, artistic merit.
2. Works should be submitted as ready for publication and must be capable of being reduced to 2/3 of the original size without loss of detail. A major criterion of scientific illustration is that images should be clearly and simply reproduced through the printing process. Entrants should note that illustrations may be scanned during judging to assess the reproducibility of the image. All care of artworks and rights of artists will be respected and no illustrations will be commercially reproduced from this process.

Insurance, commissions and rights

1. Entries displayed in the exhibition may, with the artist's (or artist's agent) permission, be offered for sale at the price listed on the entry form (this includes a commission of 20% of the sale price exclusive of GST, payable to the Friends of The Gardens). The exhibition organisers reserve the right to determine the final sale price in consultation with the artist.
2. The Botanic Gardens Trust will insure all works while in their custody. This will be to the agreed sale price or valuation of works not for sale. Neither the Botanic Gardens Trust nor the Friends of The Gardens will be responsible for uninsured loss or damage exceeding the insured amount.
3. Consent may be sought from individual artists to allow images of their works being reproduced, and their biographical information being used by the Botanic Gardens Trust or the Friends of The Gardens for the sole purpose of promoting the Margaret Flockton Award and Exhibition.
4. The Botanic Gardens Trust and the Friends of The Gardens are the sole owners of the information collected from the entry forms and any other information submitted and will not sell, share or rent this information to others except for the sole purpose of advertising or promoting the Margaret Flockton Award and Exhibition.

Enquiries and further information

Further enquiries should be directed to:
Lesley Elkan and Catherine Wardrop
Margaret Flockton Award c/- Illustration
Botanic Gardens Trust
Mrs Macquaries Road
Sydney NSW 2000 Australia
Telephone 02 9231 8133
Email: botanical.illustration@rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au

A guide to scientific botanical illustration

The science of botany requires plant taxonomists to describe plant species in both words and drawings, with botanists preparing a detailed description of the plant and the artist producing an accurate illustration.

Taxonomic illustrations are normally published in scientific journals as highly detailed black and white drawings (primarily pen and ink, more rarely pencil) representing aspects of plant morphology essential for identification.

The Margaret Flockton Award is unique in art awards in that it recognises and promotes scientific botanical illustration as opposed to botanical art.
 
With the above in mind, the evaluation of entries is based on the following criteria:

• accurate interpretation and portrayal of plant characters and diagnostic features in the botanical description
• technical merit
• reproducibility
• composition
• artistic merit

When considering these broad criteria, the following is also taken into account:

1. Precision and accuracy The correct botanical detail, with all plant characters and diagnostic features accurately displayed.
2. Reproducibility The image must be capable of being successfully scanned and reproduced (often reduced) without loss of detail. Very dense (black) or light detail may not reproduce well. A major criterion of scientific illustration is that images should be clearly and simply reproduced through the printing process.
3. Good composition The plate should be laid out to give a balanced presentation so that the overall effect is aesthetically pleasing. This balance is best demonstrated by the careful placement of the primary subject. In other cases balance may be the result of careful placement of the dissected details of the plant.
4. Use of scale bars, whilst not mandatory, is preferred Great care should be taken in giving the correct scale of each feature. If possible, avoid using multipliers eg 'x3' or 'x0.5' to indicate the size of features, as this becomes meaningless if the drawing is used in a publication and printed at a different size; the use of a scale bar is accurate regardless of changes to the size of the image.
5. Quality of the printing/writing on the drawings It is much better to use hand writing on a hand drawn image. Keep writing neat and legible and not overly large - poor penmanship can ruin the effectiveness of an otherwise good illustration.
6. Signature The signature should be consistent on all botanical illustrations. The preference is to keep the signature neat and small with the date (with year in full) with the signature, e.g. 2007 not 07.
7. Printer's marks Scientific drawings produced specifically for publication may include a variety of registration marks, pencilled letters, small areas scratched back, whited-out or replaced. Such alterations for printing will not impact on the judges’ opinion so long as they do not appear in the final, reproduced image.

See Sandra Burrows' and Klei Sousa's 2009 winning entries as examples of composition and layout. Note the use of scale bars.

Judges' comments on previous submissions

1. A serious botanical drawing is a scientific statement. Precision and accuracy are essential.
2. Some drawings have lacked sufficient botanical detail, while too much detail detracts from the overall presentation and impact of the main subject.
3. Some entries have used mechanically printed labels on their drawings and the judges feel that these could detract from the archival quality of an entry.
4. Less successful entries have shown inconsistent and uneven line work, inconsistent styles of shading or excessive stippling that appeared to be included just to cover a space rather than to reveal texture or form.
5. In some cases, stippling tended to obscure or confuse the images of the structures.
6. In general, more satisfactory and clearer results are obtained by using one medium only, rather than a combination (such as ink with pencil), especially with a view to reproduction of the works.

Biographies

Visitors to past exhibitions often ask about the artists who have their works displayed. Now a folder containing biographies of the contributing artists is compiled each year for visitors to refer to. This adds interest to the exhibition by providing the viewer with some information about each artist, their background and current work in the field of illustration.

For your biography a simple and discreet template has been provided on the link below with fields for your name, date and place of birth, education and career highlights, publication, exhibition and prize details. A simple portrait shot is also desired and if you have a scanned head and shoulders image you can simply click and drag it to the spot delineated in the template. Otherwise a digital photo can be emailed to botanical.illustration@rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au which can then be added to your biography or a physical photo can be sent with your entry package and illustrations. Once completed please email your biography as an attachment to botanical.illustration@rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au

Remember, the provision of biographical information and the photo is completely optional.   

>> Download artist biography example
>> Download complete your own biography template

Pricing artwork and the GST

The Margaret Flockton Award Committee does NOT charge GST on the commission portion of the sale price of any item.

How to price an artwork for sale

If the artist does NOT charge GST:
Add the amount the artist wishes to receive, plus commission
(e.g. $100 to the artist + $20 commission = $120 sale price. When the item is sold the artist will receive $100.)

If the artist charges GST:
Add the amount the artist wishes to receive, plus commission, plus GST on the artist’s portion of the sale price. 
(e.g. $100 to the artist + $20 commission + $10 GST on the artist’s portion = $130 sale price.
When the item is sold the artist will receive $100 + $10GST =$110.)

Supported by

The Maple-Brown family

Exhibition venue