The Bath Society of Botanical Artists was formed in 2002; it is now a thriving, friendly society of over forty members. The aim of the society is to promote an interest in botanical art and to develop member’s skills in all forms of botanical illustration.

Members are given the opportunity to develop their work through an interchange of ideas, constructive criticisms and study days. Workshops with various visiting artists are organised and regular outings to exhibitions and gardens take place throughout the year.

Artists undertake private commissions and run workshops and courses. Some are holders of Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) medals, members of the Society of Floral Painters(SFP) and other national societies.

‘An exhibition is held annually in Bath and a calendar of members’ work is produced showing the various mediums used – watercolour, pen and ink, graphite and coloured pencil. The Society also undertook a project to illustrate some of the plants discovered in China by the plant hunterAugustine Henry . Over sixty paintings were exhibited in Bath and then at the National Botanical Gardens of Ireland in Dublin in July 2009.

The group’s current project is painting plants in the Bath Botanical Gardens to celebrate, in 2012, the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Gardens. These paintings are to be exhibited in Bath at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, Queen Square in June and July.