SARAH GARDNER
Sarah is a Fellow of the Society of Botanical Artists. Her artwork lies within the genres of botanical and eco-conceptual art.
‘For me, art is a means of instant communication, transcending the barriers of language, ethnicity and time. It speaks to our shared humanity and intuition.
Since childhood I’ve been drawn to produce artwork on the subject of plant life. I discovered an opportunity to receive formal training in botanical illustration during the pandemic. As my enthusiasm and skills grew, I became diverted onto a new career path. I have developed an eco-conceptual branch of practice where the images I create convey deeper messages and commentary on the ecological balances we affect.’
Sarah Gardner
Botanical
Sarah’s intensive training in botanical illustration with the Society of Botanical Artists has enabled her to design each piece with strong compositional expertise, elevating it beyond the illustrative to the beautiful. Her schooling in ecology, botany and horticulture, allow her to bring exquisite scientific detail and realism to her botanical works.
Eco-conceptual
Eco-conceptual art is Sarah’s creative response to a lifelong calling to promote action on environmental issues. Her aim is to highlight the value of plant diversity for the protection of the planet’s threatened ecosystems and for our future health and wellbeing.
Meet the Artist
Sarah Gardner FSBA BSc(Hons)EnvSci DipSBA(Dist)
Professional Botanical and Eco-Conceptual ArtistI was born in Rochdale, north-west England, a town surrounded by wide expanses of Pennine moorland which I was free to roam as a child. After leaving school I studied Environmental Science at the University of Aberystwyth and was awarded a year-long internship at Pine Jog Environmental Education Centre, Florida, which was a wonderful experience.
On graduating I relocated to Cambridge and took up my first job as a geo-environmental consultant. After meeting my husband and travelling extensively with him in Asia, we began a family and settled back in north-west England. I returned to study to fight the onset of ‘baby brain’, gaining Level 2 accreditation in horticulture with the RHS. When our children began school I became self-employed, delivering gardening sessions for children at schools and nurseries in Greater Manchester. I gained further accreditation as a Forest School Leader, adding outdoor sessions at local green spaces and National Trust woodland to my offering.
Having enjoyed the study of art at school, I channelled my artistic creativity into much of my educational work, exploring sketching, sculpting and printmaking techniques with young people in my Forest School sessions.
I returned to formal art training in 2021 when I was accepted onto the Society of Botanical Artists’ diploma course. In April 2023 I graduated with a distinction and was admitted as a Fellow of the Society in January 2024.
I sit on the Council of the Society of Botanical Artists. I am a Committee member of the Association of Botanical Artists and manage their Instagram account: @association_botanical_artists as well as my own social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook. You can follow me there for regular news and updates.
Curriculum Vitae
QUalifications
FSBA - Fellow of the Society of Botanical Artists, appointed January 2024
DipSBA(Dist) - Diploma with Distinction from the Society of Botanical Artists, 2023
Level 3 Forest School Leader Cambium Sustainable, 2016
RHS Level 2 Certificate in Horticulture (Commendation and Senior Tutor’s Prize), Horticultural Correspondence College, 2008
BSc(Hons) Environmental Science, Aberystwyth University, 1999
Memberships and offices
Council Member of the Society of Botanical Artists, August 2023 - Present
Committee Member of the Association of Botanical Artists, June 2023 - Present
Instagram Account Manager, Association of Botanical Artists, October 2022 - Present
Foundation Member of the Society of Botanical Artists, April 2023 - Dec 2023
Student Member of the Society of Botanical Artists, January 2021 - April 2023
Exhibitions
June 2024 Plantae 2024 Society of Botanical Artists’ international juried online exhibition. Award: SBA Certificate of Botanical Merit
May - Nov 2024 Drama Association of Botanical Artists’ international juried online exhibition
Feb - May 2024 Ellas Ilustran Botánica Green Wall Real Jardin Botanico, Madrid, Spain
Dec 2023 - May 2024 The Magic of Leaves Association of Botanical Artists’ international juried online exhibition
May - Sep 2023 Cabinet Cultures The Garden Museum, London, UK
May - Nov 2023 Ten Association of Botanical Artists’ international juried online exhibition
May 2023 Plantae 2023 The Mall Galleries, London UK. Society of Botanical Artists’ annual exhibition
Dec 2022 - Apr 2023 Beauty in the Detail Association of Botanical Artists’ international juried online exhibition
Oct 2022 Exposición de Arte Bodega Doral, Moclín, Spain
Aug - Oct 2022 Stockport Open Exhibition Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery, UK
Jan - Mar 2022 Manchester Open Exhibition HOME, Manchester UK