We ran a competition to find an artist in residence to create beautiful illustrations for our RHS magazine aimed at plant fanatics
Artist in residence competition 2025
If you have an artistic flair and a love for all things botanical, The Plant Review Artist in Residence competition will open in June 2024 for your chance to enter and receive a £1,000 commission to have your art featured on our quarterly magazine.
Pictured: Moss roses (June 2022) and Atropa belladonna (September 2019)
Artist in residence entries revealed
The inaugural The Plant Review artist-in-residence competition attracted some fantastic botanical illustrations.
See the entries and winner >
About the 2023 competition
From Marianne North to Cedric Morris, plants and art have a long and distinguished association. In celebration of this connection, The Plant Review magazine launched a competition to find an artist to provide the fabulous frontispieces that kick off each issue.
The competition was open to both amateurs and professionals and submitted entries were assessed by a panel of judges from the worlds of publishing and botanical art looking for not only botanical accuracy but also something of a plant’s character.
Judging criteria
Technical elements – Draughtsmanship, colour and composition:
- How well observed is the plant and is the drawing accurate?
- Are the forms well modelled?
- Is the colouring sufficiently varied and appropriate to the aimed-for effect?
- How well has the colour been applied?
- Is the composition well arranged?
Plants – Botanical details and garden appeal:
- Within the aimed-for effect, is the treatment of botanical details consistent and accurate?
- Are the horticulturally important characters of the plant displayed?
Overall presentation – Aesthetics and innovation:
- Is the artistic impression aesthetically pleasing?
- Does the picture offer new ways of interpreting the subject?
Editor of The Plant Review, James Armitage, says: “In The Plant Review, we aim to entice and beguile, to make people fall in love with the spirit of the plants we feature as much as with their appearance, and induce in readers a fervour to possess and grow them. To achieve that through art, rather than words, is the challenge we present with this competition.”
Entrants were asked to submit a picture of a named plant of their choice in any medium and any style. The winning picture will appear in the December issues of The Plant Review and The Garden magazine.
The deadline for entries was 10am, Monday 2 October 2023.
** The competition is now closed **
The winner will get:
- A commission worth £1,000 to illustrate the frontispiece for all four issues of The Plant Review published in 2024 (subjects chosen by the editor, deadlines 1 February, 1 May, 1 August, 1 November)
- Free copies of the issues in which their artwork appears
Additional information:
- Deadline for entries was 10am, Monday 2 October 2023
- All entries needed to be accompanied by an email including the name, address, telephone and email contact of the entrant
- The winner will be notified by 1 November 2023 via the contact details they provide with their entry
Pictured: Galanthus nivalis ‘Alan's Treat’ (December 2022) and Rubus species (September 2019)
Privacy notice
The winner will be selected by a panel of four judges selected by the RHS. If you are the winner we will contact you using the contact details provided with your entry to inform you of this and to ask you for an interview and a photo of yourself for publication.
In print and online, we will publish the winning design with the name and the town/city of the winner. The personal data of all entrants, including the winner, will be kept for a period of 140 days from the closing date and then deleted.
Please read our full RHS Privacy Policy to find out more about how we use your personal data and how to exercise your rights under the applicable data protection legislation.
Pictured: Sinningia species (December 2021) and Rhododendron ‘Halopeanum’ (March 2020)
You might also be interested in...
- The Plant Review: This inspiring magazine takes an in-depth look at the bizarre, brilliant and beautiful plants that grow in gardens – essential reading for plant enthusiasts
- RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show: Explore world-class photography and art between 16 June–9 July, as they are brought together in one fabulous RHS Show at the Saatchi Gallery
- Courses and workshops: Learn a new skill, or improve an existing one with our experts. From botanical painting to willow weaving, there is a huge variety of subjects on offer
