"HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: For all botanical artists aspiring to enter the RHS Botanical Art Exhibition and win a Gold Medal - and for all botanical art lovers everywhere. This book makes a major contribution to both the recording of contemporary botanical art and learning about how to produce top quality botanical art" - botanicalartandartists.com Botanical Illustration: a genre of art that endeavours faithfully to depict and represent the form, color and detail of a plant. Abiding by this definition, the RHS Lindley Library has secured approximately 30,000 splendid illustrations of buds, fruit, flowers and leaves since they first started commissioning artists in 1806. RHS Botanical Illustration: The Gold Medal Winners represents a cross-section of recent gold medallists from around the world. The RHS only award their gold medal to the most outstanding exhibitions, encouraging the international artistic community to perform to the highest standard. This gold medal is a highly-coveted testament to an artist's abilities, and the illustrations gathered in these pages demonstrate great attention to detail, masterful color work and outstanding technical skill. Insightful commentary on the artists' creative process accompanies each picture. The perfect book for the lover of horticulture, as well as an excellent reference both for botanists and aspiring artists, this collection also includes an introductory essay that delves into the history of the RHS.