Botanical Paintings by J R Shepherd

What I do

I am a botanical artist and painter. When I paint plants I try to become them. There is a great deal of observation involved even before my brushes touch the paper.

I trained in botany before committing myself fully to painting so that I would understand the processes of plants more comprehensively. Equipped with this scientific knowledge, I am now testing new approaches to my artwork to push the capacity for botanical art to bring greater awareness of plants and our interaction with them. I hope to inspire people to think beyond their experience whilst enriching our current perceptions of botanical illustration, its applications and how it sits within the larger scope of the visual arts.

If you are interested in what I do and want to work with me or if you want to be informed of where you can see my latest work you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Proposals to exhibit my work and all reproduction and commission enquiries can be made using the form at the end of this page.

Illustration

News

Blue Flower: Canada (field work and workshops)
St. John’s, Newfoundland, 4-day workshop, June 20th – 23rd June 2020
Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2-day workshop, July 2nd – 3rd July 2020
Ottawa, Ontario, 2-day workshop, dates TBA
Toronto, Ontario, 2-day workshop, 11th July – 12th July
Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, 4-day workshop, 14th July -17th July 2020
Contact Inky Leaves for details.

Three day workshop in Moclín, Spain
4th – 8th June 2020
(Places available – read more here)

Blue Flower: Transylvania (field work and a four day workshop)
28th May – 2nd June 2020
(Places available – read more here)

Leaf paintings on exhibition at ‘Herbarios Imaginados’
January to March 2020 (vernissage 16th January at noon)
Centro de Arte Complutense, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Madrid, Spain

Blue Flower: Cairo, Egypt (research trip and workshops in secondary schools)
January 2020

Blue Flower: Europe – Lisbon, Portugal (Field Work)
January 2020

Paintings on display in ‘Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art’
19th November 2019 – 15th March 2020
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, London, UK
The book can be bought here

Paintings on display and a public talk at Space Mountain Festival
11th – 14th October 2019
Albuñuelas, Spain

Sun orchid paintings, The Long Gallery for Tarkine in Motion
18th – 29th July 2019
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Second Edition of INKQ on display at the John Hope Gateway.
11th April 2019
Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, UK

Blue Flower: Europe – Switzerland and Ireland (Field Work)
July – September 2019

Blue Flower: Australasia (Field Work)
October – March 2018

Large painting on exhibition at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
6th October 2018 to 17th March 2019
London, UK

Talk in the library at the Real Jardín Botánico
11.00am on 27 April 2018
Madrid, Spain

Offical Launch of INK Quarterly, London
1st March 2018
London, UK

Guest Artist at the Moscow Watercolour Festival
20th – 22nd October 2017
Moscow, Russia

Artist in Residence
River Cottage HQ
17th – 29th June 2017
River Cottage, Dorset, UK

‘Leafscape’
16th – 25th February 2017
Solo exhibition at Abbott and Holder,
London, UK

May 2016: Live painting demonstration at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Group exhibition The Incredible Exploding Pomegranate
15th July – 15th October 2015
Granada, Spain

February 2015: Appearance on BBC4’s documentary ‘In Search of Rory McEwen‘.
An excerpt of the programme can be watched via the video link below.

In 2014 Inky Leaves was invited by the RHS to set up a pop-up studio at their RHS Botanical Art Show in London.

Read the review

In 2013, Inky Leaves exhibited at the Espacio Gallery, London, as part of the Chelsea Fringe. Below left is a video made for the Espacio Gallery during the exhibition.

Connect with Inky Leaves

If you are interested in following Inky Leaves, subscribe to the newsletter where news about her work can be delivered directly to your inbox. We will never send you spam or pass your details to third parties.

For any questions about obtaining prints and originals and proposals to exhibit my work can be made using the form below to get in touch with me or you can telephone on +44 7904 449 599.

EMAIL mail@inkyleaves.com