The William Syson Foundation was established in 2012. An enthusiastic and long-time supporter of music and the visual arts, particularly in Scotland, William Syson’s objective in setting up the Foundation was to help provide opportunities for practice and enjoyment of the arts, and to assist and encourage the country’s next generation of musical and artistic talent.

The support provided by the Foundation will help us secure and provide the exhibition facilities for botanical artists across Scotland and the public access to the World Wide Day of Botanical Art and the Botanical Scotia exhibition in 2025.

This exhibition presents new work by members of the Scottish Society of Botanical Artists (SSBA) alongside sculptures by Ellen McCann. For this exhibition, and to reflect the charitable aims of the SOC, the artists have taken their inspiration from plants found in the wild in Scotland. These plants, wild flowers, trees, brambles and weeds form part of the habitat of wild birds and pollinators, and indeed visiting birds and insects are included in some of the paintings! The SSBA promotes and encourages botanical art in Scotland. It is an inclusive organisation whose membership ranges from those relatively new to botanical art to professional artists. They work in a variety of media including watercolour, acrylic, coloured pencil, graphite and ink. 

The paintings are accompanied by sculptures by Ellen McCann. Her ceramic sculptures are inspired by plants in transition – gently moving towards opening up, inviting us to imagine what they might become. Ellen’s sculptures are made with stoneware clay constructed using slabs and coils, then carved, glazed and fired to 1250 degrees. They can be placed indoors or outdoors, and indeed there will be some sculptures in the garden at the SOC. Ellen is the recipient of a number of awards and travelling scholarships. She is based near Biggar.

Scottish Ornithologists’ Club (SOC)
Waterston House, Aberlady, EH32 0PY
Open Wed-Sun (10-4)
www.the-soc.org.uk

About the SOC: the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club (SOC) promotes the study, conservation and enjoyment of wild birds and their habitats in Scotland.

At the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club in Aberlady
From 17th January to 25th February 2024
The gallery is open Wednesdays to Sundays from 10:00am to 4pm.

One of the aims of the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club is to ‘support the conservation of wild birds and their habitats throughout Scotland’. This exhibition will, therefore, reflect the habitat of wild birds with paintings depicting plants found in the wild, natural environment in Scotland, from wildflower meadows to garden weeds!

We will again be including cards and mini-paintings, at very affordable prices.

The SSBA is delighted to announce that the SSBA Botanical Art Introductory and Intermediate courses in the south and north of Scotland are now available to apply for the autumn 2023 Introductory courses, or to note interest in the April 2024 Intermediate courses.

The courses are available due to the award to the SSBA of the Finnis Scott Foundation Botanical Art Prize. This is a biennial prize of £10,000 awarded to support and promote the practice of botanical art.

The courses are open to SSBA members and members of the public who are interested in learning and developing their botanical art skills.

The courses will be provided free of charge to participants, although they will have to pay for their own travel, accommodation, breakfast, dinner and recommended art materials.

If you live in the south or north of Scotland, would you be interested in attending? Or do you know anyone who would like to learn or develop their skill?

More information is available in the attached information document and we encourage anyone interested to apply or note their interest (follow the links in the document).

 SSBA Botanical Art Courses Information Click Here

The SSBA is delighted to announce that the SSBA Botanical Art Introductory and Intermediate courses in the south and north of Scotland are now available to apply for the April and May 2023 courses, or to note interest in the October 2023 and April 2024 courses.

The courses are available due to the award to the SSBA of the Finnis Scott Foundation Botanical Art Prize. This is a biennial prize of £10,000 awarded to support and promote the practice of botanical art.

The courses are open to SSBA members and members of the public who are interested in learning and developing their botanical art skills.

The courses will be provided free of charge to participants, although they will have to pay for their own travel, accommodation, breakfast, dinner and recommended art materials.

If you live in the south or north of Scotland, would you be interested in attending? Or do you know anyone who would like to learn or develop their skill?

More information is available in the attached information document and we encourage anyone interested to apply or note their interest (follow the links in the document).

 SSBA Botanical Art Courses Information Click Here

The SSBA is delighted to announce that the SSBA Botanical Art Introductory and Intermediate courses in the south and north of Scotland are now available for booking of the October 2022 or to note interest in the April 2023, October 2023 and April 2024 courses.

The courses are available due to the award to the SSBA of the Finnis Scott Foundation Botanical Art Prize. This is a biennial prize of £10,000 awarded to support and promote the practice of botanical art.

The courses are open to SSBA members and members of the public who are interested in learning and developing their botanical art skills.

The courses will be provided free of charge to participants, although they will have to pay for their own travel, accommodation, breakfast, dinner and recommended art materials.

If you live in the south or north of Scotland, would you be interested in attending? Or do you know anyone who would like to learn or develop their skill?

More information is available in the attached information document and we encourage anyone interested to apply or note their interest (follow the links in the document).

 SSBA Botanical Art Courses Information Click Here