(Faded) Protea neriifolia 
Purple Princess 
Great Burnet - Sanguisorba officinalis Biography
“Botanical illustration has been a passion of mine since I first took up the paintbrush only a few years ago. My journey so far has been inspiring, rewarding and immensely satisfying. As I stroll through nature I see a whole new world opening up to me, the beauty of which words cannot describe but I hasten to say, it fills my heart and soul with a great deal of joy.”
Jackie is an award-winning botanical artist living in the UK. She graduated with a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design in 1989 and had a long career in this field. In 2013 she studied garden design and was awarded a Distinction. It was from here she entered the botanical world. She is a Fellow member of the SBA (Society of Botanical Artists) and has won two awards through exhibiting with them. She is a self-taught artist passionate about flowering plants, wildflowers and the natural world. In 2022 she entered her paintings of ‘Wet Meadow Wildflower ~ their pollinators and as foodplants’ to the RHS Botanical & Photography Show and won a Gold medal. In her work, she spends a great deal of time researching and studying subjects to ensure the painting is true to botanical form. Read about her RHS journey on this link https://jibotanicals.com/2021/
ACHIEVEMENTS
In 2014-2015 Jackie studied Garden Design and was awarded a Distinction. She started to become very interested in botanical illustration.
Since 2016 Jackie was recognised by the Society of Botanical Artists (SBA) and exhibited with them.
In 2016 Jackie was accepted by the Royal Horticultural Society to exhibit with them.
In 2017 Jackie was awarded a CBM (Certificate of Botanical Merit) for her painting ‘Vessels of Life’ exhibited at the SBA show.
In 2017 Jackie started teaching Botanical and Nature watercolour courses at venues. She mainly teaches in Bristol, South West UK, Gloucestershire and Wales but will travel further afield. She also teaches online, visit her website for more details. Jackie very much enjoys teaching and the rewards it brings.
In 2018 her painting of Origanum marjorana was featured in the book ‘The Illustrated College Herbal – Plants from the Pharmacopoea Londinensis of 1618’ organised and published by Jane Knowles, Henry Oakley and Gillian Barlow.
In 2019 Jackie was awarded Full membership with the SBA becoming an SBA Fellow.
In 2020 Jackie wrote a book about colour mixing called ‘Watercolour Mixing Techniques for Botanical Artists’ published by Crowood Press in March 2021. Also in 2020 Jackie started to write a small mini-book series. The first one launched in November ‘The Little Book of Watercolour for Beginner Botanical Artists’.
In 2021, Jackie entered a painting of Southern Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa) to the ABBA ‘Reflections’ exhibition which, along with 66 other artists, has been featured on screen at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew. Inspired by COP26 the exhibition is focused on the crucial role that plants play in preserving the planet’s health and biodiversity, no plants – no planet. This exhibition was shown at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew Gardens in 2022.
In 2022 Jackie won an RHS Gold medal and two of the paintings were bought by the Lindley Library and the Shirley Sherwood Collection.
In 2022 Jackie was invited to join the Hampton Court Palace Florilegium and looks forward to painting with them.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Email: jackieisard@googlemail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jackie.isard/
Website: www.jibotanicals.co.uk
Blog: jibotanicals.com