Bloom 2015

 Red dates Phoenix dactylifera, GOLD MEDAL ©Shevaun Doherty 2013

The difference between TRY and TRIUMPH is a little UMPH.

~Anonymous

I am walking around with a grin that would do the Cheshire Cat proud. 

This has been a bit of a rollercoaster year for me, but this week, all the hard work, time and sheer stubbornness paid off. 

I won TWO medals, a Gold and a Silver, at Bloom Botanical & Floral Art Exhibition!!!

"Per aspera ad astra" (Through difficulties to the stars)
Aesculus hippocastanum triptych SILVER MEDAL

 Woohoo!!

I was very lucky to win a gold medal last year, but to get a second this year was a huge surprise! It’s like hearing a little voice saying in my ear “Keep going. You’re on the right path”.

Excuse me whilst I do another little happy dance around my room from the sheer delight of it all!

The Bloom Festival is Ireland’s biggest garden festival, taking place each year in the gorgeous setting of Phoenix Park on the June Bank Holiday weekend. With over 110,000 visitors travelling from all over the country to visit, it’s fair to say that it has something for everyone, from show gardens to a Plant Pavilion, a Craft Village and a very impressive botanical art exhibition.

Beauty and Talent! Liz Prendergast, Siobhan Larkin, Lynn Stringer and Holly Somerville 

Now in it’s third year, the Bloom Botanical & Floral Art exhibition is a juried art exhibition which is open to all artists. It’s heartening to see the interest in botanical art grow over here, and everyone agrees that the work just gets better and better.

 This year there are 53 paintings in total, divided into two categories, Botanical and Floral. 21 medals were awarded in total, of which there were six golds and four silver gilts, which is an indication of the high quality of the work submitted.

Yanny Petters wins a Gold and best in Show for her Meadow Plantain Speedwell (block print with watercolour) 

I was thrilled to see my good friend Yanny Petters awarded a Gold medal and Best in Show for her stunning Meadow Plantain Speedwell (block print with watercolour) in the Floral category.

Siobhan Larkin and her stunning Iris in coloured pencil, also wins Gold and Best in Show

Siobhan Larkin, another friend and outstanding coloured pencil artist also won a gold medal and Best in Show for her Iris.

Jane Stark’s lovely painting of a Sun pitcher, Heliamphora heterodoxa got a Silver gilt.

Holly Somerville's poppies win a Silver gilt, whilst Yanny's apple wins a Bronze

Elaine Moore Mackey's Clematis cirrhosa (Freckles) was one of the first paintings with a Red Dot ... no wonder she's smiling!

For a full list of prize winners, please click here

The best thing about Bloom is that like the SBA in London, it’s an opportunity to meet up with friends and to celebrate all our successes together. Everyone did well. The place looked amazing and there was a great buzz about the place at the opening. 

Horticulturist, garden designer and gardening correspondent for The Irish Times, Fionnuala Fallon did the honour of opening the exhibition and gave a nice speech to a packed room on the merits of botanical art.

I’m delighted to say that I have at last had prints and cards of my work made up. If you are interested in purchasing any, leave a comment below (it won’t be published) or email me at shevaun.doherty at gmail.com

Bloom is on from Thursday 29^th May until Monday 1^st June. The Botanical & Floral Art Exhibition is on in the Visitors Centre, beside Ashton Castle and the walled garden. Do pop in and visit, you won’t be disappointed.

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm”

Ralph Waldo Emmerson

Further reading:-

http://botanicalsketches.blogspot.ie/2014/05/bloom-2014.html 

http://makingamark.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/botanical-art-exhibitions-and-news-blog.html