The Anglo-Ethiopian Society
Exhibition - RHS London Botanical Art Show - Horn of Africa Aloes: Adaptation to drought
Sarah Howard
From Friday 26th February 2016 to Saturday 27th February 2016
Exhibition held at the Royal Horticultural Society's Lindey Hall, London SW1P 2QW as part of the RHS London Botanical Art Show.
Friday - Saturday 10.00am - 5.00pm, Admission £6 in advance, £9 on the door.
The 2016 RHS London Botanical Art Show includes an entry 'Horn of Africa Aloes: Adaptation to Drought' - A series of 6 paintings by Sarah Howard (The illustration is of Aloe schelpei).
Sarah has always carried a sketchbook and brushes on her travels. She turned from landscapes to plants when she first lived in Ethiopia in 1989. Later, from 1997 to 2000 she was illustrator to the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea project based at the National Herbarium in Addis Ababa. She holds a Diploma in Botanical Illustration with Distinction from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, is an award winning exhibitor at Botanical Illustration Scotland (BISCOT), and has exhibited at one of the prestigious Hunt Institute's triennial exhibitions of Botanical Art at the Carnegie-Mellon University Pittsburgh, USA.
With a childhood in Kenya, she graduated from SOAS in African History and Social Anthropology. She worked as an archivist on the Leakey family papers in Nairobi, and also worked on her father's correspondence from the Abyssinian Campaign during World War II. She is author of Culture Smart! Ethiopia.
Sarah is most interested in providing a visual description of Ethiopia's rare and beautiful plants in the the face of habitat loss and climate change. An intimate knowledge of the subject's context is important to her in creating a faithful portrait, and regards fieldwork an essential component of the painting. She hopes the Aloes contribute to a positive image of Ethiopia, and that it will be possible to continue painting many more of its unique plants for the benefit and pleasure of local residents and foreign visitors alike.
More information on the art show can be found on the Royal Horticultural Society's website.