The Margaret Flockton Award

This year, 79 artists from 25 countries submitted 103 works. Entries were predominantly rendered in the traditional form of ink on paper or board, with other illustrations showing interesting and varied techniques in graphite and digital methods.
 
Many plates could have been grouped in the final top 5, showing excellent scientific accuracy, technical and artistic merit and composition. While great diversity in style was immediately evident in the collection, some artists didn’t utilise the plant’s natural form in order to enhance the composition, while others allowed elements to be both stylistically rendered and logically arranged.
 
Inconsistent botanical accuracy, as well as confusing scale references or an absence of scale bars, helped discern between competing works. Judges noted that some drawings were incomplete portraits, lacking the full lifecycle. Others displayed repeating information or did not magnify elements enough to inform the work clearly.
 
The majority of illustrations were created at the maximum size of A3. Some displayed excessively large elements to fill the space, with a level of detail that would be both time consuming and possibly reproduce badly on reduction. Works that displayed clever use of line weight and economy of stipple to give depth, texture or a focal point were rewarded.
Fine, skilful rendering that reproduced with clarity when reduced was a decisive factor that help settle the order of the final illustrations.

Esmee’s illustration has been award the 1^st prize this year for its exacting skilful technique and perfectly balanced composition. The clarity of the strong line is complemented by the perfectly rendered elements, with a concise stipple technique used only where required to convincingly describe form.  Line weight is also used to describe shadow and depth. The illustration rhythmically reveals the life cycle and key features of this Western Australian species.

This finely rendered illustration is flawlessly executed in ink on board. Exquisite hatching clearly but sensitively describes the complex form of the habit. Textures are a joy to discover, with careful observation of highlights and shadows creating a clear impression of raspy edges, course anthers and oh-so-many awl-shaped protuberances!

This illustration is in memory of Professor Renato Mello-Silva, who was responsible for the discovery, research and description of this and many other new species of Velloziaceae that the artist has illustrated.

The judges were blown away by this masterful pencil rendering.  The structure of the highly complex Cycas species was clearly and accurately captured while still maintaining a soft tonal effect.  The layering of the many elements, although ‘intense’ is still easy to read and reproduces well.  The artist’s love of the medium and the subject is clearly evident in this ambitious artwork.

This illustration captures the viewer with its dynamic style.  The plant jumps from the page and almost comes alive – who’d be a fly?  While a more stylised illustration, this work still captures in scientific detail all of the key features of the species in an excellent and easy to read composition.

This smaller illustration displays highly proficient technique, resulting in a perfect example of a black and white plate suitable for reduction and publication. Stippling and linework are in perfect balance to describe the minute pinnae of the Acacia and the treatment of the inflorescence depicts the lightly coloured, fluffy flowers.  Although not a complex composition, it clearly illuminates the key features of this well-known, but as yet unnamed, subspecies of Acacia terminalis.
 

All previous winners of the Margaret Flockton Award are eligible to enter, excluding the 2018, 2019 and 2020 first prize winning artists.

There are no entry fees for the Margaret Flockton Award and Exhibition.

Entries to be submitted close of business Friday 12th March EST.

Works must have been produced after February 2019.

Exhibition:
Monday 7 June - Thursday 24 June 2021, The Calyx, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
Dates TBC 2021, Visitor Centre at The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah

Online Flickr gallery: from Fri 11 June, 2021. 

All illustrations and paperwork must be submitted digitally. Original artworks and paperwork sent via the postal system will no longer be accepted.

Each artist may submit up to two illustrations. Only high resolution digital scans of black and white (for example pen and ink, graphite or scraperboard) illustrations and/or monochromatic, digitally rendered illustrations, either published or unpublished, will be considered. All illustrations must be intended for 2D printed output. Animated or 3D rendered works or images dependent on digital viewing, as well as photos and photo montage works, are not eligible for submission.

Entries are to be digitally submitted at 100% of original artwork size with an image area no larger than A3 (295 mm x 420 mm) and no smaller than (180 x 250 mm), EXCLUDING legend. Illustrations outside of these parameters will not be accepted. The digital canvas size may only be longer than A3 to allow for the legend. The illustration should include a small legend (with plant name and all lettered components), neatly written or typed at the bottom of the artwork, outside of the image area.

Only full plate illustrations will be accepted (inclusive of habit study and diagnostic features of the species). Inclusion of scale bars, whilst not compulsory, is highly recommended.

Note: eligible entries may be printed at 67% of original size to assess reproducibility at judging.

Due to limitations of space, a selection of works will be made for exhibition.
Illustrations selected for exhibition will be printed on high quality paper and framed in standard exhibition frames.

The Margaret Flockton Award Exhibition will display high quality prints of submitted digital files only. Original artworks are neither exhibited nor sold at the Margaret Flockton Award Exhibition. If artists wish to provide an email or professional website address for direct enquiries regarding sales/other from the customer, please enter details on the biography template and consent to their use via the entry form.

 On the entry form consent is sought for the following -

1. for the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust to store and print one high resolution copy of each entry for judging and exhibition.

2. to allow high resolution illustrations to be reproduced and biographical information to be used by the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust or the Foundation and Friends of the Botanic Gardens for the sole purpose of promoting the Margaret Flockton Award and Exhibition.

3. to allow low resolution illustrations to be created and watermarked with ‘MFA2021’ and biographical information to be viewed in an on-line ‘flickr’ gallery format created by the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust and the Foundation and Friends of the Botanic Gardens.

4. to indicate that your original or digital print is available for sale.

5. for your contact details to be publicly displayed on your biography and exhibition label.

The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust and the Foundation and Friends of the Botanic Gardens are the sole owners of the information collected from the entry forms and any other information submitted and will not sell or rent this information to others. Information will be shared for the sole purpose of advertising or promoting the Margaret Flockton Award and Exhibition. All care of artworks and rights of artists will be respected and no illustrations will be commercially reproduced from this process.

Create a folder to upload your completed forms (1-4) in your Dropbox account.
Label your folder as follows: SURNAME MFA 2021 (eg. WARDROP MFA 2021)


1. Complete my entry form
Each illustration must be accompanied by an entry form. When submitting this form you are agreeing to all of the conditions of entry. Please read all conditions carefully before submitting.
Incomplete entry forms may render entries ineligible. Please tick the checklist on the entry form to ensure all information has been supplied.
Please note: Label your entry form as follows: SURNAME entry form (eg. WARDROP entry form.docx)

2. Complete my label template
Each illustration is to be accompanied by a fully completed label template with the scientific name of the plant, medium, artist's name and the legend of the drawing. These will be printed and displayed with each work.
Please note: Label your label template as follows: SURNAME Plant name label template (eg. WARDROP Casuarina glauca label template.docx)

3. Complete my biography
The provision of biographical information, contact details and photo is completely optional.
Please note: Label your biography as follows: SURNAME biography (eg. WARDROP biography.docx)
see example biography.

A folder containing biographies of the contributing artists is compiled each year for visitors to refer to. For your biography a template has been provided on the link above with fields for your name, date and place of birth; education and career highlights; publication and exhibition history; website and email contact details. A scanned portrait or suitable passport photo of the artist is also to be inserted in the delineated spot in the template. Otherwise, a digital photo can be emailed separately.
Please limit the length of your biography to under two A4 pages.

NOTE: Original artworks are neither exhibited nor sold at the Margaret Flockton Award Exhibition. If artists wish to provide an email or professional website address for direct enquiries regarding sales/other from the customer, they must enter those details on the biography template and consent to their use via the entry form.

4. Supply a taxonomic description
A taxonomic description (either published or unpublished) must be provided with each illustration. The taxonomic description should be typed and submitted electronically. This will not be framed with the artwork but will be available in a separate folder during the judging and exhibition. Examples of such descriptions can be found in local Flora publications or on PlantNET, an on-line resource for the plants of New South Wales.
Please note: Label your taxonomic description as follows: SURNAME Genus taxonomic description (eg. WARDROP Casuarina taxonomic description.docx)

Digital submission - artwork

All illustrations and paperwork must be submitted digitally via Dropbox 
https://www.dropbox.com/basic

Submit completed forms (1-4) with up to two image files to Dropbox
Please note: Label each image file as follows: ARTIST SURNAME Plant name (eg. WARDROP Casuarina glauca.tiff)
Once you have created your account be sure to invite botanical.illustration@rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au to View AND Edit files in the shared folder where you have uploaded your image files.
The Margaret Flockton Award Committee will contact you to confirm your image files have been received.
 
Digital file specifications
One high resolution digitial file is to be submitted for each illustration. The file size should not exceed 200MB.

High resolution for judging and exhibiting:
No photos of artworks will be accepted - scanned original works or digitally created images only.

Ink line and stipple - Bitmap tiff @ 1200dpi
Pencil or Continuous tone - Greyscale tiff or psd (NOT jpg) (Colour files will NOT be accepted, please convert to greyscale) @ 600dpi (minimum).

Entries are to be digitally submitted at 100% of original artwork size with an image area no larger than A3 (295 mm x 420 mm) and no smaller than (180 x 250 mm), EXCLUDING legend. Illustrations outside of these parameters will not be accepted. The digital canvas size may only be longer than A3 to allow for the legend.

Whilst large file transfer sites such as Dropbox are reliable and secure The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust and the Foundation and Friends of the Botanic Gardens will not be liable for any breaches of security associated with transfer of digital images and information associated with the entries in the Margaret Flockton Award nor will they be responsible for any loss or damage of files in transit.

Entries will be assessed in accordance with the following criteria: accurate interpretation and portrayal of plant characters and diagnostic features; technical merit; reproducibility; composition; artistic merit. See A Guide to Scientific Illustration for more information on judging criteria.

Works should be submitted as ready for publication and must be capable of being reduced to 67% of the original size without loss of detail. A major criterion of scientific illustration is that images should be clearly and simply reproduced through the printing process.

After judging or, in the case of exhibited works, at the conclusion of the exhibition period, all high resolution digital files and printed illustrations will be destroyed with the exception of the winning, second prize and highly commended works. These are to be stored for historical and publicity purposes only. With the artist’s permission (see entry form) low resolution jpgs will be available for on-line viewing from 11 June 2021 via our Flickr gallery.

First and second prize-winners will be paid by electronic transfer in Australian dollars soon after the awards are announced. Overseas artists will be paid by International Money Transfer in Australian dollars and will need to provide their bank account information upon request. Overseas artists should note their banking institutions may charge fees for international transactions

The science of botany requires plant taxonomists to describe plant species in both words and drawings, with botanists preparing a detailed description of the plant and the artist producing an accompanying illustration.

Taxonomic illustrations are normally published in scientific journals as highly detailed black and white drawings (primarily pen and ink, more rarely pencil) or digitally rendered illustrations (excluding photos and photo-montage), representing aspects of plant morphology essential for identification.

The Margaret Flockton Award is unique in art awards in that it recognises and promotes scientific botanical illustration as opposed to botanical art.
With the above in mind, the evaluation of entries is based on the following criteria:

• Accurate interpretation and portrayal of plant characters and diagnostic features noted in the botanical description
• Technical merit
• Reproducibility
• Composition
• Artistic merit

When considering these broad criteria, the following are also taken into account:

Precision and accuracy 
Correct botanical detail, all plant characters and diagnostic features must be accurately displayed.

Reproducibility
The image must be capable of being successfully scanned and reproduced (often reduced) without loss of detail. Very dense (black) or light detail may not reproduce well. A major criterion of scientific illustration is that images should be clearly and simply reproduced through the printing process. Illustrations must be capable of being reduced to 67% of the original size without loss of detail.

Good composition 
The plate should be laid out to give a balanced presentation allowing the overall effect to be aesthetically pleasing. This balance is best demonstrated by the careful placement of the primary subject. In other cases, balance may be the result of careful placement of the dissected details of the plant.

Use of scale bars, whilst not mandatory, is preferred
Great care should be taken in giving the correct scale of each feature. If possible, avoid using multipliers eg. 'x3' or 'x0.5' to indicate the size of features, as this becomes meaningless if the drawing is used in a publication and printed at a different size; the use of a scale bar is accurate regardless of changes to the size of the image.

Signature 
The signature should be neat, small and consistent, with the year noted.

For enquiries and further information

Lesley Elkan and Catherine Wardrop
The Margaret Flockton Award
c/- Illustration, National Herbarium of NSW
Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust
Mrs Macquaries Road
Sydney NSW 2000 Australia
Telephone: 02 9231 8133
Email: botanical.illustration@rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au