“Botanical painting is for me the most enjoyable combination of art, history, and science. I am fascinated by the history of an art form, which is flourishing now after a long period of being considered irrelevant and unfashionable.
Through it I have found an interest in growing and painting ‘historic’ plants such as the early cultivars of the tulip, and have become a member of the wonderful Wakefield and North of England Tulip Society. I feel that what I have embarked upon is a lifelong and fantastically interesting learning process.”
Louise Young was born in Kirkcudbright, Scotland in 1956. Brought up in Kirkcudbright then Nottingham, she moved to Cardiff aged 18 to study at Cardiff College of Art.
She married artist Steve Young (one of her tutors – it was ok then!), and whilst bringing up two daughters she worked designing and making knitwear, and then leather clothing.
Along with her continuing interest in art Louise has always been a keen gardener, and was inspired by a short course in botanical painting to combine these interests.
She gained a diploma in botanical painting at the English Gardening School at the Chelsea Physic Garden under the tutelage of Anne Marie Evans and Helen Allen in 2004 –2006, and has since exhibited in a group show at the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Carmarthenshire.
Links
National Botanic Garden of Wales
www.gardenofwales.org.uk
Wakefield and North of England Tulip Society
www.tulipsociety.co.uk
