Amicus Botanicus

Lyn Sykes

Lyn attended the Botanical Painting Course run by the English Gardening School at the Chelsea Physic Garden in 2004 and was awarded the Diploma (Dip EGS) for a series of six watercolours depicting plants that are a source of nectar and pollen for honeybees.

Amicus Botanicus was formed by eleven contemporaries from this course and they held their first exhibition at Shepherd Market in Mayfair, London in September 2008 and continue to exhibit biennially.

Lyn also belongs to Bath Society of Botanical Painters (BSBA) which exhibits annually in Bath. She helped co-ordinate their group exhibition held at the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland in Dublin in 2009. This depicted the plants discovered by Augustine Henry in China in the 1880's. In June 2012 BSBA are exhibiting at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institute, Queen Square, Bath and highlighting the 125th anniversary of the Bath Botanical Gardens.

Artist’s Statement

‘As part of my studies to become a Master Beekeeper I was looking at the structure of bees, flowers and pollen under the microscope and it was while recording this fascinating world that I became inspired to paint what I saw in all its glorious detail.

I love all the nitty-gritty details of the structure of the flowers. I enjoy the challenge of planning the composition as well as painting the scientific detail. While standing back to look at the plant as a whole there are always shapes and colours which surprise and delight.

E-mail address: lyn.sykes@btconnect.com