Waipukurau's Electra gallery features botanical art by Gillian Receveur

In April 2017 Gillian graduated from the Art Workers' Guild Hall in London with a Society of Botanical Artist's Diploma.

Introducing her exhibition at Electra Gallery in Waipukurau this month, featured artist Gillian Receveur says the fascination of plants lies in the detail.

"Plants have always been of interest to me with their form, habits and colour."

Receveur studied art at school and teachers' college but many years later discovered pencil art.

"After a few years I needed to upskill and so at the beginning of 2014 I decided to apply to the Society of Botanical Artists in England to study their Distance Learning Diploma course.

"I had to submit a piece of work in October of 2014 to see if I could cope with the course and, fortunately, I was accepted. The course began in January 2015, but as soon as my course materials arrived, I made a start.

For the past two-and-a-half years, Receveur has been at her drawing board daily for up to eight hours a day.

Two pieces of Gillian Receveur's work were accepted for the World Wide Botanical Art Exhibition in 2018.

"I studied plants and presented major drawing assignments to London-based tutors," she says. "I honed my skills of observation and a tight drawing technique. I enjoy the discipline and the attention to detail, breaking the drawing down to the cellular structure.

"I mainly use Faber-Castell Polychromos coloured pencils. They are oil-based and hold a point well, an essential requirement of fine detailed work."

In April 2017, she graduated from the Art Workers' Guild Hall in London with a Society of Botanical Artist's Diploma.

Two pieces of Receveur's work were accepted for the World Wide Botanical Art Exhibition in 2018. The exhibition was held in Auckland, Wellington and Blenheim, and digitally toured 24 other countries.

She continues to draw and accepts commissions, but the pressure is off and she can now experiment more. Backgrounds are added and sometimes only parts of a plant or flower are depicted.

Receveur has sold work nationally and a piece of her work also features in Botanical Painting by Margaret Stevens.