English

I studied glass art as a student and worked as a glass artist. I had a lot of success, holding solo exhibitions and exhibiting my work in exhibitions abroad, but I tried too hard and ended up suffering from burnout. It was during this slightly difficult period that I had my first encounter with botanical art. I moved to the UK and happened to see a sign in the corridor of the English conversation class I was attending in London that read ‘Botanical Art Classes’.

In Japan, I had learnt flower arranging to make glass vases and tea ceremony to make tea sets, so I decided to continue flower arranging in London and looked at various exhibitions, but I was having trouble finding an instructor. Then I saw a notice on a poster and thought, “Flower painting? I studied under Ms Masumi Yamanaka, the official botanical artist of the KEW (Royal Botanic Gardens), and as I was painting, I got hooked. It became my only pleasure in the house during the dark and cold months of London.

I feel that British people have more contact with plants than Japanese people. There are various events such as the Chelsea Flower Show, which is shown on TV throughout the year. Even if you don’t have a garden, you can find flowers blooming in any small space. Since I started botanical art, when I walk outside I see a lot of plants and I enjoy my walks, thinking “I want to paint this” or “I want to paint that”.​

Botanical art differs from simple watercolour painting in that the background is not painted. The rule is to accurately observe and copy the plants themselves. That is why I am very particular about the composition of my paintings. The same plant can be painted in ten different ways, but how impressive and attractive the plant is within the rules is where the artist’s originality is tested.

When I draw, I also delve into the background of the plant. It becomes fun to discover that the relationship between history and plants is very interesting and fascinating.

Currently, I work mainly as a botanical art painter and continue to make glass works on a made-to-order basis.

Kayoko Miyazawa