Botanical Art Judges

Explore the experts behind the botanical art judging panel at the RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show. This medal-awarded category celebrates works judged on technique, creativity and botanical accuracy, while highlighting the deep connection between plants and people

Botanical Art Judges profiles

Meet the judges who select the very best exhibits in botanical art:

Gillian Barlow (Chair of Judges) | Botanical artist

Gillian is a botanical illustrator with over 30 years of experience in the field. She studied at the Slade School of Fine Art before completing an MA in Art History at the University of Sussex. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is held in numerous major collections around the world.

A regular contributor to publications including The New Plantsman and Curtisт Botanical Magazine, Gillian has also spent many years teaching botanical art. She served as assistant artist to the RHS Orchid Committee and later became a member of the RHS Picture Committee, now the RHS Botanical Art Judging Panel.

Her work has been recognised with multiple awards, including RHS Gold medals in 1994, 1997, and 1999 (joint exhibit), and the prestigious RHS Veitch Memorial Medal in 2015.

Raymond Evision OBE (Moderator) | RHS Vice-President, judge, nurseryman, author and photographer

Raymond is a renowned horticulturist whose career began at the age of 15 and has been defined by a lifelong dedication to the cultivation and development of Clematis species and cultivars.

He founded the Guernsey Clematis Nursery, which has grown to become one of the worldтs leading specialist producers of young clematis plants, supplying both wholesale and retail markets internationally.

A prominent figure in horticultural circles, Raymond served on the Council of the RHS and was Chairman of the RHS Shows Committee from 1988 to 1995. He was elected Vice-President of the RHS in 2005.

His work has earned him wide recognition, including an outstanding 35 RHS Gold medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Deborah Lambkin | RHS orchid and botanical artist

Deborah has worked as a professional botanical illustrator since graduating from the National College of Art and Design in Ireland in 1991.

In 2005, she was appointed the ninth official Orchid Artist for the RHS, a role in which she has created more than 500 orchid portraits. She also collaborates with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and is a regular speaker and demonstrator, sharing insights into her artistic process and botanical subjects.

Her work has received numerous accolades, including an RHS Gold medal in 1999. In 2019, she was awarded the Jill Smythies Award by the Linnean Society of London for outstanding botanical illustration, followed in 2020 by First prize in the Margaret Flockton Award from the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney for her illustration of a newly identified Gastrodia orchid species.

Masumi Yamanaka | Botanical artist, teacher, curator and writer

Masumi is a botanical artist who trained under the celebrated illustrator Pandora Sellars, whom she credits as both mentor and the person who introduced her to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Dividing her time between Tokyo and London, Masumi draws inspiration from both cultural and horticultural landscapes. Since 2006, she has worked as a resident artist at RBG Kew, contributing illustrations to Curtisт Botanical Magazine and documenting plants from the living collections. While in Japan, she teaches botanical illustration at the Botanic Gardens of Tokyo University.

In recognition of her work, Masumi was awarded an RHS Gold medal in 2010.

Helen Allen | Botanical artist and teacher

Helen began her career as a textile designer and teacher before turning to botanical art. She studied at the English Gardening School at the Chelsea Physic Garden in London, where she earned the prestigious Diploma in Botanical Illustration. She went on to teach on the course and later served as its Course Director.

In 2014, she founded The Chelsea School of Botanical Art at the Chelsea Physic Garden, and she now teaches privately from her garden studio near Richmond Park.

Helen was the project lead for the Transylvania Florilegium, a major botanical initiative commissioned by King Charles III and produced by Addison Publications. Her work is held in both private and public collections worldwide.

Andrew P. Brown | Botanical illustrator

Andrew studied botany at Oxford University and completed his PhD at Cambridge. He spent 30 years teaching biology before transitioning to a career as a freelance botanical illustrator.

Since 2002, Andrew has worked extensively with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, specialising in pen-and-ink illustrations. His work features in prominent collections such as the Highgrove Florilegium, Transylvania Florilegium, the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society, the Hunt Institute in Pittsburgh, and the RHS Lindley Library, London.

In recognition of his exceptional work, Andrew was awarded the Jill Smythies Award for outstanding botanical illustration by the Linnean Society of London in 2022. He also holds four RHS Gold medals, awarded in 1992, 1994, 1997, and 1999.

Lucy T. Smith | Botanical artist and illustrator

Lucy holds a Visual Arts Degree (Hons) and a Master of Creative Arts from James Cook University of North Queensland, Australia (1994 and 1999). She has worked professionally as a botanical artist and illustrator for more than 30 years, with the past 25 years spent freelancing for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which holds hundreds of her illustrations in its collection.

Lucy teaches botanical illustration at Kew Gardens and other institutions, and her work is featured in collections worldwide. In 2024, she published her first instructional book, Botanical Sketchbooks: An Artistтs Guide to Plant Studies, with The Crowood Press.

She has received numerous awards, including the Jill Smythies Award for Scientific Botanical Illustration from the Linnean Society in 2003, First prize in the Margaret Flockton Award in 2014 and 2017, and the Botanical Illustrator Award for Excellence from the American Society of Botanical Artists in 2020. She also holds two RHS Gold medals, awarded in 2001 and 2002.

Mary Ellen Taylor | Botanical artist and teacher

Mary Ellenтs journey into botanical art was inspired by her life in the GalУЁpagos Islands and the Andes Mountains of Ecuador, where the unique flora and fauna deepened her appreciation for plant survival strategies. She studied under Anne-Marie Evans at the English Gardening School at the Chelsea Physic Garden, where she later served as Diploma Course Manager for 12 years.

Currently Chair of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society, Mary Ellenтs illustrations have been featured in books, magazines, international exhibitions, and are held in private collections worldwide. She contributed to the Prince of Walesтs Foundation Romania Transylvania Florilegium project and participated in the Oak Spring Garden Foundation Residency Program in the USA, also contributing to their Florilegium.

Mary Ellen continues to teach and paint both in the UK and internationally.

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