Ann Swan contemporary botanical art, one of the UK's leading botanical artists specialising in pencil and coloured pencil drawings of flowers and plants. Limited edition prints, greetings cards, workshops, tableware and giftware available.
Ann studied in the 1960s at Manchester College of Art and Design. Pencil drawing has always been her favourite medium but it was not until 1988 that she was able to combine her interest in natural forms with her drawing skills.
She began to exhibit in 1990 and now shows her work worldwide. Exhibitions include The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in 1994 and the Hunt Institute's 8th International Exhibition in Pittsburgh USA. She exhibits regularly at the Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows and with the Society of Botanical Artists and Society of Flower Painters. Her work is represented in the Shirley Sherwood Collection and features in many prestigious private collections around the world. Her drawings of Lycastes for The National Collection of Lycastes have been awarded 4 Gold Medals by the RHS and a silver medal at the 14th World Orchid Conference.
Ann's striking pencil drawings of plant forms are intensely observed and often brilliantly enhanced with colour, exhibiting a strong sense of style and design. She has developed her own individual techniques, either building up layers of dry coloured pencil or applying conté pastel or coloured pencils with solvent.
Many of her meticulous plant portraits have now been reproduced by a specialist Fine Art Printer and member of the Fine Art Guild. The drawings are laser scanned to capture all the fine detail and then printed lithographically on acid free paper. The light-fast colours are hand mixed to reproduce exactly the quality of the original and the process is monitored at every stage by the artist. Each print is signed and numbered and the editions are strictly limited. See the Limited Edition Print Gallery.
In 1998 Ann started drypoint engraving which adapts well to her detailed style. She engraves directly onto copper plate with a diamond or steel carbide point and then hand prints the plates herself. The editions are limited to between 10 and 25 prints.
Some of her work is also reproduced as high quality Greetings Cards.
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