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OSBAlogo acronym

Ottawa Society of Botanical Artists

ACTIVITIES

ART is an ongoing process

of exploration, creativity, technical skill

& knowledge.

GUEST SPEAKERS

Member meetings and guest speaker presentations are regularly held on the 2nd Monday in April,  June, September and November.

Member Meetings  

April 7, 2025 - Member Meeting Presentation

Marvellous Mosses & Luscious Liverworts

Jennifer Doubt
Curator of Botany, Canadian Museum of Nature

For artists, as for scientists, bryophytes (mosses, liverworts and hornworts) offer a world of untapped potential. An expert on Canadian mosses and their plant relatives, Jennifer works in the field and in the lab to document and protect Canada's mosses through research and collaborations.

Blanketing  much of Canada, mosses —especially in the Arctic and boreal regions—and make life possible for thousands of animal and plant species by providing essential food and habitats.

The calendar project was first started by a group of OSBA artists in 2020, as  a way to stay connected  during the pandemic lockdown. The resulting Botanical Art stay@home Calendar 2021 was accessioned into the the City of Ottawa Archives  Ottawa COVID-19 Collection #809'.

The tradition continues with this year's calendar focused on subjects inspired by form, colour, taste or scent. Visit the Galleries menu to see member's beautiful watercolours and drawings.

Calendar 2025

2025

Globe Artichoke & Squash | Celia Godkin

Ottawa Society of Botanical Artists

OSBA members like to get together weekly to sketch in gardens around the National Capital Region.

In the fall of 2020, as the pandemic and colder weather restricted outings to our own backyards, the group began to meet and share their sketches over social media.

The group continues in 2025, and returns to meeting on line when the weather cools.

Sketch POD

SKETCH POD GALLERY

Pumpkins| Theresa Bolton

Several member artists enjoy studying the botanical history and botany of their subjects and share these fascinating details with the membership.

Here is a sampling of their reports:

Research Project

MAGNOLIA

PRICKLY WILD ROSE

SNEEZEWEED

Prickly Wild Rose  | Peg Duncan

Featured Artist

OSBA Member

 

Lauren Foster-MacLeod

Lauren is a constant observer and visual chronicler of the world around her. She earned a BFA at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and also studied fine arts at the Banff Centre.  As a child, Lauren was enrolled in Saturday morning art classes at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Classes in pastel, pottery, sculpture and printmaking, supplemented the art instruction offered at her high school.

Based in Ottawa since 1978, Lauren has freelanced in design and illustration, while also pursuing her love of portraiture, plein air painting and nature art. Since 2010,  she has worked as a courtroom artist capturing the drama of trials in her illustrations of the accused and court scenes for the CBC and other media sources. Lauren's first children's picture book, Bree and Me: A True Story of a Rescue Rooster's Journey, was published in 2022, and written by Camille Licate.

A regular participant in OSBA group exhibitions, highlights include Plant Portraits: Native Plants of Canada at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, Plant as Muse at the Ottawa School of Art Gallery, Shenkman Arts Centre, and Opposites Attract, Trinity Gallery at the Shenkman Arts Centre.

Lauren is the administrator of the Ottawa Urban Sketchers, and as Editor of OSBA's monthly Newsletter keeps OSBA members connected and involved. An inspiration to artists, her collection of sketchbooks titled Foster My Thoughts spans 5 decades!

Featured Artist

OSBA Member

Jan Salmon

Following a career as a music and art teacher in Ottawa, Jan was introduced to Botanical Art through a course given by esteemed botanical artist, Kerri Weller.  Capturing the beauty of nature through art appealed to her and she began creating botanical works in watercolours.  She later switched to using coloured pencil and water-soluble pencils, enjoying the versatility of these media, as well as the range of beautiful, vibrant colours.  Her enthusiasm for coloured pencil led to teaching Botanical Art courses at the Nepean Visual Arts Centre where she gets to share what she has learned with eager and dedicated students.  

Jan enjoys working with vibrant colours in her work, as well as creating depth of colour by applying many layers of different pencil colours.  She also likes to break up the picture plane in different ways to create unique compositions.

Since working in Botanical Art, Jan has exhibited her botanical art works with the Botanical Artists of Canada, the City of Ottawa Archives Gallery, the Trinity and Ottawa School of Art galleries at the Shenkman Arts Centre, the Herb Garden Gallery, the Agriculture Museum in Ottawa’s Experimental Farm, the Orchid Society and the Nepean Visual Arts Centre. Jan had her very large work, Sugar Maple, selected by a jury for the Art of the Plant exhibition held at the Stonewall Gallery, Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa in 2018.

Jan has been president of the Ottawa Society of Botanical Artists and a member since the inception of this dynamic group of artists who share their love of nature and art.

Featured Artist

Honorary OSBA Member

Margaret (Peg) A.Graeb

1922-2024

Born in Ontario in 1922, Peg studied Literature and Social Work at the University of Toronto, before turning to art in 1957. A talented sculptor, she graduated from the Ontario College of Art and continued her creative work throughout a career in social work. In retirement, Peg embraced botanical art studying under esteemed botanical artists Pamela Stagg,  Dorothy Bovey and Ann Dalton.  

Peg joined the American Society of Botanical Artists and exhibited in many of their juried international exhibitions.  Her work is in the collection of the renown Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation. In 1996, Peg was awarded the Grenfell Medal from the Royal Horticultural Society in London,  England for her series of exceptional watercolour paintings of Geraniums. Our dear friend and colleague, Peg passed peacefully in the early morning hours of February 23, 2024, in Perth , Ontario.  

Featured Artist

OSBA Member Exhibit

Linda Hamilton, Paper, Paint & Patterns at the The Mill of Kintail MuseumJuly 1 -31, 2022

A different take on botanical art: Exquisitely crafted and botanically accurate, Linda's artworks featured wildflowers of the Ottawa region, highlighting the beauty of our local flora. Her subjects were chosen and inspired by the museum's 1930's collection of rughooking designs and hooked mats resulting in an interesting exhibit collaboration between artist and museum. A picnic lunch afterwards by attendees rounded out a delightful summer day.