The Quantock Hills Botanical Art Project
~ by Mary Taylor, South West Society of Botanical Artists
We are a group of members of the South West Society of Botanical Artists (SWSBA) from Somerset and Devon. For a long time, we have mulled over the idea of forging links with local wildlife organisations and were seeking a ‘painting project with a purpose’. We were inspired by the botanical art project set up by SWSBA members in Hampshire and Dorset, in partnership with the New Forest National Park Authority, to create an archive of pictures of the flora of the New Forest. In the spring of 2024 we approached the Quantock Hills National Landscape Team to discuss ideas for a joint project.
Raising the profile of plants
The Quantock Team would like to raise the profile of the plant life on the Quantock Hills and tell the stories of links between the plants that grow and the animals that live here. Our aim is to get the message over that by managing the habitats and plant life, the animal species will survive. After joint site visits with the Quantocks team and SWSBA members, the Quantock Project was established in the summer of 2024 and is expected to last several years.
We hold monthly painting days at Fyne Court where the National Trust is very kindly allowing us to use the Music Room. We are not aiming to produce a florilegium, but all the work will be botanically accurate. The Quantock Partnership prepared an initial list of species of interest for us to paint. In the long term they would like to have an archive of prints of our paintings that could be used for promotional work. We also hope to hold an exhibition of the paintings at Fyne Court and possibly at other venues in Somerset.
What have we painted so far?
In the first year we have painted over 40 different species, with our main focus being the plants growing on Quantocks Common including heather species, Western Gorse, Cow-wheat, Bilberry and Tormentil. In the autumn of 2024, we had a wonderful day painting the waxcap fungi growing on unimproved pasture near Fyne Court. A couple of us have started to paint lichens growing on the sessile oaks in Holcombe and were surprised by the number of different species growing on an oak tree; we have also made a start on the fern species. One of our painters is keeping a monthly picture record of the species of interest.
Community engagement
In March this year we held the first of our free open workshops at Fyne Court, promoted by the Quantocks team. The aim of these workshops is to raise the profile of the project and to introduce people to botanical art. The ‘Primroses in Pen and Water Colour Wash’ session was very successful. Some of those who attended were new to painting, others were experienced in other types of painting but wanted to explore botanical painting. In September we held our second free workshop: ‘Autumn Fruits and Berries’. Eighteen people attended this workshop and some of them are now joining our monthly painting days at Fyne Court. We have also started painting the small species that grow on the grass rides, including heath bedstraw, heath speedwell and grass species. This year has been challenging as the exceptionally hot summer meant the flowering period for many of the plants was early and very short.
What are our future plans?
In 2026 we hope to paint the significant species growing on the coastal strip and the Orchid species growing on unimproved pasture.
Another area we’re exploring are the plants linked with the different species of Hairstreak butterflies. For example, Elm trees and the White-letter hairstreak that has now been rediscovered on the Quantocks. We are planning another workshop in the late spring of 2026 focusing on painting leaves.
We hope to include paintings from the project at our annual exhibition to be held in Taunton Library in the autumn. If you are interested in finding out more about our project, come and visit us at Fyne Court, our final painting day for this year is Wednesday 19th November.
