Meriel Thurstan - Botanical Artist

I must admit I took extra art lessons at school mainly as a way of avoiding having to play hockey, lacrosse and netball. I started botanical illustration when I was working in Cornwall, where I was a founder, now a Fellow, of the Eden Project Florilegium Society. 

Rosie Martin and I organized and tutored the extremely successful annual Eden diploma course in botanical illustration, which developed into weekly classes, demonstrations, workshops and a distance learning course.

I subsequently set up the South West Society of Botanical Artists (SWSBA) and was the first chairman from 2006-2011. 

I was an elected member of the Society of Floral Painters. I was awarded a Bronze medal from the Royal Horticultural Society for paintings of different-coloured potatoes, and an RHS Silver Linley medal  for paintings of Fungi of the Eden Project.

I live and teach in Somerset, and am co-author, with Rosie Martin, of five books on how to do botanical and natural history illustration. I exhibit with SWSBA and also at other venues in the West Country.

My botanical paintings hang in England, France and Australia.