Francesca Wilkinson

I am a London based botanical photo-artist born in Kent, ‘The Garden of England’ in 1989.

I have been awarded a gold medal from the Royal Horticultural Society for my botanical photography, the most prestigious award for botanical art in the United Kingdom.

To create my photographs, I employ an improvised technique of ‘camera-less’ photography, using the flatbed scanner as a lens. Using a camera-less technique echoes the traditional methods used for the very first botanical photographs taken in the early part of the 19th century, such as the cyanotype photogram.

I have always been passionate about conservation and the natural environment, and the botanical world never ceases to amaze me.

I donate £25 of each limited edition print sale to charities Plant Life and Butterfly Conservation UK. Both charities work to protect wildlife and the environments which they thrive in.

I also take commissions, depending on the availability of the flora requested.

2020 - present BA(Hons) Environmental Studies, Open University

2013 MA Photography, University for the Creative Arts (Distinction).

2011 BA (Hons) Fashion, University of the West of England (2.1)

September 2021, RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show, Saatchi Gallery, London

November 2019, Now, For the Future (Group Show), Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool

July 2019, RHS London Art & Photography Show, Lindley Hall, London

December 2018, Unseen Realities (Group Show), The Art Academy Newington, London

2013 UCA Masters graduate show, Canterbury

2011 Chiaroscuro, Bristol Cathedral

AWARDS & RECOGNITION:

Gold Medal RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show, 2020

Shortlisted for Siena Creative Photographer of the Year Award, 2020

Recipient of Shutter Hub Membership Bursary, 2020

Silver-gilt Medal RHS Art and Photography Show, 2019