Jacqueline Egan

I am a retired primary school teacher and began painting plants about 12 years ago when I first retired, finding that the process of painting plants in detail combined science and art in a way I loved. Since then, I have belonged to various painting groups and attended numerous courses with different tutors.

I first applied for and completed the RBGE Certificate in Botanical Illustration just to see how I got on with learning online and on my own. I thoroughly enjoyed that course so applied for and was accepted on the Diploma course.

Title of the Project:

Climbing Plants of the British Isles

About the Project:

A fascination with climbing plants and more importantly how they climb led me to choose this project.

I first found out more about the adaptation plants have that enables them to climb, and then found plants that represented each adaptation. I was delighted to find that there were native plants to fit each category and that they all grew either in my garden or within easy reach.

My aim was to produce a ‘plant portrait’ of each plant rather than a true botanical illustration, but that each picture would show the habit, flowers, fruit and method of climbing.

Illustrations: