Lynne Uptin: Banks’ Banksias

Trained at the National Art School Sydney, Lynne practiced as a leading illustrator in Sydney for 13 years before owning and opening two art galleries, a ceramic and a glass art studio.  In 2021 Lynne was awarded the UK Society of Botanical Artists Dip SBA (Dist.) also receiving the SBA Award of Excellence for the highest overall marks on the 3 year course.   In March, Lynne was made an SBA Fellow.

Lynne’s garden on the D’Entrecasteaux Channel at Middleton, provides a continuous source of inspiration for her work. She grows many of the distinctive Gondwanan plants that were isolated as Tasmania broke away from Antarctica 40 million years ago.

 Whilst Lynne strives for botanical accuracy by painting from nature, she seeks to enliven traditional botanical art through links to the discovery and science of Tasmanian plants.

The Golden Age of Botanical Art in the early years of the 19^th century coincided with the exploration of Australia by European plant collectors, botanist and artists. Joseph Banks arrived in Botany Bay on The Endeavour on 28 April 1770 as a wealthy botanical explorer. Amongst those he and his team of botanists and artists discovered were four plants new to them which would later form a genus that would bear his name – Banksia. The new taxonomic genus Banksia was described and named by Carolus Linnaeus the Younger in 1782.

Amongst Joseph Banks’ first Botany Bay collection were the four Banksia species which are the centrepieces I have painted for this exhibition: B.serrata (Old man banksia); B.integrifolia (Coast Banksia), B.ericafolia  (Heath-leaved Banksia) and B. robur (Swamp Banksia).

The type species Banksia serrata was well known to the Cadigal people who lived in the Sydney region prior to the arrival of Europeans, who called it wiriyagan and collected its nectar. Banksia serrata was later made famous by Mae Gibbs in 1916 as she pictured The Big Bad Banksia Men.

All the Banksia species have their own character which Lynne seeks to portray in her painting. Lynne has returned to the place she loves – botanical art.

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