| Beverly Allen | |
| Nationality: | Australian |
| Known For: | botanical painting |
Beverly Allen (born 1945) is an Australian artist specializing in botanical paintings. Her works are typically life size pieces of plants from her garden or native to Australia. Her artworks have been recognized internationally and collected in many private and public collections. She does workshops at the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney between her art collaborations and exhibitions.
Allen was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1945. She started illustrating the world around her when she was young.[1] She found her way to painting and botanical art after discovering Shirley Sherwood's book "Contemporary Botanical Artist" and viewing Sherwood's exhibit at SH Irvin Gallery in 1998.[2] Allen studied graphic design and illustration before turning to botanical art in 1997.[3] She went to Sydney University and achieved a bachelor's degree in fine arts.
Allen first started her artist career as a package designer for a cosmetic maker and an advertising agency in Australia.[4] Once Allen became known as a botanical artist in 1998 she co-founded the Florilegium Society and was pronounced president. While in Sydney, she associates with the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust and teaches master classes on realism painting and botanical art. She has taught such classes for roughly 12 years.[5] She acquires her materials for her works and workshops from the Sydney flower market. When working on her art pieces she uses paper that allows for life sized representations, the paper is propped up to nearly vertical on a drawing table. Her paints sit on a wheeled chest within reach of the paper, and the subject is stationed on a wheeled trolley. The ability to move her subjects and the paper and paints around allows her to utilize the lighting within the room.
Her pieces can be found in exhibits internationally such as New York, Washington, Chicago, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Kyoto, and London as well as in multiple public and private collections such as The Kew, the RHS Lindley Library, the Hunt, Highgrove, Transylvania Florilegium's, Shirley Sherwood, and Alisa and Isaac Sutton's collection.