Welcome
Forthcoming Exhibition:
The Lindisfarne Orchids - Holy Island
29thApril - 4th May 2023
The Guildhall, Guildhall Street, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 1PR.
The Artist:
Reinhild Raistrick is a botanical artist, born in Tanzania and now living in Suffolk.
Reinhild has painted wild flowers in various parts of the world, ranging from the Tien Shan Mountains, Kazakhstan to the Mediterranean, from East and South Africa to the British Isles. In 1991 - 1992 she was involved in painting flowers of the equatorial rainforests, Tanzania. A number of her flower paintings from there were purchased by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for their permanent collection. Some of her work is featured in the Curtis's Botanical Magazine. The August 2000 edition devoted a whole issue on the Genus Fritillaria, using her paintings.
Reinhild exhibits both locally and nationally and has been awarded four Gold Medals by the Royal Horticultural Society. Reinhild tutors in Botanical Painting at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, as well as other centres.
Her great love and interest is painting wild flowers in situ.
Reinhild is a member of the Society of Botanical Artists, with whom she regularly exhibits. She has also been one of the tutors for the SBA Distance Learning Diploma Course since its inception in 2005. She retired from the tutoring in 2017. She is also a member of the East Anglian Iceni Botanical Artists. As well as exhibiting annually, the group have completed a project on illustrating and recording the rare and endangered Breckland Flora. This has led on to the publication of a book, 'Breckland Wild Flowers' by the Iceni Botanical Artists. The group is now involved in a new project, recording the plants and landscape of Fullers Mill Garden at West Stow, Bury St Edmunds. This is one of Perennials special gardens set in a forest. The project will culminate in a major exhibition, followed by a publication ‘A Year in Fullers Mill Garden’.
Over the last six years Reinhild has been working on a project 'The Orchids of Lindisfarne Nature Reserve - Holy Island' to record all the ten orchid species on this island including the very rare Lindisfarne Helleborine (Epipactis sancta). With the help of the Reserve Warden, she was able to locate each species in situ and then spend hours with each orchid observing the fine detail, sketching, colour matching and making detailed notes of the surrounding habitat for context. It was a great privelige to be granted this opportunity to be able to spend time with and record the very rare Epipactis sanctus - a name so fitting for its residence on the ‘holy’ island.The Lindisfarne orchid paintings have been acquired by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, to be housed in their permanent illustration and archive collection.
The work is to culminate in an exhibition at the Guildhall, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk from 29th April to 4th May 2023. The exhibition will also feature some of Reinhild’s current flower paintings.
Project: Fullers Mill 2023/2025
Reinhild is involved together with members of Iceni Botanical Artists in recording and illustrating the plants of the Fullers Mill Garden at West Stow, Bury St Edmunds.
This unique garden in the forest, was created by the late Bernard Tickner. He collected and brought together a diverse and rare flora, creating a beautiful setting for these plants, surrounded by water and trees.
IBA hope to produce a book featuring illustrations of the plants with text alongside to tell the story of this amazing garden. A major exhibition in June 2025 in Bury St Edmunds will feature all the 150 paintings.
Please note that my new email address isreinhildraistrick@outlook.com.
