Resources

The information below includes a selective list of organizations and services for the professional as well as the beginning artist. Inclusion here of commercial sites is intended to help the user find a service or product and does not represent its endorsement. If you have suggestions on additional resources please contact us at RMSBArtists@gmail.com.

Art and Botanical Organizations

• American Society of Botanical Artists The parent organization of the RMSBA, the ASBA was founded in 1994 (the Rocky Mountain chapter was its first) and includes 1900 individual members and dozens of institutional members from around the world.
• Betty Ford Alpine Gardens Founded in 1985 by the Vail Alpine Garden Foundation and named in 1988 in honor of former first lady Betty Ford, this garden is an internationally acclaimed collection of alpine plants in the Rocky Mountains.
• Denver Botanic Gardens Featuring plants of the West, water gardens, succulents, alpine plants and many others, the main complex is located in Denver with offsite facilities at Chatfield Farms, the Plains Conservation Center, and on Mt Goliath. The Denver complex includes educational and research facilities, art galleries, an herbarium and a library. 
• The Society of Botanical Artists Based in the UK, the Society of Botanical Artists was established in 1975 and brings together artists of national and international repute.

Plant Databases

• Colorado Plant Database Hosted by Colorado State University, the Colorado Plant Database provides research-based information on the identification, ecology and human connections for more than 1,000 Colorado native plants as well as non-native invasive weeds.
• Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria The ultimate goal of the Consortium is to provide the scientific community, land management agencies, conservation organizations, and the interested public with a single online access point to the wealth of existing and emerging information about the Pacific Northwest flora.
• Flora of North America Information on the names, taxonomic relationships, continent-wide distributions, and morphological characteristics of all plants native and naturalized found in North America north of Mexico
• NatureServe Explorer A database with information on rare and endangered species and ecosystems in the Americas. Among other information, it provides rankings that denote the conservation status of a species.
• SEInet A gateway to distributed data resources of interest to the environmental research community within Arizona and New Mexico.

Art Supplies

• Guiry's A store for housepaints and art supplies with locations in Colorado and New Mexico.
• Meininger A major art supply store with locations in Denver and Colorado Springs.
• Various online retailers including DickBlick, Jerry's Artarama, and Cheap Joes.

Printing and Scanning

• Attend a Creative Convening event at the Denver Botanic Gardens to scan your works for free with a high resolution scanner while meeting artists, gardeners, scientists and other professionals. Bring a flash drive to save your scanned images.

Classes and tutorials

• Billy Showell School of Botanical Art Billy Showell is a botanical artist based in the U.K. with an international reputation as an artist and educator. Membership to her online school gives individuals access to many tutorials updated every two weeks.
• School of Botanical Art and Illustration. The School, located at the Denver Botanic Gardens, offers many classes for the casual learner and the experienced artist, including a rigorous certificate program. Students wlll find both online and in-person classes.

Books and Websites on Trees (Future Exhibit 2025)

Books

• Around The World In 80 Trees. (2018).  Drori J. and Clerc L.  Laurence King Publishing.
• Design and Construction in Tree Drawing.  (1936). Rines F. M. Bridgman.
• The Hidden Life of Trees. What They Feel, How They Communicate: Discoveries from a Secret World. (2017).  Wohlleben P. and Collins W., HarperCollins.
• Identification of Trees and Shrubs in Winter Using Buds and Twigs. (2018). Schulz B. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
• A New Sylva. A Discourse of Forest & Orchard Trees for the Twenty-First Century. (2021). Hemery G., Evelyn J. and Simblet S. Bloomsbury Publishing. (Gabriel Hemery, silvologist and Sarah Simblet, artist. This book updates John Evelyn's Sylva published by the Royal Society in 1664. Updated in 2014 with 200 pen and ink drawings and descriptions of the tree species.)
• The Science of Plants. Inside Their Secret World. (2022). Smithsonian Institution Royal Botanic Gardens Kew & DK Publishing Inc. (American). DK/Penguin Random House.
• Seeing Trees. Discover the Extraordinary Secrets of Everyday Trees. (2011). Hugo N. R. & Llewellyn R. J., Timber Press.
• The Tree Book. The Stories, Science, and History of Trees. (2022). Dorling Kindersley Limited & Smithsonian Institution. DK Publishing.
  
• Trees and Shrubs of Colorado.(2006) Carter J. L. & Leggitt M. C.Mimbres Publishing.
• Trees Up Close. The Beauty of Bark, Leaves, Flowers and Seeds. (2014). Hugo N. R. & Llewellyn R. J., Timber Press.

Websites

• Colorado State Champion Trees, Colorado Tree Coalition. Find a list of 2024 Champions.
• Denver Digs Trees, The Park People. Find a preview list of 2024 species.
• Rollinger Tree Collection 50-Year Survey Project. Denver Botanic Gardens. Find a 2019 list of trees. (see also this Westword article Forget Elms: Al Rollinger Rooted Out Denver's Most Exotic Trees 50 Years Ago.)