About John
“I endeavour to capture the unique features of rare and unusual plants to reveal the beauty of their delicate and hidden characteristics,” says John of his artistic style. “In doing this, I’d like to see that my art can contribute to the conservation of these unique specimens through educating and inspiring interest.”
John’s work is represented in public and private collections in Australia, the United Kingdom, South Africa, the United States and Spain.
Studies
An interest in rare and unusual plants, and a strong academic background in botany and horticulture has influenced John’s distinctive composition and painting style. John studied a doctorate in botany at University of Vigo, Galicia (Spain) where he specialised in chemical ecology.
“The documentation of plants through the fine and precise art of botanical illustration seemed to me to be a natural progression for my long-held interest in plants and in gardening.”
“I needed to know more about the plant, including how it grows - known as ‘silent practice’. This in-depth understanding of the plant has helped me to compose the ideal form of the plant in my illustrations. As a gardener who went on to study plants, I became familiar with how the plant would grow and develop.”
“I’m delighted by the number of people who have acquired an interest in botanical art, and those who have purchased my works – I think that botanic art has the capacity to invoke something within the individual who is captured by the art – whether it be a childhood memory, an inspiration for a plant they’re nurturing, or as a conversational piece.”
John teaches botanical art regularly at the Geelong Botanic Gardens in regional Victoria, through the Friends, Geelong Botanic Gardens. John provides artistic instruction and scientific understanding of the plant subjects to his students. John has begun an interstate and international teaching circuit, teaching his unique approach to the art form. For further information about locations and dates please refer to the news and events section.
Career Highlights
John Pastoriza-Piñol, 33, has been awarded Gold, (2005), Silver Gilt (2006) and Silver (2005 & 2007) medals for botanical art exhibitions at the Winter Exhibition, Westminster for the Royal Horticultural Society, London.
John Adams, the curator of John Adams Fine Art, invited John Pastoriza Piñol to mount a solo exhibition of his work to coincide with the world renowned Chelsea Flower Show in 2006. This exhibition was formally opened by the Australian High Commissioner, His Excellency the Honourable Richard Alston and was attended by many keen botanical-art lovers and collectors.
Success and exposure from the UK exhibitions has lead to a commission for the prestigious Highgrove Florilegium project, under the aegis of the Prince of Wales' Charitable Foundation. John attended the function at Highgrove in July 2008 where he was presented to H.R.H. Prince Charles. John will return to Highgrove next year.
John’s work has been acquired by the leading centre for botanical art in the United States, the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at the Carnegie Mellon University. Both these works were included in the prestigious Hunt Institute International Exhibition in 2007, and have subsequently become part of this renowned permanent collection.
In 2006 John’s, Araucaria bidwillii (Bunya Pine) was selected for inclusion in the "Illustrated Garden" portfolio. This project was established to create an illustrated record, or florilegium, of significant plants growing in the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens by artist members of the Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens. In 2004 John’s painting of a Cobra Lilly, Arisaema griffithii, was also included in the "Illustrated Garden" portfolio.
John’s work is represented in public and private collections in Australia, the United Kingdom, South Africa, the United States and Spain. John’s painting of Dracula simia, a Dracula orchid, has been selected by Kew’s Royal Botanic Gardens library for inclusion in their permanent collection. John was commissioned to paint the Wollemi Pine, Wollemia nobilis, for the Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, which was published in the Volume 24, Number 3, August 2007, pp. 155-161. One of the images: female cone has been used for the Kew Gardens official Patrons card.
John’s artwork is displayed in the Botanical Illustration Calendar 2006 & 2008, published through the Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens and also in the National Trust Desk Diary 2007 & 2008, Jenny Phillips’ Australian Botanical Artists.
