By Rhonda Bartle
It seems entirely appropriate that at the door to Susan Worthington's house, a message has been spelt out in fresh camellia blooms. The words 'I love you' form a special greeting from two young granddaughters on the occasion of Worthington's sixtieth birthday.
Born in Stratford, Worthington grew up in Waverley, and from there went to Samuel Marsden College in Wellington. An undiagnosed learning disorder meant she left with few skills. 'I wasn't considered very bright. My parents let me have extra art lessons,' she laughs.
And that was how art became one of the most important parts of her life. She now lives in Waitara, behind a wide leafy border where life is dictated by the seasons of plants.
'I like being here in Waitara,' she says. 'People ring before they arrive. Sometimes people don't realise that plants are dying models and could be dead in two or three days. Some only flower once every two or three years'
On the artist's easel hangs a piece of wisteria from the vine that droops over the driveway. The exact purple hues have been mixed in small blue and white loose-lidded porcelain dishes, brought by a pilot son from Hong Kong. National Radio hums gentle Spanish music in the background of her bedroom studio while the room, overlooking the back garden, fills steadily with warm natural light.
Worthington is pleased to have the medal, which she likens to a golf handicap. 'It was not a competition, but an assessment of my work. You have to have a minimum of eight paintings and each has to be picture perfect.'
With a panel of twelve judges, all past botanical artists and botanists, there is no room for bluff. 'It gives me credibility as an artist. You also become part of the Royal Society's stable of artists.'
Shirley Sherwood, one of the judges, purchased a fern painting. Cyathea smithii could be included in one of Sherwood's books, following the success of the handsome Contemporary Botanical Artists. Worthington says Sherwood made botanical painting 'an art form in its own right.'
Of the Waitara artist's botanical stamps Sherwood wrote: 'They are really stunning and I like the black backgrounds as I think they become very arresting.'
In 2005, Worthington will exhibit at the Royal Society show in Birmingham, England. She says New Zealand galleries don't often hang botanical art, something she would like to see changed.
'People are interested on all different levels - artistic, botanical and gardening. Each plant has its own challenge. An artist has to make it aesthetically pleasing. It needs the 'wow' factor.'
She believes her artwork should fulfil a more useful role than simply recording data.
'It needs to make people care, to make them realise how vulnerable some of the plants are.'
Paintings have archival significance and can last longer than photographs. 'Look at Captain Cook's painters. You can still see their paintings in Kew Gardens.'
Kew Gardens are still commissioning such work.
A committed supporter of the Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust, Worthington now works closely with director Graham Smith. After feedback in London suggested she do a series of one particular species, she sat on the plane on the way back and thought deeply about it.
She chose vireya rhododendrons and her portfolio now includes more than 30 of the species grown there.
'A lot of people don't realise the significance of the vireya. There are only a very few places in the world you'll find them. Pukeiti is one of the places they grow.'
Many of those specimens were collected by New Zealanders from the wild and there may be no second chances, she says.
She eases open a wide cabinet drawer to display her delicate blossoms and stems, so real they could be plucked from the paper. Worthington wears the crown of contemporary botanical artist in New Zealand which, if she were to paint it, would contain botanically perfect flowers.