Submitting Artwork to the Florilegium
Selection of Plants
Artists may draw any plant native to the Sonoran Desert Region.
A map and information about the Sonoran Desert Region can be found here.
A printable list of some notable plants of the Sonoran Desert is here. For a more comprehensive inventory of plants native to the Sonoran Desert, we have compiled a listing of relevant web resources that can be found here.
Artwork Specifications
Submissions must be two-dimensional works of botanical art. Photography and digitally-created works will not be considered. Both black-and-white and color media can be used.
The purpose of the Florilegium is to document plants native to the Sonoran Desert Region. We encourage artists to create botanically accurate portrayals of native Sonoran Desert plants in the traditional style of botanical art. As such, complicated backgrounds and designs are discouraged as are colored backgrounds and washes.
Works must adhere to a high standard of botanical accuracy, and we recommend that they be verified for accuracy by a botanist or horticulturist before submission.
Because this is a digital exhibit without space constraints, artwork can be of any size.
The Jury Process
All submissions will be reviewed for quality and botanical accuracy by a panel that includes a botanist or horticulturist. Completed work will be accepted for jury consideration from March 1-31 and September 1-30 annually, with the jury review conducted the following month (dates may be subject to change).
Image Submittal Guidelines
The online presentation of the Sonoran Desert Florilegium endeavors to provide the best possible representation of artists’ work. The following guidelines will ensure that we are able to provide a quality digital presentation.
Preliminary Submittal for Jurying
- Artwork should be professionally scanned in TIFF format.
- Images should be 8-inches high in jpg format.
- Image resolution must be 300 dpi.
- Image file size should be under 4MB.
- Files names should be in the following format: Artist’s last name_Title of artwork_Copyright Year.tif
(example: Bondante_Opuntiabasilaris_2013.tif).
For scientific botanical illustrations, each work submitted should be accompanied by a captioned copy of the work:
- Print a copy of your artwork on an 8.5"x11" sheet of paper.
- At the bottom of the copy write the scientific and common names of the plant.
- Label each structure in the drawing with a number. Place this number and the name or description of the structure in a caption below the drawing. An example of labeling plant structures can be found here.
- Email your image file with a photocopy of the captioned copy of the artwork to art@tucsoncactus.org.
In the email transmittal, include the scientific and common names of the plant, the size of the original unframed artwork, the medium, and the copyright date.
Final Submittal After Jury Acceptance
To submit artwork to be included in the Sonoran Desert Florilegium:
- Artwork should be professionally scanned in TIFF format. This is referred to here as your “original” scanned image. (This is an image that has not been manipulated or saved in any file format other than TIFF).
- The image for submittal should be a copy of the full-size “original” scanned image in TIFF format with a resolution of 300 dpi.
- Files names should be in the following format: Artist’s last name_Title of artwork_Copyright Year.tif
(example: Bondante_Opuntiabasilaris_2013.tif). - Image files can be transferred to the Florilegium via Dropbox or Google Drive. A mailed DVD is also acceptable. Specific instructions will be sent to the artist along with notification of acceptance into the Florilegium.
- Artists whose work is accepted into the Florilegium will be required to complete the Artist's Release Form, a written contract defining the terms of ownership, copyright, and accepted usage of the artwork.
The Artist’s Release Form can be found here. Signed contracts should be mailed to: The Sonoran Desert Florilegium, 11739 N. Mandarin Lane, Oro Valley, AZ 85737.
Once placed on the Florilegium’s website, the artwork will be noted as copyrighted by the artist, and all reasonable efforts will be made to discourage unauthorized use of the artwork. However, once the artist agrees to exhibit the work on the Florilegium's website, the Florilegium is not responsible for any copyright infringement by others that may occur as a result of the artwork appearing on its website.