Rosie Sanders is a botanical artist, specialized in packaging illustrations

Rosie Sanders grew up in the Buckinghamshire countryside, went to Roedean School in Brighton, and then to art college. She married at 19, but became a freelance illustrator 20 years later using her painting skills and knowledge of flowers. Her book Portrait of a Country Garden helped launch her new career and today she’s one of the UK’s leading horticultural artists. Looking at her portfolio, it’s not surprising that Rosie is inspired by nature. She also enjoys eccentricity and unusual people. Her book collection numbers in the thousands and she has a hunger for knowledge – especially visually. She plays piano – Bach, Beethoven, Schubert and more, but also likes Blues, African and Cuban rhythms.

Training After a year at High Wycombe College doing a foundation course, she went to Constance Spry Flower School in London for a year. Approach Painting in watercolour using her self-taught technique, Rosie mixes the colours in washes on the paper. She’s instinctive when it comes to compositions, and doesn’t like to analyse her approach too much. Styles Rosie describes her style as realism with passion. She likes her work to look and feel like a painting and not a photograph, yet she captures the fruit, flowers and fauna she paints with incredible accuracy.