Dr Sherwood has always been interested in plants as well as the arts.  She did her undergraduate degree in botany from Oxford University  and her D.Phil working in a team which discovered the important drug Tagamet.

She started the Shirley Sherwood Collection in 1990, and it now includes over 1000 paintings and drawings, representing the work of over 303 contemporary artists from 36 countries around the world. She has been curating exhibitions of works from her collection in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK since it opened in 2008.  She has exhibited her collection in many other prestigious locations including the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, the Marciana Library in Venice and the Real Jardín Botánico Madrid. She has also written six books and many articles on botanical art.

She has recently published a retrospective book about her 30 years of collecting that accompanied a large exhibition in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery.

The Association of British Botanical Artists is honoured to have Dr Sherwood as their founding Patron.

I have been painting professionally for twenty five years, initially as a Muralist and Decorative Painter, then as an Art Teacher and now as a freelance Botanical Artist and Illustrator. I have a Diploma with Merit from The Chelsea School of Botanical Art, and I am a Painting Member of The Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society, The Association of Botanical Artists (ABA), The American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) and Amicus Botanicus. I work with industries and magazines who use botanicals in their products and in their marketing. 

I’m a botanical artist and experienced secondary school art teacher with a background in printed textiles. A member of the Society of Botanical Artists and the Munstead Wood Florilegium, I have a keen eye for detail and strive to portray the beauty of the botanical world in my art.

Founding member and highly regarded botanical artist who between paintings works on local plant conservation, surveying wildflower habitats for local authorities and helping local communities improve their wildlife areas.