Deborah Lambkin


Deborah Lambkin is an Irish botanical artist who has been the official Orchid artist for the Royal Horticultural Society.

Career

Deborah Lambkin trained in the National College of Art and Design. She spent a number of years living in Dublin and working as an artist. She worked for a graphic design firm which she left in 1998 to focus on her own art. She then moved to London where she began working for the Royal Horticultural Society's Orchid committee in 2005 as the official artist. She has been commissioned to create the art for a number of magazines including Curtis's Botanical Magazine, books and exhibitions.
She is one of the few Irish artists to win a gold medal at the RHS exhibition, others include Wendy F. Walsh and Susan Sex. Her work is on display in the National Trust.
Lambkin was awarded the 2020 Margaret Flockton Award for her illustration of the new orchid species Gastrodia agnicellus which was named partly in her honour: "the species refers to the woolly covering on the rhizome, the ear-like petals and also alludes to the name of the botanical artist who brought the new species to life in her drawing." Latin agnicellus means "little lamb" or "lambkin".

Awards, Exhibitions and books