ArtPlantae Today

Botanical artist and natural science illustrator, Cynthia Padilla, will teach a sketching class in Guatemala this summer. Information about this adventure and other workshops have been added to Classes Near You > New Mexico. In case you did not know, Cynthia is the founder of the Botanical Art & Naturalist Illustration group on Yahoo!

• Nature / Botanical Sketching in Guatemala with Cynthia Padilla – July 22-31, 2010 (10 days); Guatemala – Antigua Central America. Immerse yourself in the beauty of the tropical flora and fauna of Guatemala. Spend unhurried time, workingmen plein air, lulled by the gentle breezes of “the land of eternal spring.” Days begin with intro of materials and demo of technique (pastel, pencil, pen & ink, acrylic, colored pencil, watercolor). Participants welcome to document whatever catches your eye and imagination….ancient structures, tropical landscapes, colorful markets. We’ll base out of lovely Antigua, but spend three nights at Posada Santiago, overlooking gorgeous Lake Atitlan. Join us and begin a lifelong habit of journaling in nature and return home with a collection of sketches, tiny vignettes, notes & notations, measurements & musings, and frameable works of art in breathtaking detail. All levels. To register, contact Liza Fourré, Director, Art Workshops in Guatemala or at 612-825-0747. More details & video
• Drawn from the Collection – Thursday & Friday, Sept 9 – 10, 2010; 9 AM – 3 PM. Learn how to draw while examining a fascinating collection of museum treasures at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science, such as minerals and fossils, bones and casts, moths and butterflies, bird and small mammal study skins and mounts, etc. Gather with other enthusiasts — complete beginners to professional artists. Emerge with quick scribbles, convincing renderings, sparkling watercolors, notes and notations, measurements and musings. The workshop includes a private behind-the-scenes tour of the museum’s Geosciences Collection and specimens hand-selected from the Bioscience Collection for your artistic investigation and documentation. Contact August Wainwright, Projects Coordinator, or call (505) 841-2861. Cost: $200 nonmembers. Members receive 10% discount. Lunch provided both days. A certificate will be presented upon completion.
• Field Sketching: Watercolor Nature Journal– Tuesday & Wednesday, Sept 21 & 22, 2010. 9 AM – 3 PM. Try your hand sketching like an early naturalist, combining a scientific eye with artistic beauty! Field sketches are simple but accurate drawings executed out-of-doors in situ to document sightings, identify specimens, or simply capture the landscape, flora and fauna of a special place. Ramble trails and fields of the Sandia Mountain Natural History Center, sketchbook journals in hand. Moving indoors, as conditions dictate, to draw from nature specimens. Along the way botanical artist/natural science illustrator Cynthia Padilla instructs and demos technique. This class will be taught at the Sandia Mountain Natural History Center for the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. Contact August Wainwright, Projects Coordinator, or call (505) 841-2861. Cost: $200 nonmembers. Members receive 10% discount. Lunch provided both days. A certificate will be presented upon completion.