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The Society of Botanical Artists Wants To Chat With YOU!

Posted in ArtPlantae Books, botanical art, botanical art books, Special Articles & Interviews, Special Events on October 16, 2008|

Fourteen members of The Society of Botanical Artists will participate in the Ask The Artist Q&A. Below is a list of participating artists, their websites and references to their work. View and study their work and think about what you would like to ask them. You will be able to submit your questions beginning next week and will have a two-week window during which to submit questions.

Study. Think. Ask.

Get your list ready!
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Participating Artists & References to Their Work:

A = The Art of Botanical Painting
B = The Botanical Palette: Color for the Botanical Painter

Sandra Wall Armitage
www.watercolourflowers.co.uk
B: Poppy, p. 84
B: Echinops, p. 132

Kathleen Baker
B: Acanthus Seed Heads, p. 102

Susan Christopher-Coulson
www.floraleyes.co.uk
A: Leucadendron, p. 34
B: Iris, p. 62
B: Tulip, p. 112
B: Kitchen Garden Purples, p. 140

Sally Crosthwaite
www.sallycrosthwaite.co.uk
A: Hatfield Tulips, p. 6
A: Agapanthus, p. 76
B: Nerines, p. 131

Susan Dalton
A: Paeonia lutea x Delavyi Group, p. 135
B: Flowering Teasel, p. 128
B: Garlic Braid, p. 141

Brigitte Daniel
A: Sulphur Tuft, p. 64
A: Pelargonium, p. 68
A: Snowdrop, p. 137
B: Primula auricula ‘Old England’, p. 9
B: Himalayan Poppy, p. 52

Paul Fennell
A: Orange Parrot Tulip, p. 72
A: Ornamental Corn, p. 139
B: Sunflower, p. 28

Susan Hillier
SBA Member Gallery
B: Peony, p. 92

Jennifer Jenkins
B: Cyclamen, p. 80

Annie Morris
www.anniemorris.uk.com
B: Blue Hydrangea, p. 51

Kay Rees Davies
www.nwsfa.org.uk
A: Ivy, p. 50
A: Scotch Bonnet Pepper & Long Sweet Pepper, p. 113
A: Onions, p. 113
B: Rhododendron, p. 24
B: Camellia japonica ‘Anemoniflora’, p. 133

Janet Whittle
www.janetwhittle.co.uk
B: Peonies, p. 10

Valerie Wright
SBA Member Gallery
A: Surinam Rainforest, p. 118
A: Rosa rugosa, p. 128
B: Red Hemerocallis, p. 78

Margaret Stevens
SBA Member Gallery
A: Bird of Paradise, p. 38
A: Hybrid Himalayan Poppy, p. 43
B: Lily, p. 16

UPDATE: Q&A published on November 20, 2008. Read it here.
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Available at ArtPlantae Books

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Join the Conversation with Margaret Stevens & The Society of Botanical Artists

Posted in ArtPlantae Books, botanical art, botanical art books, Special Articles & Interviews, Special Events on October 9, 2008|

Ask the Artist: Margaret Stevens & The Society of Botanical Artists
October 9 – November 20, 2008

You have read about how they work and have seen the step-by-step development of their paintings. Now you have the opportunity to submit questions to Margaret Stevens and members of The Society of Botanical Artists (SBA) during the Ask The Artist event for Fall 2008. Here is how this event will progress:

October 16, 2008
A list of artists participating in the Ask The Artist session will be published. Study their work in The Art of Botanical Painting and The Botanical Palette: Color for the Botanical Painter get your questions ready!

October 20 – 30, 2008
Submit your questions to asktheartist@artplantae.com.
Will you be attending the 14th Annual Meeting and Conference of the American Society of Botanical Artists? Visit us in the Exhibitors’ Hall and submit your questions in-person. We’d love to meet you!

November 3 – 14, 2008
Margaret Stevens and SBA members read and respond to your questions. Their responses will be posted at ArtPlantae Today on November 20th.

November 20, 2008
The Ask The Artist session is published at ArtPlantae Today.
Read, Learn, Comment.
Contribute to our gathering place!

_________________

Available at ArtPlantae Books

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Alas! Leaves That Don’t Wilt!

Posted in ArtPlantae Books, general botany on October 2, 2008|

Representing leaves accurately is one of the many challenges faced by botanical illustrators. Illustrators need to capture the gesture, movement, texture, color, and veining patterns of leaves. Exhaustive leaf studies are not always possible because leaves wilt. Quickly. Some very quickly.

A new book, Extraordinary Leaves by Stephen Green-Armytage and Dennis Schrader, is the perfect reference book for botanical illustrators. The photographs by Stephen Green-Armytage are breathtaking. They contain exactly the type of information illustrators will find invaluable. Many hours can be spent studying color, texture, leaf margins, and veining patterns from the images in this book. Accompanying the sharp detailed photographs is text written by Dennis Schrader, a professional horticulturist, garden designer, and regular on Martha Stewart Living. Schrader shares interesting information about each chapter topic, insectivorous plants, skeletonized leaves, and twenty-nine of the plants featured in this book.

Extraordinary Leaves is comprised of 13 chapters, each dedicated to either a physical feature of leaves (e.g., color, pattern, edges, texture, shape, size, and climbing patterns) or dedicated to a specific plant group (e.g., caladium, kale, ferns, coleus, vines, autumn plants).

The publisher has sample pages of this book on its website. However, these images do not do this book justice. The selected images do not give any indication of what the book truly contains. There is nothing that lets the reader know what there is to learn about the structure of the midrib and secondary veins of Giant Elephant Ear (Alocasia calodora ‘Persian Palm’), the color in Coleus leaves, or the undulating pattern observed in fronds of the Lasagna Fern (Asplenium nidus ‘Plicatum’).

This book is more than exciting. It is spectacular!
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Now available at ArtPlantae Books (Go to Classroom > Reference)

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West Hollywood Book Fair: Activities, Maps, etc.

Posted in ArtPlantae Books, Special Events on September 26, 2008|

The Book Fair schedules for all 12 Stages and the Writing Room are up at the book fair’s web site, as well as a list of exhibitors and their booth numbers. The West Hollywood Book Fair line-up includes:

150+ book stores, authors & literary orgs selling books, hosting fun literary activities, LIVE ART! and book signings. Exhibitors List
8 Author Panel Stages featuring several hundred outstanding authors like Ray Bradbury, Steve Lopez, Sandra Tsing Loh, Adrienne Barbeau, Ed Begley Jr., Francesca Lia Block, Gregg Hurwitz & Many Other Incredible Guests! Schedule
3 Theatre, Performance, Storytelling & Poetry Stages. Schedule
A Kids’ Stage featuring theater, story readings, a ballet & more! Schedule
Writing Workshops featuring some of LA’s most talented writers. Schedule
A Comics & Art Scene! featuring comic book and sci-fi legends like Len Wein, David Gerrold & Larry Niven. Schedule

Directions & Parking (29 KB)

Shuttle Schedule (28 KB)

Book Fair Map (2.7 MB)

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The Botanical Palette: Color for the Botanical Painter

Posted in ArtPlantae Books, book review, botanical art books, Special Articles & Interviews on September 17, 2008| 2 Comments »

Written by Margaret Stevens, in association with the Society of Botanical Artists (SBA), this book complements The Art of Botanical Painting (2004) also published by Stevens and the SBA. In their first book, the SBA provided instruction on drawing techniques, colored pencil techniques, watercolor techniques, and gouache painting techniques. Stevens and SBA contributors gave instruction on the painting of fruit, vegetables, and foliage. In their follow-up work, they focus on colors specific to the botanical palette. They give special attention to the following colors: white, yellow, green, blue, purple, red, brown, and black.

Each chapter is dedicated to one color and contains instruction on how to create this color and how to apply this color in a painting. Instruction is supported by example as Stevens leads artists through step-by-step demonstrations in each chapter. No detail is left out and the methodical processes narrated by Stevens are easy to understand. Each chapter includes a line drawing artists can transfer to paper to immediately apply what they’ve learned. In response to the growing interest in colored pencil, five demonstrations address the creation of colored pencil paintings.

The five colored pencil demonstrations included in this book are:

Day Lily (yellow; demonstrator Ann Swan)
Madagascar Jasmine (green; Ann Swan)
Iris (blue; Susan Christopher-Coulson)
Red Rhododendron (red; Susan Martin)
Tulip (black; Susan Christopher-Martin)

Watercolor demonstrations featured in this book include:

Lily (white; demonstrator Margaret Stevens; how to create form)
Rhododendron (yellow; Kay Rees-Davies; how to work with a plant whose flowers fade quickly)
Sunflower (yellow; Paul Fennell; how to create highlights and the spiral pattern of disc flowers)
Plantain Lily (green; Janet Wood; how to paint variegated leaves)
Himalayan Poppy (blue; Brigitte E. M. Daniel; painting multiple stamen, leaf hairs)
Delphinium (blue; Vicky Mappin; how to build an inflorescence)
Columbine (purple; Valerie Baines; how to use grey and violet)
Clematis (purple; Brenda Watts; how to create glowing purple)
Cyclamen (red; Jennifer Jenkins; how to create leaf patterns and distinguish between old flowers & new flowers)
Poppy (red, orange; Sandra Wall Armitage; how to make orange from red; painting flat hairs)
Peony (red, burgundy; Susan Hillier; how to make burgundy using four shades of red)
Bearded Iris (brown; Barbara McGirr; how to make brown)

The eight watercolor projects included in this book are:

Lily (how to work with white)
Sunflower (how to work with yellow)
Hosta (how to work with green)
Delphinium (how to work with blue)
Clematis (how to work with purple)
Poppy (creating orange with reds)
Peony (creating burgundy with reds)
Bearded Iris (how to work with brown)

Stevens’ chapter about color charts is an invaluable tool that will help artists resist the urge to buy every tube of color they see on every materials list they receive in every class they take. Artists can save money by consulting these charts comparing and contrasting yellows, greens, reds, blues, purples, and browns produced by the following manufacturers: Daler-Rowney, Schmincke, Sennelier, and Winsor & Newton.

Stevens closes this book with a gallery of artwork created by members of the Society of Botanical Artists.
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The Botanical Palette: Color for the Botanical Painter
Margaret Stevens, in association with the Society of Botanical Artists
9780061626678
September 16, 2008
$29.95, Hardcover

http://www.soc-botanical-artists.org/

Now Available at ArtPlantae Books

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Books Directly From Their Source To You

Posted in ArtPlantae Books, botanical art books on September 12, 2008|

ArtPlantae Books had created a new category for the store. We are excited to be able to ship selected titles from their SOURCE TO YOU! To better explain our new service, here are the most frequently asked questions we’ve received:

SOURCE TO YOU FAQs

Why was the SOURCE TO YOU category created?
This category was created in response to the constantly changing availability of the art, botany, and nature titles we carry. In spite of how we may value them as artists and plant enthusiasts, the books we enjoy are not mainstream titles on the bestsellers list. Have you ever noticed how quickly books about botanical art go out of print? And what about those art history and natural history titles? We have conducted extensive research to determine the availability of titles in the categories we offer. The availability of titles in the SOURCE TO YOU category will change all the time.

Why even bother with the constant research and monitoring of SOURCE TO YOU titles?
We want to make as many titles available to our customers as possible. This means taking advantage of a title’s availability from the warehouse. As demand for any title fades, it can take anywhere from 10 days to over 6 weeks for a bookstore to receive a title from a publisher. It doesn’t matter if the store is a big box chain store or an independent bookstore. The wait time is the same. A store is at the mercy of the publisher and the intricacies of the publishing world. Through constant monitoring of the specialty titles we carry, we can increase the diversity of our selection and provide timely access to various titles.

What types of titles can I expect to see in this new category?
You can expect to see recently published titles, titles that have not yet been published, and titles in demand within their respective genres. When we post an unpublished title, you have the opportunity to add your name to an Interest List for that title. We recommend adding your name to Interest Lists as they become available. Doing so puts you on the “First Call” list for that title. You are under no obligation to buy a title upon adding your name to its Interest List.

Will you offer these titles at on-site venues such as book fairs and garden shows or will these titles be available only online?
Our SOURCE TO YOU titles will be available both online and at on-site venues.

Do I have to pay more for shipping to purchase from the SOURCE TO YOU category?
No.

Can I mix SOURCE TO YOU titles with the other titles you carry?
Yes. All SOURCE TO YOU titles will be sent to you from the warehouse and all other titles will be sent directly from our store. Please know that your order will be divided into two shipments.

Does this mean I pay shipping fees twice?
No, it does not.

When I order a SOURCE TO YOU title, who am I actually doing business with, the warehouse or ArtPlantae Books?
You are doing business with ArtPlantae Books. Our sources fill our orders and include a packing slip with our contact information. Please direct all customer service questions to us here.

How are SOURCE TO YOU titles shipped?
All SOURCE TO YOU titles are shipped via USPS Media Mail to addresses within the continental United States. Some of the warehouse(s) filling our SOURCE TO YOU orders cannot ship orders outside of the United States. If you would like ArtPlantae Books to ship a title to you at an international address, please print out and complete our International Order Form. This allows us to calculate all shipping costs and complete Customs forms. You will be notified of all shipping costs before your order is mailed.

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Connecting Outdoors

Posted in ArtPlantae Books, Special Events on September 3, 2008|

ArtPlantae Books loves to be outside. We look forward to introducing people to books about art, plants and nature, and enjoy getting to know fellow enthusiasts. Here is where we’ll be this Fall and Winter:

7th Annual West Hollywood Book Fair:
Interactive and creative fun for the entire family. This event is free to the public. Sunday, September 28, 2008 (10 am – 6 pm)

14th Annual Meeting & Conference of the American Society of Botanical Artists (10/30/08)

2nd Annual Youth Mentoring Connection Women of Distinction Luncheon & Holiday Boutique (11/23/08)