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Archive for the ‘botanical art books’ Category

‘Blooming Bulbs’ Published by Dutch Society of Botanical Artists

Posted in botanical art, botanical art books, Education, gardening, general botany, Learning Opportunities, nature, Reference, Special Announcements on January 18, 2013|

Published in conjunction with the 5th anniversary of the Dutch Society of Botanical Artists. This collectors edition brings into focus bulb and tuber crops available in the Netherlands. Drawing and painting the bulbs required studious and patient documentation over several growing seasons. This book contains a selection of the collection created by the Dutch Society of Botanical Artists. Twenty-seven species of bulb and tuber crops are presented in twenty-five watercolor paintings and two graphite drawings.

Blooming Bulbs can be purchased for $20 (incl. shipping) directly from the Dutch Society of Botanical Artists. Contact Anita Walsmit Sachs for more information.

Visit the website of the Dutch Society of Botanical Artists. Here you will find information about classes, be able to view members’ artwork, browse an archive of past newsletters and browse links to interesting websites.

Citation
Dutch Society of Botanical Artists. 2012. Bloeiende bollen (Blooming Bulbs). Foreward by Gert-Pieter Nijssen. Introduction by Anita Walsmit Sachs.

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Anita Walsmit Sachs Turns Information Into Pictures

Posted in ArtPlantae Books, botanical art, botanical art books, botany, Drawing on January 1, 2013| 10 Comments »

Anita Walsmit Sachs is the director of the art department and a scientific illustrator at the National Herbarium in the Netherlands at the University of Leiden. Ten years ago, Anita started teaching botanical art classes at the university’s botanical garden. During the next four years, enrollment in her classes grew. In 2006, Anita and some of her students formed the Dutch Society of Botanical Artists. Now 136 members strong, the Society will celebrate its seventh anniversary in April.

The focus of Anita’s work as a scientific illustrator is to visualize botanical information. Integrating information observed in dried plant specimens with the verbal instructions from botanists with whom she works, Anita creates line drawings in pen and ink that contain more information than could ever fit in a color photograph.

Please welcome Anita Walsmit Sachs, our special guest for January.

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‘BOTANICALS: Environmental Expressions in Art’ at ArtPlantae Books

Posted in ArtPlantae Books, botanical art, botanical art books, Education, Special Announcements on December 12, 2012|

Now at ArtPlantae Books BOTANICALS: Environmental Expressions in Art, The Alissa and Isaac M. Sutton Collection is a look at the largest private collection of contemporary botanical paintings in the US. This exhibition of 54 paintings and drawings brings attention to plant life from all over the world and reflects Mr. Sutton’s appreciation for nature.

Curated by Alice Marcus Krieg and Susan Frei Nathan, BOTANICALS: Environmental Expressions in Art, The Alissa and Isaac M. Sutton Collection has been on view at The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie Mellon University (October 2009- June 2010), The New York Botanical Garden (September 2012 – March 2011), and The Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI (June 23 – August 28, 2012).

Learn more about the collection and view sample images from the catalog.

Visit ArtPlantae Books

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Thoughtful Instruction, Confidence-building Advice in ‘Botanical Painting’

Posted in botanical art, botanical art books, drawing, Education, Learning Opportunities, Reference, Watercolor on November 7, 2012|

If you’re new to botanical art, you have many resources at your disposal to help you find your way. There are websites, tutorials, professional organizations, certificate programs, classes and of course, books! Many more than what existed 15 years ago. I have had the good fortune to share many books on this site and today I have the pleasure of sharing one more.

Botanical Painting by Mariella Baldwin is a rich resource for those who have a growing interest in learning how to paint plants.

In her introduction, Mariella explains she wrote her book to show people how to paint plants without fear. While she does not stress a technical, scientific approach to drawing and painting plants, Botanical Painting is definitely not a book about expressive flower painting. Far from it. It is a book about drawing with accuracy and painting for pleasure.

The thoughtful and patient conversation Mariella has with readers who lack prior painting experience made a big impression on me. Mariella clearly cares about connecting with her readers and provides confidence-building advice at just the right moments during the drawing and painting process. Always supportive, Mariella is respectful of the path each individual takes to a finished painting.

Novice botanical illustrators will appreciate Mariella’s thoughtful instruction about how to begin a

Click to enlarge, image courtesy Crowood Press

drawing. Through her guided instruction, beginners learn how to use graph paper to take measurements, how to create a mask around their work, how to approach investigative sketching and how to draw the form of their subject.

When it comes to painting, beginners are shown how to turn the painting process into manageable tasks. The instructions Mariella provides for her practice techniques are as clear as her instructions for the “official” painting steps she outlines. Throughout, photographs of her own sketches and painting studies support the written text.

Some of the topics Mariella addresses in her book are:

How to work with specific colors (white, yellow, orange, brown, red, pink, green, blue, purple, black and silver).
How to paint bi-colored flowers.
How to paint roots, bulbs, stems.
How to draw and paint leaves.
How to draw and paint leaf surfaces and textures.
How to draw and paint buds and flowers.

Click to enlarge, image courtesy Crowood Press

In a chapter both new painters and experienced painters will appreciate, Mariella reviews special techniques that will help them paint velvet flowers, hairs, bloom, cacti, sheen and shine on fruit, reflected light, aerial perspective, shadows and those ever-popular dewdrops.

Want to learn more about
Botanical Painting?

Let’s ask Mariella …

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A Conversation About Botanical Painting with Mariella Baldwin

Posted in botanical art, botanical art books, Education, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements on November 1, 2012| 17 Comments »

Mariella Baldwin earned a diploma in botanical art at the English Gardening School fourteen years ago. Since then, she has gone on to earn degrees in fine art and the visual arts. Mariella teaches at West Dean College, at the English Gardening School, and at various venues. Her work can be found in collections at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie Mellon University, the Chelsea Physic Garden in London, and at Hampton Court Palace.

Mariella is also the author of Botanical Painting, a thoughtfully written how-to book released in the US this past April. We’ll take a look at this book later.

Do you have a copy of Mariella’s book?

Have you written questions in the margins that you wish you could ask her yourself?

Here’s your chance! This month we are fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from Mariella in person.

Join me in welcoming Mariella Baldwin as our featured guest for November!

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Last Chance to Win ‘An Approach to Botanical Painting’

Posted in botanical art, botanical art books, Special Announcements, Special Events on October 24, 2012|

Time is running out!

You have only a few more days to submit a raffle ticket to win a copy of the botanical art classic An Approach to Botanical Painting by Anne-Marie and Donn Evans. Proceeds benefit Botanical Artists for Education & The Environment (BAEE), a nonprofit corporation of botanical artists who are documenting plants from the mid-Atlantic region. Proceeds will be used towards publication costs of their book, American Botanical Paintings: Native Plants of the Mid Atlantic.

Raffle tickets to win a copy of An Approach to Botanical Painting cost $10 each. This is much less than the $1,500 price tag of a near-fine used copy for this book. On October 28, 2012, a brand new, autographed copy of this book will be awarded. This has been made possible by Anne-Marie Evans who is generously donating one of the few remaining new copies of her book in support of this very special project.

Support BAEE artists and their efforts to document the native plants of the mid-Atlantic region.

Buy a raffle ticket today!

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Reminder: Raffle for ‘An Approach to Botanical Painting’

Posted in botanical art, botanical art books, Special Announcements, Special Events on October 1, 2012|

Last month the nonprofit group Botanical Artists for Education & The Environment, announced that a copy of the hard-to-find and very expensive book, An Approach to Botanical Painting, will be raffled off on October 28. Proceeds from the raffle will be used to help cover the publication costs of their book, American Botanical Paintings: Native Plants of the Mid Atlantic.

Raffle tickets for a brand new, autographed copy of Anne-Marie and Donn Evans’ book can be purchased for $10. Interested parties can download a Raffle Ticket Order Form on the BAEE website.

Learn more about the BAEE book project