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Archive for the ‘botanical art’ Category

Chilean Flora: A Historic Work in Progress

Posted in botanical art, Education, general botany, Special Announcements on December 29, 2010|

A team of artists, authors, and experts at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) are working on Plants from the Woods and Forests of Chile, a book about the threatened plants of Chile and the issues surrounding their threatened status and conservation. When completed, this historic reference will include 80 watercolor paintings.

Turkish artists Guinur Eksi, Hulya Korkmaz, and Isik Guner come to this project with impressive resumés. Each artist studied with Christabel King and each is now a full-time award-winning botanical artist. Gulnur Eksi received a Gold Medal from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in 2010, as did Isik Funer who also earned Best Botanical Painting. Hulya Korkmaz received a RHS Silver Gilt medal in 2010. All three artists have also earned medals at BISCOT.

More impressive than their awards, however, is how these young artists work to enhance our knowledge of plants. When they are not traveling to Edinburgh to work on the book about Chilean plants, Eksi and Korkmaz work on projects bringing attention to Turkish bulbs and the plants of Turkey. While Funer works as an artist providing field experiences in art.

Collaborating on this project are authors Martin Gardner (Coordinator, International Conifer Conservation Program), Pauline Hechenleitner (Author, Threatened Plants of Central and South Chile), and Josefina Hepp (Author/Researcher). Serving as project advisors are: Jacqui Pestell (Curriculum Development, RBGE), Clare Morter (Senior Horticulturist, RBGE), Sabina Knees (Botanist, Centre for Middle Eastern Plants), and Henry Noltie (RBGE Botanist & Author).

Visit the official website of Plants from the Woods and Forests of Chile to learn more about this project, the artists, and to view nine paintings from this book.

Plants from the Woods and Forests of Chile will be published Fall 2013.

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Plant Identification & Botanical Illustration at CSU Chico

Posted in botanical art, general botany, herbarium, Learning Opportunities on December 29, 2010|

Now at Classes Near You > California:

California State University, Chico
Chico State Herbarium
www.csuchico.edu/biol/Herb
The following classes are sponsored by the Friends of the Chico State Herbarium. All proceeds benefit the herbarium at CSU Chico. Obtain course details and registration forms here.

Care of Trees in the Landscape – January 15, 2011
Plant Photography – March 5, 2011
Introduction to Lichen Identification – March 26, 2011
Botanical Illustration – April 16, 2011
Introduction to Keying the Fabacaeae – April 30, 2011
Intro. to Identifying Northern California Grasses – May 14, 2011
Fire Ecology – June 11, 2011
Introduction to the Willows of California – June 18, 2011
Introduction to the Serpentine Ecosystem – June 25, 2011

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Botanical Art Books, Supplies on Sale at ArtPlantae Books

Posted in botanical art on December 27, 2010|

Overstock items, display copies, and the last one or two copies of selected titles are on the sales table at ArtPlantae Books now through December 3, 2010. Clearance stock moves quickly, so act now if something catches your eye. Orders will be filled in the order they are received. If an item you ordered is no longer available when your order is processed, you will be notified.

Use savings code YEAREND during checkout to save an additional 15% on journals, field supplies, plant books, and art books in the Bargain category at ArtPlantae Books.

Sale titles include:

Take Me to the Sales Table!

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Sketching Adventures in Exotic Place

Posted in botanical art, Learning Opportunities, Sketching & Journaling on December 20, 2010| 1 Comment »

Get your walking shoes and backpack!
See what’s new at Classes Near You > Australia:

Holiday Sketching with Leonie Norton
http://www.holidaysketching.com.au
Australian botanical artist, Leonie Norton, teaches workshops in Australia and leads international tours. Leonie is the author of Women of Flowers: Botanical Art in Australia From the 1830s to the 1960s. Her botanical art website can be viewed at www.botanicalart.com.au. Her travel service website can be viewed at Holiday Sketching with Leonie Norton.

South India Tour – January 22 – 30, 2011. Sketch Indian villages, floating markets, and take a botanical drawing workshop among rice, spice, and tea plantations. View all tour details here.
New Zealand South Island Tour – April 9 – 17, 2011. Experience autumn in the South Island Lakes District. Visit Aoraki-Mount Cook National Park. See the dramatic landscape of New Zealand.
View all tour details here.
Kimberley Western Australia Tour – June 26 – July 4, 2011. Pristine beaches, Purnululu National Park and sunset at Chamberlain Gorge.
View all tour details here.
Bali Tour – August 1 – 8, 2011. Day trips to the monkey forest, Batur volcano, and Batur Lake. Visit Balinese villages and learn to make traditional Indonesian food. View all tour details here.
Fiji Tour – August 27 – September 3, 2010. Sketch Fijian villages, geothermal hot springs, and the tropical rainforest. Learn to make books and journals for your sketches. View all tour details here.
Winterless Northland New Zealand Tour
September 24 – October 4, 2011.

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Unique Approach to Botanical Drawing & Painting

Posted in botanical art, drawing, Learning Opportunities on December 20, 2010|

The Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden will offer a unique approach to learning botanical art techniques in 2011.

See what’s planned at Classes Near You >California:

Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Gardens
www.arboretum.org
Courses in introductory botanical drawing, beginning and intermediate watercolor, colored pencil, sketching and Chinese brush painting are taught throughout the year. Go to the Events & Classes for more information. The Arboretum is located in Arcadia, CA. To register, contact Jill Berry or call (626) 821-4624.

Botanical Illustration with Olga Eysymontt
Unlike previous years, the Spring botanical illustration classes will meet bi-monthly for 4 hours each session (9:30 AM – 2:30 PM). Tuesdays will be dedicated to graphite pencil and Wednesdays to watercolor. The goal of these sessions is to practice and refine your preferred technique. Students should have some experience with their chosen medium. A finished piece is not expected. Cost: $160 per month (members); $190 per month (non-members).

Since 1997, Olga Eysymontt has taught botanical illustration classes for the Arboretum. She is a former instructor at Otis College of Art, and a Fine Arts graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology. Olga is passionate about teaching and the thrill of bringing out each student’s vision. Aside from botanical illustration, her current interests include landscape and macro photography.

Quick Sketching Skills: Getting the right Angle Before I Commit

Form: How dark or light should I make my specimen?
Tuesdays (Feb. 8 & 22, 2011); Wednesdays (Feb. 9 & 23, 2011)

Overlap and Transition: Making Things Look Clear & Precise in a 2-D World
Tuesdays (March 8 & 22, 2011); March 9 & 23, 2011)

Details: Oh that fuzz!
Tuesdays (April 5 & 19, 2011); Wednesdays (April 6 & 20, 2011)

Composition: What is the focus and how do I get inspired to make a statement piece?
Tuesdays, (May 3 & 17, 2011); May 4 & 18, 2011)

Experimentation: Being Unpredictable and Refreshing
Tuesdays (May 31 & June 14, 2011); Wednesdays (June 1 & 15, 2011)

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Tree Books for Kids

Posted in ArtPlantae Books, book review, botanical art, general botany on December 16, 2010| 3 Comments »

During Monday’s Ask The Artist with Bruce Lyndon Cunningham, Bruce introduced us to his user-friendly guide to North American gymnosperms. While the guide created by Dr. Elray S. Nixon and Bruce can be used by beginning and experienced naturalists, what about the very youngest of naturalists? Are there books just for them? A teacher in the audience asked these questions on Monday.

Three books were shared with webinar participants.
Here are quick reviews of each…

Trees, Leaves, and Bark (Take-Along Guide)
Author: Diane L. Burns
Illustrator: Linda Garrow
An introduction to some of the trees growing in prairies, woodlands, swamps, and mountains. Each tree profile has information about how to find a tree, background into the tree’s lifespan and uses, and information about a tree’s leaves, bark, and seeds. The following activities are included in this book: Make a Leaf Mobile, Make a Pinecone Snackbar, Grow Your Own Tree, Make a Bark Rubbing.
Grade: 4-6, Age: 9-11

The Tree Book: For Kids and Their Grown-ups
Author: Gina Ingoglia
Illustrator: Gina Ingoglia
What goes on inside cones? Where does fruit come from? How do trees eat and drink? The answers to these questions can be found in this comprehensive resource created by Gina Ingoglia, the author of 80 childrens books, a landscape designer, and the vice president of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium Society. After introducing young naturalists (and their grown-ups) to tree biology and tree identification, Ingoglia profiles 33 trees that are easily observed in neighborhoods, botanical gardens, or the local arboretum. Each tree profile is composed of background information about a tree, its growth, and the proper pronunciation of its scientific name. Like the plant names in our pocket dictionary, each species name is written out phonetically. Tree profiles also include a whole plant illustration and illustrations of leaves, flowers, fruit, leaf buds, needles, bark, and branches. If a characteristic is important to a tree’s identification, Ingoglia includes an illustration of this characteristic.
Grade: 3-4, Age: 8-9

Stikky Trees
Laurency Holt Books
This clever introduction to trees lives up to the philosophy of “teach less, better.” Authors propose a four-step approach to becoming familiar with 15 trees commonly found in the United States. Actually, the “steps” are learning sequences, each dedicated to a specific topic and each building upon what was learned in the previous sequence. This book is fun for both children and adults. View an interactive demo on the publisher’s website.

Do you have a favorite book about trees?

Teachers, tell us what you use in your classroom.
Parents, tell us how you have introduced your children to trees.
Fellow Plant Enthusiasts, which helpful books about trees do you have in your library?

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Botanical Drawing at Cornell Begins January 24th

Posted in botanical art, Learning Opportunities on December 16, 2010|

An online class for beginning artists now at Classes Near You > New York!

Cornell University Department of Horticulture
http://hort.cals.cornell.edu/
Two six-week botanical illustration classes are taught online through this department. A course syllabus for each class is available online. Click on the links below for complete details.

Botanical Illustration I: Basic Drawing Techniques
January 24 – March 11, 2011. For beginning artists of all ages. Students will work in pencil and pen-and-ink. Topics include: observing nature, drawing, composition, perspective, shading. Cost: $500. Limit: 20 students. View the syllabus for this course. Register
Botanical Illustration II: Working with Watercolors
Expected June 2011. In this introductory course about color, students are encouraged to continue their discovery of plants. Emphasis will be on simpler subjects such as a single-stem flower, fruit, and vegetables. View syllabus.