ArtPlantae Today

In the class, What’s Your Flower?, participants will research a plant’s meaning and its history. They will then blend this history into their final composition. The workshop will be taught at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Virginia. Here what’s new at Classes Near You > Virginia:

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden
www.lewisginter.org
In 1884, Lewis Ginter purchased some property and built a gathering place for Richmond bicyclists. One hundred years later, the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is established on this same piece of property and soon becomes one of the top five destinations in Virginia. It is also home to Artbase a searchable database containing 2,500 botanical watercolor paintings by Alexandre Descubes. The Adult Education program at the garden includes workshops in botanical drawing and painting. Complete course descriptions and registration information are available here. Courses include:

• Botanical Illustration Workshop with Juliet Kirby (Hydrangeas) – July 20, 22, 27, 29, 2010
• How to Draw (More) Stuff in the Garden – July 15, 17, 22, 24, 29, 31, 2010
• What’s Your Flower? – August 17, 19, 24, 2010
• Plants and Pollinators for Botanical Artists – September 8, 15, 22, 29, 2010

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Botanical artist, Debra Kopka, has announced she will continue to offer private lessons in botanical art through the summer. Debra provides customized instruction for artists wanting help with a project and provides instruction for homeschool students as well.

The following information has been updated at Classes Near You > Ohio:

Debra Kopka, DK Designs
www.dkdesigns.org
Botanical illustrator, Debra Kopka is the principal artist at DK Designs. Debra licenses her artwork, creates illustrations for publishers, and teaches botanical art classes through her design studio. Unless otherwise specified, all workshops are taught at Edgerton Art in Perrysbury.

• Botanical Drawing I: Graphite – Mondays (10 weeks); April 12-June 21, 2010 (no class May 31); 6:30-9:30 PM. Learn natural science illustration techniques and create graphite drawings with graceful compositions. Demos and lots of practice during each class meeting. Special projects will be discussed. Limit: 7. Register Now (PDF)
• Botanical Drawing II: Colored Pencil – Fridays (10 weeks), April 16-June 18, 2010; 9:00 Am – 12:00 PM. Learn how to shade, blend, and create layers of color using colored pencils. Complete a colored pencil painting by the end of this ten-week workshop. Limit: 7.
• Private Lessons – Receive personalized attention in a customized learning environment. Request Information
• Schedule a Workshop for Your Organization! Request Information
• NEW! See schedule of summer classes at Edgerton Art (PDF). Deborah will resume her classes at Edgerton in Fall 2010.
• NEW! – Download the June 2010 issue of Botanically Speaking, the quarterly newsletter of DK Designs.

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Now at Classes Near You > International > England.

Greystoke Cycle Café & Tea Garden
www.greystokecyclecafe.co.uk
You may remember learning about the Greystoke Cycling Café & Tea Garden during an interview with Billy Showell. This rest stop for cyclists not only provides everything a cyclist needs, it also provides a full schedule of workshops taught by artists and other professionals. The schedule for 2010 includes workshops about stone letter carving, willow sculptures, wire garden sculptures, baking, first aid, and bike maintenance. The cafe is hosting several botanical illustration classes this summer, including a class about the drawing and painting techniques of Charles Rennie Mackintosh!

• Watercolour Paints with Paul Fennell – June 1-2, 2010
• Watercolour Paints with Billy Showell – July 26, 27 and 29
• Charles Rennie Mackintosh Days with Colin Swinton – July 28-30, 2010
• Botanical Stick and Ink Days with Colin Swinton – July 31, 2010
• Graphite Pencils with Julie Small – September 7, 2010
• Watercolour Paints and Gouache for Botanical and Wildlife Illustration – October 5-7, 2010

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Updated listing at Classes Near You > Colorado:

Denver Botanic Gardens School of Botanical Art and Illustration
Denver Botanic Gardens
A complete program offering classes in pencil drawing, colored pencil, watercolor, sketching, botany, art history, scratch board, and classes dedicated to specific techniques and plant groups. See a complete course listing here. This program now works collaboratively with El Charco del Ingenio, a nature reserve and botanical garden in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico. To download the 2010 Summer-Fall Catalog at DBG or the brochure at El Charco, visit the program’s blog at http://botanicalillustration.blogspot.com/. This blog is maintained by Program Coordinator, Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski. Highlights from the 2010 schedule include:

Denver Botanic Gardens

• Artist’s Visual Journal: Gateway Canyons – July 23-24, 2010 from 9 a.m – 5 p.m. and July 25, 2010 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Weekend workshop at Gateway Canyons Resort in Gateway, CO. An introduction to botanical illustration and field sketching in nearby canyon and mountain areas. Cost: $280 member, $315 non-member
• Autumn Leaves in Watercolor – October 7 – November 4, 2010; 1 – 4 p.m. Cost: $189 member, $240 member
• Beyond Ordinary – September 7 – October 12, 2010; 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. Add botanical accents to your paintings with elements such as dead plant parts and other less inspiring morphological features of plants. Cost: $189 member/$240 non-member
• Botany Spotlight: Conifer Cones – October 12, 2010; 9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Study the structure of cones and learn how to draw those spiraling details. Cost: $70 member, $85 non-member

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