This exciting class begins next week so make sure you claim the last seat in the classroom!
Butterflies in Watercolor:
Combining Butterflies within Botanical Art
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Sharon Belkin, Illustrator
9:00am – 3:30pm / Oak Room
$95 members/$105 non-members; pre-registration required
$10 supply fee due to the instructor in class
Supply list available upon registration
How do you make choices about which butterfly to include in a flower painting?
Scientific illustrator Sharon Belkin will address the many issues of combining butterflies with plant material as well as how to compose with flowers and insects. Topics that will be covered include:
- Butterfly anatomy and the importance of wing position
- Handling insect specimens and how to obtain them
- Using reference materials to extract the details most useful to the artist (such as size of wingspan and season of activity)
- Host plants
- How to use photographs
Sharon will also discuss the many interesting insect-plant relationships found not only in California native plants but also insect-plant relationships found in the Tropics. For example, passionflower vines are host to a whole family of colorful butterflies. She was trained at UCLA and has been a member of The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators since 1976 and is a former member of the American Society of Botanical Artists. Throughout her career, Sharon has specialized in insect illustration, collaborating with museum and university scientists. Recently, she illustrated a series of 10 habitat studies of plants, animals and insects found in the various plant communities of the Ballona wetlands, located in Southern California. In 2009, she completed a series of 13 watercolor studies of native Guatemalan orchids. Because of her travels in the Amazon and in Central America, Sharon has developed a particular interest in rainforest ecology.
To register, please call 626.821.4624 or email jill.berry@arboretum.org
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