ArtPlantae Today

Mount Pisgah Arboretum, Eugene, OR
www.mountpisgaharboretum.org

• Slowpoke Sketch Walk – February 7
• One Small Square – February 22 (create an artistic record of one small square of nature)

Bell Museum of Natural History, Minneapolis, MN
EXHIBIT: Richard Crammer: Into the Forest of Flowers
January 10 – February 22, 2009
Exquisite drawings and pastel paintings delicately highlight the intricacies of plants and birds.

Como Conservatory, St. Paul, MN
www.comozooconservatory.org

• Plants In Pen-and-Ink: Mondays, January 19 – March 9, 2009
• Drawing Basics – Wednesdays, Jan 21 – Mar 11 (two sections)
• Watercolor Basics – Tuesdsays, Jan 20 – Mar 10 (two sections)
• Beyond Watercolor Basics – Mondays, Jan 19 – Mar 9
• Botanical Drawing I – Tuesdays, Jan 20 – Mar 10
• Color Theory -Mondays, Jan 19 – Mar 9
• Botanicals in Oil – Thursdays, Jan 22 – Mar 12
• Painting with Pastels – January 20 – March 10
• Sumi-e and Chinese Brush Painting – January 21 – March 11
• Macro Photography – January 31 – February 28
• Marketing and Professional Presentation – February 5
• Legal Considerations for Artists – February 12
• Pricing Your Work – February 19

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Sketching & Watercolor: Journal Style — Jane LaFazio
Sat. Apr. 18, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Be inspired to record your life, a special trip, or your daily adventures in a loose, quick journal-style format. Spend the day discovering Old Town San Diego, with artist Jane LaFazio. Jane, known for her friendly and encouraging teaching style, will demonstrate drawing on location and how to use watercolor paint using a straight-forward, intuitive approach. You’ll choose simple objects, vignettes or vistas to draw and paint, and then journal your thoughts and impressions on 5×7 pages. Everyone has their own drawing style, just like handwriting, and Jane will help you to see and then record what you see on paper.

Class Supply List:
All materials (5×7 paper, watercolors, pen, pencil and water brush) are included in the fee. Bring a small camp stool or folding chair, hat, and sunscreen. The class is designed for beginners, however all levels are welcome. Fee: $120.00

Register info@shepherdessbeads.com or call The Shepherdess at (619) 297.4110

About Jane LaFazio
http://www.PlainJaneStudio.com

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California Classes Near You

Nina Antze – Drawing Nature (colored pencil)

Kathy Dunham – Beginning Watercolor, Intermediate Watercolor, Sketching & Drawing, Plein Aire (Springtime in the Desert), Create Dynamic Paintings in Watercolor, Painting & Sketching in France

UC Davis Center for Plant Diversity – Botanical Illustration

International Classes Near You

Kathy Dunham – Painting & Sketching in France

Mike Sibley – Graphite Pencil Techniques (UK). Mike will also teach this class in New York, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Texas, and Tennessee. Keep up with Mike’s teaching schedule here.

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See what Roberta Rosenthal will be teaching in New York and what Kathleen McKeehen will be teaching in Washington. Click on the Classes Near You! tab above.

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Selfridge, Gail. 2008. Drawing from your collection. Cactus and Succulent Journal. 80(1): 7-11.

“You don’t have to be a professional artist to enjoy drawing plants, any more than you have to be a professional writer to compose an e-mail or write a letter.”
— Gail Selfridge

Scientific illustrator, Gail Selfridge, shares how she was inspired to start collecting and documenting Stapelia after reading a book about these South African succulents. While she had prepared countless illustrations for books, journals, and museums, she had never prepared extensive illustrations for herself. Her Stapelia project took two years to complete.

Selfridge describes how she created her colored pencil illustrations and shares images of her work in progress. She lists the materials she used and leads readers through the steps necessary to go from preliminary sketch to finished drawing.

A copy of Volume 80, No 1 of the Cactus and Succulent Journal can be purchased for $8 from the Cactus and Succulent Society of America.

Also in this issue is a brief history about the work of May Blos, a scientific illustrator who, in the 1950s and 1960s, contributed to the Cactaceae section of the Flora of Peru.

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Learning opportunities will be plenty in 2009. Filoli has published its entire program schedule for next year and it looks great! The Filoli certificate program will feature classes taught by founders Lee McCaffree and Catherine Watters, as well as Susan T. Fisher, Martha Kemp, Dana and Leila Lyons, Linda Ann Vorobik, and Gary Greene.

The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden has also updated its class schedule. Go to Classes Near You>California for more information about the courses available at both gardens.

Will you be teaching a botanical illustration course in 2009? Do you have information about a local workshop you would like to share? Tell us!

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Brief demos by Australian botanical artist, Helen Fitzgerald, have been posted. Click on the Tutorials tab above to view the short video segments Helen has posted for sharing on YouTube.com.

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