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Archive for the ‘nature’ 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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Draw from Nature in Thailand

Posted in botanical art, drawing, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, nature, Sketching & Journaling, Special Announcements, Special Events, travel on December 10, 2012|

Info at Sirindhorn Science Home

Drawing from Nature
Sirindhorn Science Home
Thailand Science Park
February 14-15, 2013
9:00 AM -5:00 PM, plus evening event

Natural science illustrator Gretchen Kai Halpert and two Thai artists will lead this class designed for scientists, non-scientists, teachers, and anyone with an interest in nature and the environment. This two-day workshop includes the tools and techniques of drawing nature in and around the Sirindhorn Science Home and includes an evening lecture about botanical painting as fine art vs. scientific illustration.

Cost: 6,500 Baht ($210 USD; 180 Euro) includes two-day workshop, meals and accommodations. Discount cost before January 10, 2013 is 5500 Baht ($162 USD; 137 Euro).

For more information, go to Sirindhorn Science Home to download a beautiful 12-page brochure. This brochure contains information about each instructor, a course syllabus, payment information and a registration form.

This information has been added to the Classes Near You sections for New York and Thailand.

Also See

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Plants & The Arts at Greystoke Cycle Cafe

Posted in botanical art, Education, gardening, Learning Opportunities, nature on November 28, 2012|

This haven for cyclists and creatives has announced their schedule of classes for 2013. Here is what’s new at Classes Near You > England:

Greystoke Cycle Café & Tea Garden
www.greystokecyclecafe.co.uk
You may remember learning about the Greystoke Cycle 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 2013 schedule includes:

Botanical Illustration in Watercolor – April 3, 2013
Wildlife Illustration in Watercolor – April 4, 2013
Beginners Watercolors and Pen and Wash – April 10, 2013
Eco Dyeing for Textile Artists – July 3, 2013
Botanical Illustration in Watercolor – July 30, 2013
Wildlife Illustration in Watercolor with Gouache – July 31, 2013
Wildlife or Botanical Illustration in Watercolors – August 1, 2013
Dyeing with Natural Fibers – August 2, 2012

See the Greystoke Cycle Cafe’s Quirky Workshops page to view their current class schedule.

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iGiveTrees Program, Botanical Art Retreats in Brazil

Posted in botanical art, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, nature, Special Announcements, travel on November 26, 2012|

Alana Lea, botanical artist and advocate for Brazil’s Atlantic Forest will be based in Brazil in 2013 to continue her reforestation project.

During her residency, she will work with the Vista Alegre Retreat Center and would like to invite you to draw and paint the flora of Brazil. Located one hour from Rio de Janeiro, this residential retreat is comprised of five homes and can accommodate 15-25 people.

If you would like to learn more about artist retreats in Brazil, subscribe to Alana’s newsletter to receive information about upcoming ecotours. Learn more about Vista Alegre Retreat Center in the color brochure available here (click on the image).

When you subscribe to Alana’s newsletter you will not only learn about upcoming retreats, but will also learn about her reforestation project.

Alana’s grassroots effort to support local growers, local families and the propagation and planting of native tree species has grown since we first learned about this project last year.

Her fundraising efforts continue and have taken the form of the iGiveTrees tree-giving initiative. Purchase a tree for $5 through the iGiveTrees program and your purchase will help buy native tree saplings at a fair trade price and help pay for their planting and maintenance. To thank you for your purchase, musicians, singers and songwriters Michael Bernard Beckwith, Rickie Byars Beckwith, Faith Rivera, Gary Malkin, Charles Holt, Ester Nicholson, Ben Dowling, Niki Haris and Jami Lula will send you music in gratitude. Learn more about this green gift-giving program and the music you will receive at iGiveTrees.com.

Information about Alana’s Brazilian workshops will be announced on this site and will be posted at the new page for Classes Near You > Brazil.

Related

View Alana’s project at WeForest.org
Alana Lea in ASBA Member Gallery

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Field Studies Council Announces Courses in Botanical Illustration, Natural History

Posted in botanical art, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, nature on November 19, 2012|

The Field Studies Council has announced the details of its 2013 course schedule.

Here is what’s new at Classes Near You > England!

Field Studies Council
www.field-studies-council.org
Founded in 1943, the Field Studies Council (FSC) provides learning opportunities about the environment for all ages and abilities. Visit their website to learn more about interdisciplinary fieldwork opportunities, classes for individuals and families, publications and profession development courses. Courses are held across the FSC network of UK Centers, from the Scottish Highlands to the south Devon coast. The extensive schedule of classes for 2013 includes:

Botany Courses – Courses include studies of flowers, trees, grasses and grass like plants, ferns, freshwater and wetland plants, lichens, fungi, general plants, mosses and liverworts. View Details/Register

Natural History Courses – Courses include studies of the natural world, birds and other animals, habitats and conservation. View Details/Register

Art Courses – Courses include painting, drawing, crafts (e.g. bookbinding), traditional skills (e.g., basketry), photography, archeology and botanical illustration. Below is a list of botanical illustration classes that will be offered next year. Click on the link below for complete details:

Botanical Illustration – March 2013
Botanical Illustration for Beginners – May 2013
Botanical Illustration Using Colored Pencils – June 2013
Botanical Illustration and Painting – July 2013
Botanical Illustration for More Experienced Painters – July 2013
Illustrating Birds, Bees and Butterflies – July 2013
Drawing and Painting the Flora at Malham Tarn – August 2013
An Approach to Botanical Illustration: Drawing and Basic Watercolor Techniques – August 2013
Botanical Illustration – August 2013
A Botany Workshop for Artists – August 2013
The Art of Botanical Illustration – August 2013
Botanical Illustration for Improvers – August 2013

View all details about FSC botanical illustration courses online.

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Wildflowers and Native Plants in Line and Color

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, nature, Special Announcements, Special Events on October 8, 2012|

Laura Stickney: Aspects of Theodore Payne Foundation in Line and Color
Theodore Payne Art Gallery
Sun Valley, CA
Oct. 12 – Dec. 29, 2012

The Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants (TPF) invites you to the opening reception of the art exhibition celebrating the work of artist-in-residence, Laura Stickney. Luminous watercolors, richly colored oil paintings and seed-packet artist’s books will be on view. Created over the course of Laura’s one-year residency, each piece was inspired by the nursery, gardens, and other discoveries made at the Theodore Payne Foundation.

Laura Stickney is a graduate of USC with a major in printmaking. In addition to her work as an artist, Laura has taught art to all ages for 25 years at the well-known Barnsdall Art Park in Hollywood, and the art of printmaking at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.

Here are examples of the wonderful work Laura created during her residency. View the entire collection and learn from Laura yourself during the opening reception on Saturday, October 13, 2012. The reception will be held from
2:00 – 4:30 PM. The Artist Talk begins at 3:00 PM.

Many thanks to the Theodore Payne Foundation for this early look at the exhibition. Images and descriptions courtesy of The Theodore Payne Foundation.

Seed Packet Artist’s Books
Laura’s artist’s accordion books are based on Theodore Payne seed packets. Unfolded, they reveal delicate graphite drawings of selected native plants, a tiny clear bag of seeds, and a poem written by Laura and inspired by that plant.

Pod Paintings
Painted from life, Laura’s series of small oil paintings of native seed pods at TPF are densely packed with information, texture and color. The images are painted on repurposed, rectangular Polaroid metal film canisters. The use of discarded film containers is linked and refers back to Laura’s concept of light. In some way, the paintings refill those empty Polaroid vessels with new memories.

Watercolors
Laura’s iridescent watercolors capture the beauty of sunlight and the colors of TPF. Conceptually layered, they focus on the place where nature and culture collide, where the nursery plants and the evidence of their caretakers intersect: a plant cart, a plant pot, a secluded corner of the garden. “All of my work is about still life,” Laura says. One could call these watercolors of nature and culture “environmental still lifes.”

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Artist Explores ‘The Road Not Taken’

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, nature, Special Announcements, Special Events on October 2, 2012|

The Road Not Taken
Nature Art Gallery
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Raleigh, NC
October 5-28, 2012

Ruth Ava Lyons will be the Nature Art Gallery’s featured artist for October. Lyons’ oil paintings and an ongoing body of work inspired by her travels and field studies of oceans, wetlands, national forests and wildlife preserves will be featured in the exhibition, The Road Not Taken.

A Fulbright Fellow, Lyons has exhibited continuously since 1982 in group and solo shows nationwide. She has received several grants and awards, including one from the National Endowment for the Arts and two from the NC Arts Council, and has received Artist Residencies including her most recent residency at Everglades National Park (2011).

Meet Ruth Ava Lyons at the opening reception this Friday, October 5, from
6:30 PM to 9:00 PM.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is located at 11 West Jones Street in downtown Raleigh (Directions/Map).

Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9 AM – 5 PM and Sunday 12-5 PM.

Admission: Free