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Archive for the ‘Science Library’ Category

Draw Plants Outdoors, Hike & Have Fun This Summer

Posted in botanical art, drawing, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, Sketching & Journaling on May 21, 2013|

Now at Classes Near You > New York!

Gretchen Kai Halpert
www.gretchenhalpert.com
Gretchen Halpert is a scientific illustrator and biologist with many years of experience creating illustrations for the medical field, for scientific research, and for commercial clients. Gretchen also teaches classes in the book arts and leads journaling classes.

Botanical Illustration and Drawing Workshops

June 1, 2013
June 2, 2013
June 29, 2013
June 30, 2013

Botanical illustration and basic drawing. Each session above is a full-day workshop using botanical specimens to learn basic drawing techniques. Students will focus on tools and techniques to create realistic and accurate drawings along with observation exercises and botanical study. The first session will focus on graphite sketches, transfers and tonal drawings on white paper. Individual attention and small class size allows participants to receive help with their particular challenges and interests. This workshop is an opportunity for beginners to get your feet wet. As interest dictates, classes can meet during the week – days or evenings – as well as weekends. More advanced students may benefit by having a set time to draw with others and will be given more advanced exercises.

Each workshop is scheduled for 10 AM – 4 PM. From 4:00-6:00 PM, students may remain to draw outdoors, hike or socialize. There are trails, fields, woods, a pond and plants specific to each ecosystem. Cost: $100. Location: Elmira, New York.

(Note: Students may sign-up for multiple sessions, the exercises will be different each time so the workshops may progress as in a series.)

Contact: Gretchen by email or at 607-767-6936.

Nature and Travel Journaling in Tuscany, Siena, Italy
June 16-23, 2013
$2475pp double; $2750 single

Includes 7 nights lodging in 16th-century villa, 19 meals, wine, field trips, daily classes and evening presentations. This workshop is about creating a journal, focusing on plants and nature and expanding to architecture and travel. Daily lessons in pen and ink, watercolor, composition, text, observation, and writing give participants the tools to document their time in Italy and wherever they go in the world, including home. All takes place on one of the first privately-owned wildlife sanctuaries in Italy. Flower and vegetable gardens, animals, trails and an abandoned castle offer plenty of subject material. Afternoons are set aside for field trips and working on your own, relaxing by the pool, hiking, reading, exploring and enjoying life. The weekends with a wine and cheese opening of our work.

For more information, go to Nature and Travel Journaling in Tuscany.

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New Book About Marianne North

Posted in botanical art, botanical art books, Drawing, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, Special Articles & Interviews, Special Events on May 15, 2013|

I hope you are enjoying the conversation with Katie Zimmerman. I asked Katie if she was going to write a book based on her years of research.

She replied:

I’m in the final stages of writing up my dissertation, and all along I’ve been writing with the book in mind. There are a few books out there already, but they have all treated North as an anomaly in the “intrepid spinster” vein. I don’t want to downplay North’s extraordinary achievements and personality, but to really understand her work and its value beyond its eccentricity, we need a more complete narrative. North’s individualized vision and visualizations, however idiosyncratic, were…

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Observable Trends in the Work of Victorian Artist Marianne North

Posted in botanical art, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, Special Articles & Interviews, travel on May 13, 2013|

When viewing North’s paintings, are there any trends that can be observed? For example, did she paint plant “portraits” more often than landscapes? Did her style of painting change during 14 years of traveling? Etc.

I would say North’s motivations for traveling and painting changed more than her style ever did. Her choice of specimens, indeed her choice of destination, became much more pointed towards the end of her career and especially after Sir Joseph accepted North’s offer to build a gallery at Kew. Once North knew her work would be on permanent display…

Continue…

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Marianne North Chose Oil Over Watercolor

Posted in botanical art, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, sketchbook, Special Events, travel on May 10, 2013|

When reading about artists traveling on European expeditions, we learn that artists worked in watercolor. Marianne North worked in oil. Does North ever explain why she chose oil over watercolor or other color media?

Yes, she does – and the answer is really interesting in terms of getting a handle on North’s motivations for painting and her self-image as an artist. North took watercolor lessons as a young woman, but once she tried oil painting she found it to be “a vice like dram-drinking, almost impossible to leave off once it gets possession of one.” Besides enjoying the feel and effects of oil colors, it is important to note that North was not a botanical illustrator. If we examine North’s oil sketches within this tradition, the only conclusion that can be, and has too often been made, is that she was bad at her work. This isn’t helpful for reconstructing what it was she was doing. North’s project is more closely aligned with the kind of work being done by the Hudson River School painters in North America, who traveled throughout the United States, the Arctic, Jamaica, and South and Central America with the goal of painting the beauty, unity, and character of nature – and who did so in oils. For North, it wasn’t interesting to paint an uprooted, idealized type-specimen against a white background as per botanical illustration. Instead, she treated the plants and botanical landscapes she encountered as individuals and groups of individuals met with in distinctive settings, all of which she wanted to portray with the vibrancy and materiality of the original encounter, a task best done with oils.

Catch up with our conversation with Katie Zimmerman

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Botanical Drawing Camp for Kids in Ohio

Posted in botanical art, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities on May 8, 2013|

Here is the latest at Classes Near You > Ohio!

Deborah Kopka, DK Designs
www.dkdesigns.org
Botanical illustrator, Deborah Kopka is the principal artist at DK Designs. Deborah licenses her artwork, creates illustrations for publishers, and teaches botanical art classes through her design studio.

Botanical Illustration: Drawing in Graphite

Download Summer Catalog (PLAY, May-Aug 2013)

Botanical Illustration: Painting in Watercolor
Owens Community College
Mondays, July 15, 22, 29 and August 5, 12, 19
Learn painting techniques used by natural science illustrators and how to use watercolor with other media. Plant specimens are provided for the first class meeting. A supply list will be sent to registered participants. Limit: 12
Cost: $249
Download Summer Catalog (PLAY, May-Aug 2013)

Botanical Drawing Camp for Grades 6-12
Owens Community College
Students will learn how to draw botanical subjects and develop a new appreciation for nature. Art supplies and specimens are provided.
Cost: $149 per student

This four-day class will be taught at two locations:

Owens Findlay Campus
July 15-18, 2013
9 am – Noon

Arrowhead Campus (Maumee)
July 15-18, 2013
9 am – Noon

Download Summer Catalog (PLAY, May-Aug 2013)

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Marianne North Mobilizes Botanical Knowledge

Posted in botanical art, botany, Education, general botany, History, Learning Opportunities, travel on May 6, 2013|

You have mentioned that the Marianne North Gallery mobilized botanical knowledge. Were there particular kinds of knowledge that North hoped to cultivate?

Yes, absolutely. There are several running themes in North’s work that are telling of the kinds of stories she wanted to capture and put on display. First among these was the sheer abundance and variety of botanical nature. North rarely painted the same thing twice, and opted instead to…

Join the conversation with featured guest, Katie Zimmerman

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Enjoy Wildflowers & Art This Memorial Day Weekend

Posted in botanical art, botanical art books, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, nature, Special Announcements, Special Events, travel on May 6, 2013|

Click to view poster.

Annual Wildflower & Art Festival
Idyllwild Nature Center
Idyllwild, CA
May 25-27, 2013
9 AM – 4 PM

Visit the Idyllwild Nature Center in the mountain community of Idyllwild this Memorial Day weekend to learn about local wildflowers and native plants. This fun-filled weekend also includes guided nature walks, an art exhibition, and activities for the entire family.

Weekend visitors to Idyllwild also have the opportunity to start a personalized guide to plants at ArtPlantae.

Learn more below!

Free Workshops with Purchase of Sketchbook at ArtPlantae
Create your own personalized guide to plants! Purchase a sketchbook at ArtPlantae during the Annual Wildflower Show and Art Festival at the Idyllwild Nature Center (May 25-27, 2013) and attend any of the sessions below for free during the Memorial Day weekend. Limit 10 people per session.
Cost: $9.95 per person

Participants may repeat a session if space is available. Priority goes to first-time attendees. Waiting lists will be established if necessary. Please register early. Sessions will begin promptly at their scheduled start times.

Let’s Explore Plants
Memorial Day Schedule

Saturday, May 25

Sunday, May 26
9:30 – 10:30 – What makes fruit, fruit?
11:00 – 12:00 – What makes a stem a stem?
12:00 – 1:00 – Lunch Break
1:00 – 2:00 – What makes leaves, leaves?
2:30 – 3:30 – What makes flowers, flowers?

Monday, May 27
9:30 – 10:30 – What makes flowers, flowers?
11:00 – 12:00 – What makes fruit, fruit?
12:00 – 1:00 – Lunch Break
1:00 – 2:00 – What makes a stem a stem?
2:30 – 3:30 – What makes leaves, leaves?