Special Announcements | ArtPlantae Today

Archive for the ‘Special Announcements’ Category

Botanical Artist Launches Kickstarter Campaign for Project of Short Stories

Posted in Special Announcements on November 5, 2012| 2 Comments »

When we last spoke with artist Mark Granlund, the conversation focused on the botanical art classes he was teaching online.

During our conversation with Mark, we learned about his book project The Book of Bartholomew, a collection of short stories about young adults and their experiences managing careers and relationships. Mark and fifteen fellow artists who have contributed to this project are ready to go to print and have launched a Kickstarter Campaign to raise funds to help cover publication costs. Mark says the objective of the current campaign is to “print 250 box sets of Volume 1 in the series, Bartholomew Makes a Garden, to sell online and at local bookstores and events. The illustrated box set includes the first twelve stories in the adventures of Bartholomew and all his friends.”

The story of Bartholomew and his friends has been evolving online and can be followed at www.bookofbartholomew.com and on Facebook.

Mark is still teaching art classes online. To learn more about his classes, visit his website or listing at Classes Near You > Minnesota.

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A Conversation About Botanical Painting with Mariella Baldwin

Posted in botanical art, botanical art books, Education, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements on November 1, 2012| 17 Comments »

Mariella Baldwin earned a diploma in botanical art at the English Gardening School fourteen years ago. Since then, she has gone on to earn degrees in fine art and the visual arts. Mariella teaches at West Dean College, at the English Gardening School, and at various venues. Her work can be found in collections at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie Mellon University, the Chelsea Physic Garden in London, and at Hampton Court Palace.

Mariella is also the author of Botanical Painting, a thoughtfully written how-to book released in the US this past April. We’ll take a look at this book later.

Do you have a copy of Mariella’s book?

Have you written questions in the margins that you wish you could ask her yourself?

Here’s your chance! This month we are fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from Mariella in person.

Join me in welcoming Mariella Baldwin as our featured guest for November!

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A Helpful Guide to Scanning Artwork on a Desktop Scanner

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, Photography, Reference, Special Announcements on October 31, 2012| 2 Comments »

New ebook by Mindy Lighthipe

4″ x 6″

5″ x 7″

8″ x 10″

Drawings and painting in these sizes are easy to scan at home on a desktop scanner on a scanning surface that is
8.5″ x 11″. But what do you do with the rest of your work that is not only larger than this surface, but larger than your entire scanner?

Thanks to technology and natural science illustrator, Mindy Lighthipe, there is now a short practical guide to scanning your artwork.

Scan YOUR Art is a 17-page guide in which Mindy demonstrates how to scan a 11″ x 14″ painting using nothing more than your computer, your scanner, your printer and Adobe Photoshop Elements 9.0.

Mindy walks you through the process carefully and includes screenshots of each step so you can follow along as you replicate each step at home.

Mindy provides “how to” information such as:

How to create a folder for scanned images.
How to scan an image in two parts.
How to straighten a crooked image.
How to crop an image.
How to work with Layers in Adobe Photoshop Elements 9.0.
How to make quick color adjustments.
How to resize an image.
How to format a greeting card.

Mindy also provides information about printing companies and an online resource through which you can learn all the ins and outs of Adobe Photoshop Elements 9.0.

Scan YOUR Art is available as an ebook and can be purchased for $1.99.

Learn more about Scan YOUR Art

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Result of Raffle for ‘An Approach to Botanical Painting’

Posted in botanical art, Special Announcements on October 31, 2012|

Bonnie S. Driggers
Botanical Artists for Education & The Environment

And the winner is…

On Sunday, October 28, Botanical Artists for Education & The Environment (BAEE) held a reception at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Virginia. Author and teacher Anne-Marie Evans drew the winning ticket in the raffle for a copy of her book, An Approach to Botanical Painting. The lucky winner was Jerry of Bethesda, Maryland who is very happy to have won. He said, “I’ve never won anything before.”

BAEE greatly appreciates all of you who purchased tickets. The money earned will go to support the publication of our book, American Botanical Paintings: Native Plants of the Mid-Atlantic.

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CALL TO ACTION: 2013 Arizona SciTech Festival

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, Special Announcements, Special Events on October 24, 2012|

Last year we saw how the West Valley Arts Center in Arizona brought botanical art to the first annual Arizona SciTech Festival.

This year, it could be you!

Event coordinators are accepting applications from Arizonans interested in hosting events during the 2013 Arizona SciTech Festival. This is a great opportunity for those in the arts to demonstrate the value of incorporating art across the curriculum.

The Arizona SciTech Festival is a partnership between Arizona Science Center, Arizona State University, Arizona Technology Council Foundation and the Arizona Commerce Authority. The festival was created to inform Arizonans of all ages about how science, technology and innovation affect their everyday lives and how each will expand their economic future.

The Arizona SciTech Festival has gained a lot of momentum since last year’s launch and event organizers want to involve as many Arizona residents as possible. Festival director Dr. Jeremy Babendure says, “The 2012 inaugural Festival was a great success with over 200 amazing expos, celebrations, exhibitions, discussions, and tours delivered to over 220,000 young people and adults at venues located not only in Greater Phoenix and Tucson, but also in communities such as Casa Grande, Flagstaff and Showlow. We’re calling on all Arizona citizens to help us reach our goal of doubling those numbers by submitting their ideas and spreading the word about the Festival through their networks.”

Become a Collaborator Today!
Although the 2013 Arizona SciTech Festival will take place throughout the state from February 9 – March 17, 2013, all ideas for activities year-round are welcome. A Collaborator Portal on the Arizona SciTech Festival website serves as a place to submit events that are already organized, as well as a repository to match the needs between individuals and organizations that have ideas for content or venues to offer.

Specifically, the Collaborator Portal allows individuals and groups to do the following:

Sign-up as an official Collaborator
Post an official Arizona SciTech Festival event that will go on the website and program schedule.
Post a venue – if you have a location and are looking for content, the Collaborator Portal can help those with content find your location.
Post your content – if you have content and are looking for a venue, the site can help match you with those who have locations.

To become an official Collaborator and submit your events or ideas, please visit the portal today. The deadline for posting is November 10, 2012.

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Last Chance to Win ‘An Approach to Botanical Painting’

Posted in botanical art, botanical art books, Special Announcements, Special Events on October 24, 2012|

Time is running out!

You have only a few more days to submit a raffle ticket to win a copy of the botanical art classic An Approach to Botanical Painting by Anne-Marie and Donn Evans. Proceeds benefit Botanical Artists for Education & The Environment (BAEE), a nonprofit corporation of botanical artists who are documenting plants from the mid-Atlantic region. Proceeds will be used towards publication costs of their book, American Botanical Paintings: Native Plants of the Mid Atlantic.

Raffle tickets to win a copy of An Approach to Botanical Painting cost $10 each. This is much less than the $1,500 price tag of a near-fine used copy for this book. On October 28, 2012, a brand new, autographed copy of this book will be awarded. This has been made possible by Anne-Marie Evans who is generously donating one of the few remaining new copies of her book in support of this very special project.

Support BAEE artists and their efforts to document the native plants of the mid-Atlantic region.

Buy a raffle ticket today!

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Botanical Artists MeetUp in Texas

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, Sketching & Journaling, Special Announcements on October 15, 2012|

Get the latest at Classes Near You > Texas!

A new MeetUp group has been formed in Texas. The Dallas-Fort Worth Botanical Drawing and Painting Group will have their first meeting on November 3, 2012. All are invited to participate in this launch meeting that will occur at River Legacy Park in Arlington.

Please visit the group’s MeetUp page to sign up and to begin learning about other botanical artists in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Artists must bring their own supplies. Artists of all abilities are welcome.