ArtPlantae Today

6) How many of you have a certificate from a certificate program?

• Yes = 8
• No = 13
• No response = 1

Programs referred to in “Yes” responses: Denver Botanic Gardens, New York Botanical Garden

Robin Jess: I don’t have a certificate, however, I started a certificate program for the New York Botanical Garden in 1984. However, I did major in art (no watercolor classes, though) and had a minor in botany in college.

Libby Kyer: I have a certificate from Denver Botanic Gardens Certificate Program in Botanical Art and Illustration, and received their Merit Award the year I graduated. Taking advantage of quality local education is a great way to grow, so I still attend a class at the DBG whenever a master artist comes in for specialty classes, and I routine contribute to publications by the Gardens, which is also fun. I also teach there, which is the best learning experience of all!

Rose Pellicano: I do not have a certificate from a certificate program although I have an art background and have studied with wonderful teachers .

Rayma Kempinsky Peterson: I do not have a certificate. However I have a BSc. In Botany.

Scott Rawlins:
Yes (maybe).

• GNSI summer workshop (included botanical illustration), credit through the USDA graduate School, Washington, DC
• MFA in medical illustration, University of Michigan. Included in the curriculum was a class in botanical illustration.
• BA in biology – including a number of classes in botany and plant systematics

Dolores R. Santoliquido : I do not have a certificate from a certificate program. My early art training was based in realism. I have worked in a tight manner for my entire career. When I started doing natural science subjects and botanical illustration there were few programs offered. I began teaching in the New York Botanical Garden Certificate Program in the late 80’s and at that point it was impractical for me to go back and attain a certificate.

Wendy Smith: No, I don’t have a certificate but I do have a college degree in life science which helps me to better understand the subjects I’m rendering and their relationships in the context of the natural world.

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7) Because botanical art is so representational, how far can you stretch a composition in botanical art?

Bruce Lyndon Cunningham: When any artist draws a face of a person, the face needs to look like that person in life. Same with botanical species.

Carol E. Hamilton: The key is research. Once you have thoroughly researched the structure, growth patterns and life cycle of the subject, you can confidently compose a piece without concern that you might be misrepresenting the plant.

Wendy Hollender: Composition allows for infinite layouts even with representational art. The plants are realistic, but the background can vary from none, to a tint, to a landscape, to a suggestion of a landscape.

Kathy J. Imel: When doing a pastel of a plant, I like to expand the image to many times life size and also often zoom in on a particular section of the plant so that the image covers the entire paper (no white space). I think it causes you to think about and see the plant in a different way while still being botanically accurate.

Michael Maskarinec: Good design will make or break a painting. Most artists have a natural ability to place/compose a painting. I believe that a good composition can be challenging and create the drama that attracts the average person to our work. For me this falls under the category of how we edit our process.

Susan Rubin: For me, botanical art has tremendous potential as a contemporary art genre, and composition is often where we can diverge from classical tradition, if we are so inclined. Remembering that botanical illustration a more structured depiction of a plant, I view botanical art as the playground. It is an exciting challenge to retain the scientifically accurate portrayal of the material while pushing the composition to make a more modern statement. More adventurous compositions may not always be favored by RHS or ASBA juries or staunch traditionalists, but there is always room for a fresh point of view in the larger world of art.

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8. Do you ever draw and paint exclusively from photographs? Is this a wise thing to do?

Olivia Marie Braida Chiusano: I do not draw from photographs. I use macro photography to record key elements of the subject and detail. My students are taught not to trace from photographs but to use them only for reference.

Beverly Duncan: No. If I call a painting a “botanical painting,” I will have worked from a live specimen to produce that painting. Often I am asked to illustrate for magazines and books and then must work from photographs since I’m often asked to illustrate out of season.

Carol E. Hamilton: In my experience, sometimes you have no choice. That having been said, unless I know a plant extremely well already, I am unlikely to work from a single photograph, rather I will accumulate as many reference photos as possible, along with scientific texts, to help me understand my subject.

Libby Kyer: I do paint exclusively from photographs when I am asked to paint pictures of species that don’t exist in this area or that are completely out of season. If I can, I supplement the drawing with a herbarium sheet of the species, for more detailed understanding of the specimen.

I don’t like painting only from photographs, but it is required if you want to meet deadlines or if the plant simply isn’t accessible. I find that paintings done from photos only seem “flatter” with less understanding of form, and form is so important and really needs to be rendered before just about anything else. So painting from photos is not my favorite.

I generally take many photos of specimens I’m working on, using an Olympus Camedia C-3020 Zoom digital camera. Although an older camera model that has been replaced for “snapshot” images, it allows close-up shots of excellent clarity, so if my specimen expires, has to go back to the greenhouse, or changes radically as it ages, I have references at every stage.

Short answer: I don’t know if it’s wise to paint strictly from photographs, but I do know that I don’t like it very much even when I really need to. However, I think it’s really prudent to document your specimen as you work to make sure you have references for specific parts!

Rose Pellicano: I use photographs for reference. I prefer to work from live plants although I have had to work from photos when doing illustrations for magazines and the plant was not available at that time of the season.

Rayma Kempinsky Peterson: I use photographs quite a bit. I compose with the viewfinder of my camera. Often I will “transplant” other plants from other photos, but always keep the painting botanically correct. That is, I only put plants from the same habitat into my larger composition. Painting strictly from photos has its drawbacks. Colors can be inaccurate in a photo. Greens can appear bluish in a photograph. A sketch from life will always be desirable as they are always lively. However, I couldn’t draw my composition and paint it without small details. My paintings can take months to complete so I need the assistance of photos.

Wendy Smith: Photographs can be very helpful tools. Sometimes it’s not possible to work from life and using information (such as form, light and details), which can be captured in photos, is necessary. It’s very important however, when working only from photos, to have a good grasp on form and light and a keen awareness of how optical effects such as distortion, can affect the subject(s). Also, it may be necessary to use multiple photos as reference for different elements in the composition.

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10) Do you use a lot of different papers? If so, which paper do you like best?

Kathy J. Imel: Yes. I have one set of different papers for watercolor, graphite and colored pencil. The common element is that it is hot-pressed and fairly heavily sized (if for watercolor). I use a completely different set of papers (with more “tooth”) for pastel. My current favorites are Wallis sanded pastel paper and black Stonehenge printmakers’ paper.

Robin Jess: For my watercolor paintings, I used Arches 140 lb hot press exclusively. However, if I were to do an image for commercial use now (other than fine art prints) I would use a whiter paper, as sometimes the tone of Arches can be an issue. I know that backgrounds now can be removed digitally, but to avoid that, I would try a whiter paper.

Mindy Lighthipe: I use Fabriano Artistico 300 lb Soft Press for Watercolor, LanaAquarelle Hot Press 300 lb for gouache.

Julie Sims Messenger: I have tried lots of different papers but keep going back to Arches watercolor paper because it is so forgiving (for me). Because I work the paper surface with many layers of glazing, I need a surface that won’t degrade easily. I will use the 140 lb for more delicate subjects because the surface is very smooth and I will use the 300 lb for more substantial subjects like woody plants because the surface has some slight tooth, even though it is hot press.

Scott Rawlins: At present, much of my colored pencil work is done on illustration board or coquille board. Because I use a great number of materials, I also use a number of grounds regularly – e.g., Denril film, handmade paper, mat board, various clay-coated surfaces and printer paper for digital work. In any given year I probably use 10 different surfaces.

Susan Rubin: Having experimented with numerous papers over the years, I gravitate toward just a few that will consistently give me the results I like. For both colored pencil and graphite, I like Fabriano Artistico 140# hot press watercolor paper, Saunders Waterford 140# HP WC if I want a cream-colored surface, or Rising Stonehenge, white or black. I do a good deal of my work on double-frosted Mylar as well.

Dolores R. Santoliquido: Early on I experimented with using different papers. I use a dry-brush technique that requires a very tough, exceptionally smooth surface. The paper I have worked on for over 20 years has been Arches 140 lb. hot press paper. Unfortunately, in recent years the surface of the paper has been pilling and I am in the process of seeking a paper that works as Arches did a few years back.

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12) How do you organize your palette? Do you separate non-staining transparent colors from staining colors?

Margaret Best: I arrange my pallets by colour groups. I know which are the stainers but do not separate them.

Olivia Marie Braida Chiusano: I organize my paints according to each section of the painting. I use only single pigment paints and primarily glazing of layers to achieve depth of color. Pigments that are mixed or desaturated are kept in separate dishes. Lifting colors are never included in a “mix” or “between” glazing layers. Opaque paints are used with care and strategy to achieve the desired effect. Everything is worked out in advance with limited range of pigments.

Jean Emmons: I use a modified color wheel on a butcher tray. I try not to use staining colors, because I change my mind (and my colors) all the time. Staining requires a commitment. I keep the slightly opaque watercolors separate, because they’re not so good for building initial glazes, but terrific for knitting things together (covering all sins) later.

Sally Jacobs: I use the Michael Wilcox palette to organize color. I don’t separate colors by non-staining versus staining.

Robin Jess: I am embarrassed to say that I don’t really know much about staining vs. non-staining. I never took a class in watercolor, but I have learned a lot about colors from Carolyn Payzant’s Color Curriculum article in the ASBA newsletter. I use an enamel butcher’s tray and I organize my colors as to the spectrum. I often put clear tape on the inside of the tray’s walls with the name of the paint next to the patch of it. When I mix a color I write down what I used and the general proportions so I can make it again. I do note the permanence.

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