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Archive for the ‘Watercolor’ Category

Paint Summer Flowers on Vellum at Chicago Botanic Garden

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, Watercolor on May 13, 2013| 2 Comments »

Carol Woodin
www.carolwoodin.com
A freelance artist for over 20 years, Carol creates vibrant botanical paintings on vellum. Her work is in public collections and in the private collections of Dr. Shirley Sherwood and Alisa and Isaac M. Sutton. Carol is represented by Susan Frei Nathan Fine Works on Paper, LLC.

Slipper Orchids in Watercolor (on paper or vellum)

Applications due May 15. Samples of artwork must accompany application. For more information and to register, visit GNSI’s website.

Painting the Flowers of Summer, Watercolor on Vellum
Chicago Botanic Garden, Chicago, IL
July 26 – July 28, 2013
9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
This class includes a demonstration of stretching vellum. Participants will select subjects from the garden and learn how to take a preliminary sketch to an advanced painting on vellum. Cost: $449 nonmember; members receive 20% discount. View Details/Register

Botanical Painting with Watercolor
Berkshire Botanical Garden, Stockbridge, MA
August 22 – 24, 2013
10 AM – 4 PM
Come to the beautiful Berkshires of Massachusetts to take a 3-day Master Class and learn botanical painting techniques. Anemones will be the focus of this class. Cost: $290 nonmembers, $260 members.
View Details/Register

This information has been added to the Classes Near You section for Massachusetts and Illinois.

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Thoughtful Instruction, Confidence-building Advice in ‘Botanical Painting’

Posted in botanical art, botanical art books, drawing, Education, Learning Opportunities, Reference, Watercolor on November 7, 2012|

If you’re new to botanical art, you have many resources at your disposal to help you find your way. There are websites, tutorials, professional organizations, certificate programs, classes and of course, books! Many more than what existed 15 years ago. I have had the good fortune to share many books on this site and today I have the pleasure of sharing one more.

Botanical Painting by Mariella Baldwin is a rich resource for those who have a growing interest in learning how to paint plants.

In her introduction, Mariella explains she wrote her book to show people how to paint plants without fear. While she does not stress a technical, scientific approach to drawing and painting plants, Botanical Painting is definitely not a book about expressive flower painting. Far from it. It is a book about drawing with accuracy and painting for pleasure.

The thoughtful and patient conversation Mariella has with readers who lack prior painting experience made a big impression on me. Mariella clearly cares about connecting with her readers and provides confidence-building advice at just the right moments during the drawing and painting process. Always supportive, Mariella is respectful of the path each individual takes to a finished painting.

Novice botanical illustrators will appreciate Mariella’s thoughtful instruction about how to begin a

Click to enlarge, image courtesy Crowood Press

drawing. Through her guided instruction, beginners learn how to use graph paper to take measurements, how to create a mask around their work, how to approach investigative sketching and how to draw the form of their subject.

When it comes to painting, beginners are shown how to turn the painting process into manageable tasks. The instructions Mariella provides for her practice techniques are as clear as her instructions for the “official” painting steps she outlines. Throughout, photographs of her own sketches and painting studies support the written text.

Some of the topics Mariella addresses in her book are:

How to work with specific colors (white, yellow, orange, brown, red, pink, green, blue, purple, black and silver).
How to paint bi-colored flowers.
How to paint roots, bulbs, stems.
How to draw and paint leaves.
How to draw and paint leaf surfaces and textures.
How to draw and paint buds and flowers.

Click to enlarge, image courtesy Crowood Press

In a chapter both new painters and experienced painters will appreciate, Mariella reviews special techniques that will help them paint velvet flowers, hairs, bloom, cacti, sheen and shine on fruit, reflected light, aerial perspective, shadows and those ever-popular dewdrops.

Want to learn more about
Botanical Painting?

Let’s ask Mariella …

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Study the Shades of Autumn at North Cascades Basecamp

Posted in Education, Learning Opportunities, Photography, Watercolor on August 27, 2012|

Now at Classes Near You > Washington:

North Cascades Basecamp, Mazama
www.NorthCascadesBasecamp.com
A bed-and-breakfast style lodge surrounded by acres of protected cedar forest, the North Cascades Basecamp serves as a homebase for outdoor adventures such as hiking, fishing, cross-country skiing and a host of other activities offered through the camp’s Ecology Center. Biologists Kim and Steve Bondi purchased the recreation center in 2010 and created the Ecology Center to offer learning opportunities for guests.

Capturing the Shades of October with Photographer, Teri J. Pieper

Teri J. Pieper

gallery of nature photography

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Painting Watercolors of Autumn with Watercolorist, John Adams
October 13-14, 2012; 10 AM – 1 PM
Learn to paint brilliant, colorful autumn scenes in the North Cascades mountains. Each day will include an instructor demonstration of painting mountains and trees with bright watercolors of fall, followed by individual instruction as you create your own painting based on the demo or an idea that you bring to the class. All levels of experience are welcome. Instructor John Adams is a professional artist, designer, teacher and signature member of the National Watercolor Society.
Location: Methow Valley, Mazama, WA
View Details/Register

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Draw & Paint Trees in Texas

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, Watercolor on July 30, 2012|

Learn how to draw and paint trees with the Forester-Artist in Texas!

Bruce Lyndon Cunningham
Bruce is a forester and botanical illustrator. Books illustrated by Bruce include Gymnosperms of the United States and Canada and Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines of East Texas.

Tree Art Workshops
Four week series
August 8 – 24, 2012

Learn how to draw and know leaves, fruit and trees with forester-artist, Bruce Lyndon Cunningham. Bruce will teach drawing and painting techniques. The first day of class will be at the Texas Forestry Museum. All other meetings will be held at the Pineywoods Nature Center. Download class flyer to view course schedule, pricing, and to register.

This information can also be viewed at Classes Near You > Texas.

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Paint Postcards of the Colorado Landscape

Posted in botanical art, Education, Learning Opportunities, Sketching & Journaling, Special Announcements, Special Events, Watercolor on June 28, 2012|

Here’s Your Chance!

A seat in the next Postcards from… workshop created by natural science illustrator, Marjorie Leggitt, has become available. The next installment of this popular workshop series will be held in Salida, Colorado from
September 12-16, 2012.

Marjorie Leggitt and Leon Loughridge will provide step-by-step instruction that artists of all levels can use to capture painted snapshots of the Colorado landscape.

Act now if you would like to attend. Click the image to download the details.

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Create Letters in Watercolor in New Online Class at The Illustrated Garden

Posted in Education, gardening, Learning Opportunities, Sketching & Journaling, Watercolor on June 27, 2012|

Drawn & Decorated
Watercolor Lettering
10 Lessons
Begins July 15
Cost: $50

Val Webb of The Illustrated Garden will teach an online lettering class beginning
July 15, 2012. Participants will learn how to create decorated letters using watercolor, Pigma Micron pens, pencils and a brush. Participants will have four months to complete ten projects. Class projects include:

Three easy methods for making decorative and illuminated initials.
Surprisingly simple techniques for Celtic knotwork.
Using “quickhand” techniques to make art journals or notebooks more beautiful.
Colorful, whimsical letters based on medieval alphabets (how to draw them, how to use them).
Creative page design that combines lettering and other images.
Vines and flourishes – watercolor letters inspired by Art Nouveau.
Guidelines for designing your own unique personal alphabet.
Combining color, form and attitude to make your letters sing.

Registered participants will receive access to:

Video demonstrations with step-by-step guidance for each technique.
A warm-up lettering exercise for each lesson.
Illustrated instructions (PDF)
Examples for each lesson, designed to guide and inspire you.
Personal help when needed and feedback when each lesson is completed.
Access to a private online discussion forum where you can communicate with other students taking the course and post images if you wish (participation in the forum is optional)

To enroll in this online learning opportunity, you will need a computer, an email account to receive assignments, a way to print warm-up exercises and instruction pages and a way to send completed projects to Val for feedback.

Cost: $50, payable by personal check, money order or through PayPal.

To use PayPal, please contact Val to let her know you want to join the class and she will send you an invoice with a “Pay Now” button.

This information can also be viewed at Classes Near You > Alabama.

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Summer Course in Botanical Painting for Teens and Adults

Posted in botanical art, Education, general botany, Learning Opportunities, Watercolor on June 26, 2012|

Arts Central is the arts and culture council in central Oregon. Believing that “arts are essential….not an extra”, Arts Central is dedicated to bringing art to a three-county wide area and encouraging creativity every day. View the rich selection classes offered by Arts Central.

This summer Jeanne Debons will teach a botanical painting course for teens and adults at Arts Central. Information about this course, plus information about Jeanne’s two-day nature illustration workshop in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest can be viewed at
Classes Near You > Oregon.

Botanical Painting
August 4-5, 2012
10 AM – 4 PM

Artists ages 14 and up will learn how to paint plants and other natural subjects. Participants will learn drawing and painting techniques, composition techniques, color matching, and color mixing. All levels welcome. Experienced students will work on specific advanced skills. Supply list will be provided. Cost: $110, plus a $10 materials fees to be paid to instructor.

Download flyer
Register