Botanical Drawing: Summer Specimens (online)
Adult Summer Online | This program is completed
Let’s take a closer look at some of the wonderful natural elements that make up our summer outdoor world! We’ll draw (or paint) a new specimen each week. Not only will we learn about that botanical object, like a flower, herb, bulb, fruit, vegetable, fungi, or leaf, but we’ll see how these subjects fit into the broader realm of contemporary botanical art. We’ll be exploring each of the summer subjects by way of a study sheet, combing graphite, Micron pen, and watercolor (or whatever the student prefers) in order to thoroughly understand our plants. Study sheets can be on a sketch pad, a spread in a sketchbook (most likely what I’ll demonstrate) or even a cut sheet of watercolor paper, one for each class. Some drawing experience helpful but not necessary.
What you will learn:
1. An overview of botanical art
2. Drawing and painting techniques specific to botanical art
3. An understanding of the materials typically employed to create botanical art
4. Observation skills necessary to depict botanically-correct drawings or paintings
5. How to move from a sketch through to a finished drawing or painting
This is an online class hosted through Zoom. We recommend that you download the free Zoom application on your computer, phone, or tablet in advance of the first class.
You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to join the course via Zoom. The same link will be used each week.
Please work with any of the materials listed that you feel comfortable using to create a WORKING STUDY SHEET for each week, diving into the world of plants subject by subject:
• Drawing paper: 9” x 12” spiral-bound pad, Strathmore 400 series; or Stillman & Birn, Zeta series sketchbook; or any sketchbook with better quality paper for graphite or Micron pen; hot pressed watercolor paper for painting. You can also paint in a Stillman & Birn sketchbook with success.
GRAPHITE
• Graphite mechanical or regular pencils, 2H, HB, and 2B, with sharpener (Faber-Castell 9000, Staedlter Mars Lumograph, or Caran D’Ache)
• Tuffstuff eraser stick, a kneaded eraser, and/or Tombow Monozero eraser
• Magnifying lens or magnifying glass
• Ruler
MICRON PEN
• An assortment of different point sizes of Micron Pens, suggested .01 and .005 or .003. Micron pens are archival ink in pen form; they come in black, sepia, and graphite colors (all appropriate for our class). I like the sepia brown myself.
WATERCOLOR
• 2 water vessels (one for working water, one for clean).
• Plastic or white porcelain palette, with room to mix colors
• Brush suggestions: If you are going to invest in one art supply, please let it be your brush. I like the DaVinci Maestro Kolinsky Brush, long tapered round or round: #4, or #6. I love these, especially the #4, because it has a super-sharp needle-like point that has great spring and tension. OR Raphael #4 #8408, tan- tipped handle. They both clean easily and last a long time.
• A good set of six basic paints:
French Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean Blue, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Lemon Yellow, Permanent Magenta, Scarlet Lake.
• A great addition to the list:
Perylene Maroon, Quinacridone Gold, Winsor Violet