Class Schedule September-December 2024

Color Mixing for Botanical Illustration | September 14, 28, October 5, 12 | IN-PERSON

It is essential for watercolor artists to observe and recreate the highlights, mid-tones, and shadows of specimens in a variety of hues and values. The ability to manipulate the medium and utilize materials (think: water, pigment, paper, brush) is essential as a watercolorist. Color theory and basic watercolor painting techniques are introduced through hands-on exercises, including creating color gradients, painting a basic color wheel and its grayscale counterpart, and creating basic forms using fruits and vegetables. Instructor: Stephey Baker

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DRAWING WORKSHOP SERIES WITH INTERNATIONAL ARTIST ROGÉRIO LUPO

Explore various drawing techniques through virtual workshops with award-winner, scientific illustrator and artist Rogério Lupo, who will teach from Brazil. Each course includes drawing demonstrations of the various skills discussed. Students enrolled in the Garden’s Botanical Illustration certificate program will earn elective credit.

NEW! Toned Papers with Black, White and Grayscale Pigments | September 18, 25, October 2, 9, 23 | VIRTUAL 

Whether for quick sketches or fine-finishing artwork, toned papers provide numerous advantages. They are quite handy in greatly reducing the difficult work of applying midtones–the most time-consuming in most media. In addition, white pigment for highlights and other light values appears more realistic and, when desired, can really pop! Toned papers can also be great teachers, as they convey invaluable lessons about contrast and the relativity of light, shade and reflections. To use this paper correctly, however, the artist must take its very tonal value into account, so that it makes a large contribution to the final result. Excessive use of white pigment might give the impression that the subject is sprinkled with flour or snow, whereas low usage of the paper’s midtones might result in the subject appearing metallic, overly shiny, odd, or even unreal. Explore the potential as well as the challenges of this technique, and learn essential tips for achieving moderation and balance that will take your art to whole new level!

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GUEST ARTIST WORKSHOP WITH INTERNATIONAL ARTIST MARY DILLON

NEW! ‘Painting with Light and Colour’ – Mastering Botanical Watercolor Painting with Light and Color | October 10, 11, 12 | IN-PERSON

‘Master essential botanical watercolor techniques that will elevate your botanical art to a new level! An awareness of light and color lies at the core of successful botanical watercolor painting. When used proficiently, they can reveal the essence of your plant subject. This workshop is your opportunity to explore and play with the nuances of both light and color. As you develop these skills, you begin to capture the forms, hidden textures and details that will make your painting sing! Using both wet and dry watercolor techniques with a simple, limited palette, you can become a master of light and color!

Intermediate to Advanced Workshop.  Certificate Students must have completed Introduction to Watercolor for Botanical Illustration.

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Introduction to Watercolor for Botanical Illustration | October 26, November 2, 9, 30 | IN-PERSON

Building on the concepts introduced in Color mixing, students learn how to create basic shapes by using flat and graded washes to portray light and shadow. Through the painting of spheres and cylinders and a small botanical painting, students will gain experience controlling water, pigments, and brushes to create simple forms. Furthermore, students can expect a broadening of their artistic vocabulary by learning appropriate art terms and putting them into practice through articulating their creative process, observing, and assessing their own work. A combination of group discussions, class exercises, and out-of-class work emphasizes preliminary work and critical thinking in the visual art making process.  Instructors: Stephey Baker and Claudette Baker

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NEW! Drawing and Painting Fall Leaves | November 5, 7, 14, 19 | VIRTUAL 

As green summer leaves change to glowing fall leaves, drawing and painting them becomes almost imperative. During this four-day workshop, with award-winning artist Patricia Savage, students will learn how to apply aerial perspective to create a bright and colorful painting with depth. Students will also receive instruction in to how draw leaves, paint loose washes, apply dry-brush watercolor, as well as instruction on how to achieve value gradations with color and how to “see” color temperature and chroma.  Instructor: Patricia Savage

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NEW! Beyond Accuracy: Creating Beautiful Botanical Art That Engages the Viewer | November 23 | IN-PERSON

Modern botanical art goes well beyond depicting plants accurately. In this one-day intensive, learn how botanical artists are creating modern masterpieces and how you can broaden your own style beyond accurate renderings to engage the viewer. We’ll review composition principles relevant to botanical art, explore master artist works, and discuss the ways in which those works engage the viewer. Then create your own botanical art work through the toned drawing stage, applying what you’ve learned and working in a manner different from your usual approach. Instructor: Gail Goodrich Harwood

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Botanical Illustration Workshop: Focus on Fungi | December 14 | IN-PERSON

Although no longer considered formally to be members of the plant kingdom, fungi make fascinating subjects for botanical illustrators. The class opens with a session to help you understand the structure of these distinctive organisms through lecture and observation under the guidance of botanist John Hayden. Descriptive morphological terms and scientific names are discussed and used. The illustration session, coordinated by Sheila Hayden, is devoted to graphite illustrations of fungi related to the morning’s discussion. Emphasis is placed on observation, accurate representation of details, and labeling. Instructors: John Hayden and Sheila Hayden

Pre-requisite: Introduction to Drawing for Botanical Illustration or equivalent coursework.