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The Mustard Family
The Mustard Family Brassicaceae Fun Fact: All of the plants in this composition are edible! Taste testing is definitely part of the fun. The colors in this family really delight me. Plants in the Mustard Family share these traits: Flowers 4 petals and 4 sepals 6 stamens (4 tall and 2 short) … Continued
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The Coffee Family
The Coffee Family Rubiaceae After I completed the Citrus Family, I knew that the following year when I returned to NTBG, my next venture had to be the Coffee Family. The Botanical Garden is right next door to the largest coffee growers in the US! Not a day goes by that I don’t start with … Continued
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The Citrus Family
The Citrus Family Rutaceae While at the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii for our annual workshop, the wide array of citrus fruits next attracted me. I really enjoyed tasting each of them in the process! I sketched them all out and got the basics and colors down, but I added most of … Continued
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Embrace Your Style
If you have ever drawn, painted, sculpted, designed, built, written, performed, cooked, snapped a pic, hummed a tune, whistled while you worked, created anything in any way, I have news for you… You are an artist! Embrace Your Style Each of us has our own unique style, something special we can’t help but … Continued
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Practicing Perspective
The secret to realistic botanical illustrations is accurate measuring from your unique viewpoint! As something tilts away from us, its physical form does not change, but our perception of it does. Catch the recording from our Measuring & Perspective Zoom Drawing Workshop where we study perspective, the most effective way to read a ruler, and how … Continued
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Practicing Leaves
Have questions about another subject? Check out our online course, The Practice of Botanical Drawing! Monocots & Dicots The difference between Monocots & Dicots is found in their cotyledons (first leaves). Monocots have one cotyledon, while Dicots have two! Monocot leaves (Monocotyledons) have parallel veining, which means they are usually long, strappy leaves that … Continued
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De-stress Naturally: A Path of Meditation and Self-expression
Article by Wendy Hollender, featured by the American Institute of Stress in their magazine, Contentment (Volume 12, Number 1, Spring 2023). View this magazine issue as pages or spreads. I have been taking my cue from plants for 25 years now. Before the advent of cameras, botanical illustrations were the only method to … Continued
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4 Tips for Drawing Twists, Rolls, & Folds
To capture 3D forms on a 2D surface, we use light and shadows to create the illusion of depth. This can be tricky, but never fear! We are here to help. 4 Tips on Twists, Rolls, and Folds 1. Practice with simple models. Find out how much fun it can be to … Continued
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Nature Journaling is Love
Your nature journal is a love letter to the universe. Plants turn sunlight into sugar and magically create the air we breathe. We could literally not exist without them! They deserve our gratitude and love. To show someone that we love them, we give our focused attention. We spend intentional time together, laughing, crying, … Continued
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How To Draw a Tulip in 12 Easy Steps
Scroll through this post for many techniques and step-by-step instructions you can try to improve your tulip drawings. Flowers are notoriously tricky subjects to capture realistically because of their curling petals, tiny reproductive parts, and short life spans. If you feel like flowers are too difficult to draw or too complex for you to … Continued
