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Receiving nature's gifts and giving back
The living world provides us with so much – oxygen, beauty, nutrition, inspiration… what can we, as botanical artists, give in return? Our gift is our time, our focused attention, our love. There is a reason that advertisers vie for our attention: they know that our time is our most valuable asset. Making the conscious … Continued
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Wendy's Art Exhibited
Hash 3928 Main Street | Stone Ridge, NY 12484 Open Tuesday-Saturday 7:00am-2:30pm & Sunday 7:00am-11:30am Wendy has been drawing plants for 20 years. Her original drawings and paintings are life-size, which means they are often very small. She likes to enlarge them so the details that we might not otherwise notice become visible. The enlarged … Continued
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Perfect Gifts for Any Artist
We have practiced with and believe in everything we sell at Draw Botanical. If it doesn’t work for Wendy, she won’t sell it. Read on for our gift recommendations and why Wendy and the Draw Botanical team have chosen these products over the rest. Have fun and shop around! NOTE: As of May 2022, we … Continued
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The Art of Good Food: Botanical Recipe Composition Celebration
Between September and November 2021, we hosted the Botanical Recipe Composition Project. In this workshop, we celebrated our love for botanical illustrations, hand-lettering, and of course, food! This was our first “long-term” workshop, and over a few months, we met several times to learn some new tricks and work on our projects together. It was … Continued
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Notice subtle changes in nature as the seasons progress
Consider breaking free from the news cycle and tuning in to the subtleties of nature. Walk outside your door, and notice small changes in the environment around you. Is the grass a little greener? Duller? Did a familiar plant just start to flower? Are there new seeds or pods along the ground? When you are … Continued
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Practice Patience
Breathe. Think for a moment about the timeline of nature. Imagine a natural process: seed growth, blooming flowers, decomposition. Does it happen quickly? Imagine a flower, opening in the morning, not worried or stressed about whether a pollinator will come; it patiently, beautifully, waits. It cannot hurry up, cannot rush the process. If a pollinator … Continued
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Warm up and have fun!
When we are deep in concentration, working really hard on a drawing, we may reach a point where our bodies don’t want to continue. If we’ve trained our muscles (built our “loose joints”), we can let our bodies take over for the final sprint. Try doing some warm-up exercises to click back in. Botanical drawing … Continued
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Let your specimen amaze you
During the creation of a botanical drawing, so much of the joy is exploring, investigating, and letting the wonder of nature wash over you. Often this type of drawing can feel overwhelming, slow, never-ending… Bring your attention away from those fears and take the time to find the wonder in your specimen. What amazes you? … Continued
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Open Art Exhibits in NYC Featuring Wendy and Many Other Talented Artists!
I am excited to announce that two in-person exhibitions focusing on nature and art at two Chelsea Galleries in NYC just opened. Coincidentally, both exhibits are on West 28th Street! My work is being shown in the traditional botanical art exhibit at the Carter Burden Gallery. The other exhibit has various styles of art focused … Continued
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Our Art Supply Guide
NOTE: As of May 2022, we will no longer be selling most art supplies. Make sure you join our email list to receive future recommendations of where you can buy these recommended supplies! Is it time to restock your materials, or are you learning to draw for the first time? We are often asked about … Continued