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Apples: Realistic Botanical Drawings in 8 Steps
Apples are as satisfying to draw as they are to eat! Curl up with your hot mug of apple cider, and create an apple portrait to warm your heart year-round! Learn techniques combining colored pencil and watercolor to render a realistic fruit (that will make a delightful snack when you’re done!). Practice creating beautiful … Continued
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Mushrooms of New York 2 (July thru October 2023)
Mushrooms of New York (July thru October 2023) Fungi Kingdom Fun Fact: Mushrooms are fascinating fungi, not plants, that are more closely related to animals than vegetables. If you go foraging for mushrooms, please remember – SAFETY FIRST! Here’s what you need to know before, during, and after foraging. Consult field guides to identify … Continued
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The Art of Erasing
When and How to Use Essential Erasers Note: This is NOT an affiliated post. We mention specific products that our instructors like to use for the Draw Botanical Technique, and we encourage you to use what you have. Good news about making “mistakes” in art… You can always “fix” them! As Bob Ross says, “mistakes” … Continued
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What You Need to Know Before, During, & After Foraging
Foraging (also referred to as wildcrafting) is searching for wild plants or food in nature. Humans, like many animals, have been foraging since the beginning of their existence. The art of wildcrafting helps us to honor and celebrate food, nature, and each other. It is a great time to explore mushrooms! Not … Continued
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Understanding Flowers
If you’ve ever been fascinated by a flower, this post is for YOU! Check out some of the helpful drawing tips taught in our course, The Practice of Botanical Drawing! A flower is the reproductive part of a plant. Its primary purpose? To attract! How do these alluring seed-bearing wonders do it? Let’s examine … Continued
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Celebrating 100 Zoom Workshops
We’re over-the-moon excited to announce a major milestone: our 100th Zoom workshop! Thank you for hopping aboard this wild ride of creativity, growth, and botanical wonders. We couldn’t have done it without our incredible community of passionate learners like you! To celebrate our 100th Zoom drawing workshop, we’re offering a SPECIAL BONUS! Participants (who purchase … Continued
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Elevate Your Botanical Illustrations: 4 Essential Tips for Composition
If you’re delving into botanical illustration, honing composition skills is key. (Our FREE Composition Quick Guide is a great place to start.) Whether you’re a casual artist or an experienced illustrator, refining your compositions can elevate your work to new heights. In this guide, we’ll explore four essential tips to enhance your botanical illustrations: … Continued
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Composition Quick Guide
Pleasing compositions rarely happen by accident. We arrange the components until we are satisfied. How do you know you’ve found your final arrangement? It may feel like a gut instinct, like you’re not sure exactly why, but something about it just looks “right.” Here is a free composition quick guide to help you create … Continued
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4 Steps to Start Your Seasonal Sketchbook: Winter
In winter, the exposed twigs and branches on a tree offer important information about a tree’s structure and identifying characteristics. Leaf arrangement and leaf scars are studied easily on these exposed branches, and often dormant buds, dried bracts, seed pods, nuts, dried berries, and capsules are present too. Observing these details can help you understand … Continued
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Set For Success
Set For Success The Power of Preparation When you cook dinner in your kitchen, how do you prepare? You probably clean the countertop, retrieve ingredients, gather utensils, maybe pre-heat the oven. Just as you prepare your kitchen before you jump into the art of cooking, you must prepare your drawing space before you jump into … Continued
