-
Why Botanical Illustration Matters
“The aesthetic beauty of botanical illustration has fascinated and inspired people for centuries but beyond its visual appeal, botanical drawings help identify and understand plants in a timeless manner. Its original purpose was to aid in plant identification for medicinal and culinary uses. Over the centuries, as the discipline developed, botanical illustration has proven itself … Continued
-
Draw Spring! Botanical inspiration around the globe
Spring is here! Now is a great time to draw bulbs, buds, and new growth that’s popping up everywhere. When the ground is soft, you can usually get a good look at the roots of a plant. Tulips, crocus, and daffodils will start to appear. Also trees will start to show their baby leaves. Study … Continued
-
Brighten the world with your creations
The next time you are finishing up a drawing, put your pencils and paintbrushes down. Admire your page, and take a few deep breaths. Inhale joy, exhale frustration. Inhale peace, exhale stress. Inhale positivity, exhale negativity. Your mind may wonder if you are accurately representing your subject, or notice areas you want to improve. … Continued
-
Practice Becoming a Beginner (Again)
The wonder and amazement we feel as children stems from discovering the world for the first time. Children are remarkably inquisitive, asking what, why, and how everything works, in an attempt to gain knowledge and understanding of their world. This openness and wonder is often referred to as the “beginner’s mind.” The next time you … Continued
-
Listen... with your eyes
As artists, we are all familiar with the feeling of overwhelm that arises upon first look at a subject beside the vastness of a blank page. How can we possibly capture the innate beauty that we see before us? Observe and Connect Before you start drawing, take a moment to observe, absorb, … Continued
-
Draw Winter! Botanical inspiration around the globe
Winter has begun! We love following nature all year long and noticing the differences in each season. If winter is cold where you are, it may be difficult to find live subjects. Now is a great time to draw things that will not wilt or decay, like branches, nuts, seeds, and pods. Looking for inspiration? … Continued
-
The Joy of Botanical Drawing is the Best Colored Pencil Drawing Book of All Time!
“A gorgeous, easy-to-follow, and inspiring guide to stunningly realistic botanical drawing that covers everything you need to draw our natural world. Achieve amazingly realistic and vibrant botanical illustrations, from flowers so dazzling you feel as if you might be able to smell them, to tomatoes that look as if they’ve just been picked from the … Continued
-
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
-
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
-
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
