Category: Wendy’s Wisdom
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Botanical Art Advice: Motivation to Keep Drawing
Celebrate Wendy Hollender with her Joyful Pearls of Wisdom It’s Wendy’s birthday! The only thing Wendy Hollender might enjoy more than the art of botanical illustration is sharing her passion with others so that everyone may experience the joys of botanical drawing. To celebrate Draw Botanical’s founder this year, we are sharing Wendy’s wisdom with … Continued
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Quiet Your Inner Critic
Sometimes the hardest part of the creative process is getting started. We have so many other things to do, and our fears subconsciously influence our quick decision-making. If you focus on JOY and don’t worry about results, you will always be in a good place. How to quiet your inner negative voice … Continued
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Listen to Nature: We All Belong
Nothing is “Normal” What We Have to Learn from Flora and Fungi By Wendy Hollender, with Emet Lipson As I spend time drawing and learning from fungi and flora, I’m reminded again and again: diversity isn’t just beautiful — it’s essential. Nature grows in countless forms, and our lives depend on the cooperation of … Continued
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Cultivating Connection: The Art of Giving Back Through Botanical Illustration
How art and nature intertwine to inspire, heal, and nurture both artist and environment Nature as a Muse and Partner The natural world offers us abundant gifts—fresh air, vibrant beauty, nourishing food, boundless inspiration, and more. How can we, as botanical artists, give back? This question guides not only our creative practices but … Continued
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Practice Patience
Breathe Think for a moment about the timeline of nature. Imagine any natural process – seed growth, blooming flowers, decomposition. Do they happen quickly? Imagine a colorful autumn leaf floating down from its branch and settling in with its siblings on the ground. I like to imagine that this leaf is not in … Continued
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Practice Promises Progress
If you learned to ride a bike, you most likely didn’t learn it all at once. You probably struggled to maintain balance and survived a few falls along the way, but after getting back on your bike again and again, you were ultimately able to ride! You may not have *perfected* bike riding; you … Continued
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Turning Passion into Preservation
How can we, as botanical artists, make a difference in the world? We can document what is happening outside, right here, right now! Nature’s only constant is change – what you see outside today could be gone by tomorrow. But drawings last much longer! Botanical illustrations are the perfect way to keep the essence of … Continued
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The Practice of Botanical Drawing: Ideas for Expanding Lessons
The Practice of Botanical Drawing Lessons are a guide to build on. Expand each lesson with new and different subjects! Watch this video to get advice from Wendy. We know that masters aren’t made overnight, and that consistent practice is the key to success. Think of my books as a template. I show you … Continued
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Celebrate Your Progress
When we look at our own artwork, it can be hard to quiet our inner critics and easy to get caught up in chasing perfection and comparing ourselves to others. While admiring expert artistry can be inspiring, it can also be discouraging with thoughts like, “They’re way better than I am,” “I could never … Continued
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Verdant Meditations
Thank you to Taliesin Thomas for this lovely feature on dirt-mag.com, aptly titled, “Verdant Meditations.” The piece explores how I became a botanical artist, the philosophy behind the Draw Botanical Method, and a peek into the magic I’ve been making most recently. (See the full feature here.) Plant Partners I work entirely … Continued
