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 and dissect flowers this season, practice drawing petals, and don’t forget to smell the flowers! If you’re following a plant all year, now is the time to look for its flowers! Study your flowers to determine their identifying characteristics: how many petals? How many stamens? Inferior or Superior Ovary? Flower shape? Who might be its pollinators? Get positive and helpful feedback on your drawing at an upcoming workshop!
Looking for inspiration? See what our botanical artists are drawing around the globe!
Wendy Hollender, Accord, NY, USA
Instagram: @wendyhollender @drawbotanical
As spring emerges, I can’t help but start to anticipate more sunshine, longer days, and the return of green everywhere. I like to notice what is emerging first and track some of these changes. The early spring bulbs are always exciting, splashes of bright colors often popping through some remaining snow, sprouting hope of what spring will bring. Get ready though, because soon the changes will happen at lightning speed, and it might be hard to keep up with all of them.
Don’t forget to check on your special tree, visit it often, and see what it is up to. I also like to keep track by dating my entries so I can compare from year to year. Drawing is a great way to go on this journey learning to ID trees, plants, and mushrooms as you draw! Note to self: Don’t forget to add those fruiting tree blossoms to last year’s fruit tree drawings!!!
Sam McWilliams, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Instagram: @sammcwilliams
Spring is a wonderful time of year that emphasizes the inherent magic of plants. During this season, my favorite subjects to draw include anemone, cherries, daffodils, skunk cabbage, salmonberry, magnolias, bull rushes, rhibes, tulips, hyacinth, heather, dogwood, rhododendron, and dandelion. The bright face of anemone can turn anyone’s day around!
Asuka Hishiki, Japan
Instagram: @greenasas Website: http://greenasas.com/
We all have a favorite plant list, but mine is constantly changing, kind of like a weekly “Top 10 hits list.” I always plan to work on something, but at a farmers market, or on the way to go somewhere, I change my mind and grab whatever grabs my heart and start working on it.
Here are three plants I really enjoyed in the past spring. (My top three favorite plants of 2021!!)
- Wild cherry.
We have a big wild cherry tree in our backyard. It produces many jewel looking cherries every spring.
- Long headed poppy.
This poppy is not on the List of Regulated Living Organisms under the Invasive Alien Species Act, but invasive enough to disturb our native plant habits. Yet, this super strong poppy intrigues me deeply. Such an interesting plant, and I often think of invasive species… not their fault, we brought it in at the first place…
- Plum
These plums were given to me from a hobby farmer friend. One day, they ate plum in the field and threw the seeds on the edge of the field. Now, it has grown into a big tree and produces many plums!!!! But instead of eating, I kept them in my fridge because I couldn’t decide which to paint next… ended up painting very beautiful mold covered fruit.
How else can you find subjects and get inspired to draw this season?
Go for a drive, and pull over when you see something interesting!
Ask a loved one what their favorite plant is.
Draw the beginnings of a plant (sprouts, seedlings, buds).
Look at past drawings and see if you can add another life cycle stage to your composition.
