Description
Avocados: From Pit to Peel Zoom Drawing Workshop
Create Botanical Illustrations with Realistic Textures & Natural Color Matching
Join us for a two-day workshop!
Sunday, March 22, 2026: 1pm – 5pm ET
Thursday, March 26, 2026: 6pm – 7:30pm ET
✏️ Instructors: Pam Thompson & Vern Fannin
✅ Level: All levels
🌱 Botanical Subject(s): Avocados
Workshop Description
Experience the magic of turning a simple subject into something extraordinary! From their pebbled, inky skins to their luminous green flesh and glossy seed, avocados offer endless opportunities to explore texture, color, and contrast. They’re quick to sketch, satisfying to paint, and full of visual surprises, perfect for artists who love both careful observation and playful discovery.
Whether you’re new to realistic botanical art or looking to refine your mixed-media technique with watercolor and colored pencil, this workshop will guide you step by step through creating a polished fruit illustration you’ll be proud to add to your portfolio or sketchbook.
What We’ll Practice
Over two relaxed, skill-building days, we’ll work through:
Botanical Drawing Foundations
-Observing fruit structure and proportion
-Creating clean, accurate outlines for realistic botanical art
-Designing simple, elegant compositions with whole and cut avocados
Watercolor Techniques for Fruit Illustration
-Mixing believable avocado greens (from pale yellow-green to deep mossy tones)
-Layering transparent washes for smooth, luminous color
-Controlling water for soft blends and crisp edges
Colored Pencil Skills
-Building rich darks on the avocado skin without losing texture
-Layering and burnishing for depth and subtle color shifts
-Adding fine details and highlights for a polished finish
Texture, Light & Color Theory
-Rendering bumpy, glossy surfaces realistically
-Placing highlights on rough skin vs. smooth seed
-Mixing deep neutrals using small touches of primary colors
-Understanding how light wraps around curved forms
By the end, you’ll have a completed avocado illustration and a stronger grasp of mixed-media botanical techniques you can apply to other subjects.
Why Join?
Our workshops are not just about learning but also about community and collaboration. Here’s what makes our Zoom Workshops special:
✨ Step-by-Step Live Demos – Follow along with clear, approachable guidance from friendly instructors.
🌱 Supportive Learning Environment – Engage with instructors and fellow participants, ask questions, and share your progress in a supportive and encouraging space.
🖼️ Constructive Feedback – Receive personalized feedback from experienced educators to help you improve and gain confidence in your artistic abilities.
Even if you can’t join the live sessions, you still get unlimited access to:
🎥 Recorded Sessions – Rewatch anytime to refine your technique. (Recordings are sent a few hours after the live session ends.)
📹 Pre-Recorded Videos – Access to pre-recorded videos to supplement your learning and practice at your own pace to help you feel prepared before the class sessions.
📧 Email Support – If you watch the recordings after the live workshop has ended, you can still receive personalized feedback! Just send photos of your progress to info+images@drawbotanical.com, and an instructor will reply with compliments and constructive critiques.
IMPORTANT: Add info@drawbotanical.com to your email contacts! All workshop details will arrive in your inbox, including links to the Zoom meetings, pre-recorded videos, and slideshow.
After purchasing this workshop, you will receive an email with Registration Details. If you don’t see this email in your inbox a few hours after purchasing, search your inbox for our email address and check your spam/junk/quarantine folders. If you still can’t find it, email info@drawbotanical.com, and we will assist you.
Recommended Supplies:
NOTE: In addition to our usual supplies, you may want colors Cream #102 and May Green #170.
Find all of the supplies that we recommend here. Feel free to follow along with any supplies you have (your result may just end up looking a little different). Our lessons are about a combination of fundamental 3D art concepts and colored pencil and watercolor technique, so you can skip the supplies-specific tips and still learn a lot about art basics including perspective, light source, composition, etc. One of the main points we teach is colored pencil and watercolor technique for slow, continuous toning, but as long as you are able to achieve the same blending result with your chosen materials, you can still benefit from our course lessons.
Cancellation Policy: Due to the virtual nature of this product, we cannot issue a refund. You will still receive all recordings from the workshop, and you can watch them at your convenience.
By purchasing this workshop, you agree to the following Media Release: I hereby give permission to Draw Botanical LLC to use photographs, videos, and/or audio recordings in which my picture or image appears for all purposes and in all media and formats now known or later created including, without limitation, all promotional materials. I hereby waive any right that I may have to inspect or approve the finished product or products or advertising or printed matter that may be used in connection with this video, audio or photographs or the use to which it may be applied.
I hereby irrevocably release and discharge Draw Botanical LLC and personnel from all claims, demands, and causes of action that I now have or in the future may have relating to the permitted use of my likeness.
I agree that Draw Botanical LLC will be the sole owner of all rights in the above-mentioned recordings. (Note: I maintain all rights to the work I create. Draw Botanical maintains all rights to the recorded content.) This release is governed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
