• Draw Spring! Botanical inspiration around the globe

  March 30, 2022 in Botanical Illustration, Seasonal

  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

  

• Listen... with your eyes

  January 18, 2022 in Botanical Illustration, Wendy's Wisdom

    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

  December 6, 2021 in Botanical Illustration, Seasonal

  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 Art of Good Food: Botanical Recipe Composition Celebration

  November 5, 2021 in Botanical Illustration, Workshops

  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

  November 5, 2021 in Wendy's Wisdom

  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

  

• Warm up and have fun!

  October 13, 2021 in Wendy's Wisdom

  When we are deep in concentration, working really hard on a drawing, we may reach a point where our bodies don’t want to continue. If we’ve trained our muscles (built our “loose joints”), we can let our bodies take over for the final sprint. Try doing some warm-up exercises to click back in. Botanical drawing … Continued

  

• Get Started with Botanical Drawing

  September 19, 2017 in Botanical Illustration, Online Courses

  I want to help you get started with botanical drawing. I will share with you the most common reasons that stop people from starting to draw, and I’ll give you tips on how to overcome these road blocks. Often people think that accomplished artists are born with a natural talent to draw. I am here … Continued

  

• Botanical Drawing Technique: Composition and Emily Dickinson’s Herbarium

  June 5, 2017 in Botanical Illustration

  In its unfading flowers I hear the bright bee hum: Prithee, my brother, Into my garden come!” ― Emily Dickinson This post references the article: “Emily Dickinson’s Herbarium: A Forgotten Treasure at the Intersection of Science and Poetry” by Maria Popova.  Read the original article here. The recent digitization of Emily Dickinson’s herbarium pages by Harvard … Continued