Boston Flora

Tag: art class

  • Sunday, June 9, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Paint the Gardens

    Come paint in the gardens of the Stevens-Coolidge Place in North Andover on June 9 from 1 – 3 with everyone’s favorite instructors Ana Smyth and Francisco Colom.

    A little creativity and some new-found technique are all you will need to create a beautiful work of art and have lots of fun doing it in this special setting. Smyth and Colom provide expert step-by-step instruction on painting en plein air to all participants, novice and seasoned alike. By the end of Sunday’s class, you will have created a beautiful painting to take home with you, inspired by The Stevens- Coolidge Place and its expansive gardens. Weather permitting the event will be held outside in rotating garden settings. During inclement weather class will be held in the greenhouse or the historic estate on the property. All art supplies, aprons and instruction are provided. You simply have to show up and be ready to paint! This class is suitable for all skills levels and recommended for ages 14 and up. $36 for Trustees members, $45 for nonmembers.

    Questions? Contact kbibeau@thetrustees.org or visit our Facebook page for the most up-to-date information: www.facebook.com/stevenscoolidgeplace/

    Space is limited. Pre-registration required. Register at http://www.thetrustees.org/things-to-do/northeast/event-43818.html

    Rockport Coast copyright Ana Smyth

  • Wednesdays, May 22 – June 26, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm – The Art of Conservation: Watercolor

    Develop deep botanical knowledge through art! Learn to observe plants and grow an understanding of basic watercolor techniques. This Native Plant Trust six session course at Garden in the Woods May 22 – June 26 from 10 – 12:30 will address opaque/transparent washes, value, and color intensity through exercises en plein air. Taught by Cecilia Sharma, the class is $198 for NPT members, $240 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/art-conservation-watercolor/

  • Tuesday, March 19 – Thursday, March 21, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Drawing Nature: Treasures From the Sea

    Find inspiration from nature’s treasures found at the seashore. Bring to life the beauty of shells, pebbles and other wondrous shapes. Explore their structure and intricate details and learn how to create the silky shine of seaweed, surface of driftwood and other textural surfaces. Make graphite studies of your specimens and find out how to select the right tonal values to give form to a white shell or black pebble. From graphite sketches to realistic renderings, create a fun-filled page of beach treasures. Students of all levels are welcome to register for this three day Berkshire Botanical Garden class on March 19 – 21 from 10 – 4. $340 for members of BBG, $375 for nonmembers. A materials list and registration link may be found at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/drawing-nature-treasures-seashore

    Carol Ann Morley is an illustrator and dedicated teacher of botanical illustration working in Dover, NH. She founded the Botanical Art Illustration Certificate Program at the New York Botanical Garden and teaches illustration there and at other major botanical gardens.

    Image result for shells of marine organisms

  • Saturday, March 9, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Plumage and Personality: An Art and Science Workshop

    The world of birds is full of diverse behaviors and appearances. Some birds blend in with their environment, while others do everything they can to stand out. How and why do birds achieve these visual feats, and what can it tell us about their natural history and evolution? Harvard University biologist Dakota McCoy will use feather and bird specimens from the University’s collections to explore how and why this diversity of forms and behaviors arose. Artist Erica Beade will show participants techniques to capture the nuance of avian color and form in their drawings. The workshop takes place March 9 from 9:30 – 12:30 at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge.

    Fees: $45 members/$55 nonmembers. Advance registration is required. Register at https://hmnh.harvard.edu/event/plumage-and-personality-art-and-science-workshop

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  • Thursday, February 28, 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Dripped Wax Resist with Watercolor

    On February 28 from noon – 4 at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley, explore the exciting possibilities of combining melted wax with watercolor. Instructor Nan Rumpf show you how to drip and draw gestural lines with liquefied beeswax. Then she will demonstrate how to develop your artwork with watercolor glazes. The wax dries quickly to offers a graceful resist for your watercolors, combining an important textural element with a fluid medium. The beeswax and the specialized melted beeswax tools will be provided by the instructor.

    Nan Rumpf grew up in a small Iowa town on the banks of the Mississippi River, where she spent much of her childhood exploring the outdoors on her bicycle and daydreaming under a lilac bush. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.A. She currently lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She has worked as a professional puppeteer, designing and constructing her own puppets and masks. She organized dramatic arts workshops in public schools and libraries for twenty years.

    $85 for Mass Hort members, $110 general admission. Register at https://masshort.org/education-events/dripped-wax-resist-with-watercolor/

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  • Wednesdays, February 6 – March 13, 9:30 am – 1:30 pm – Foundations of Botanical Drawing

    Through demonstrations and tutorials, Education Director of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens (WCBG) Sarah Roche will introduce you to the traditional art and science of botanical drawing and painting. Instructional focus includes observational skills, drawing, composition, design, and watercolor techniques. For the fall, this class will focus on mixing greens, building up the intensity of a painting through washes and glazes to give complex and rich detail. Starting with studies and exercises, we will work together to complete a final painting with accurate color, texture and detail. The class takes place at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley. $295 for Mass Hort and Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, $345 for general public.

    Must pre-register at https://www.wellesley.edu/wcbg/learn/adult_education

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  • Saturday, January 12, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – An Artist’s Perspective: Nature Journal Workshop (Ages 8 – 12)

    Join artist Regina Gardner Milan in the Hunnewell Building at the Arnold Arboretum on Saturday, January 12 from 1 – 2:30 in this Nature Journal Workshop. Participants, ages 8-12, will develop observational skills while learning a new awareness of their environment. Seed pods, pine cones, and other plant material will be available for observation and drawing. If weather permits, you will go on a short walk to collect more specimens. Milan will do demonstrations of drawing and documenting important details, and then you will try your own hand at creating a personal nature journal.

    Nature holds a spellbinding allure to Milan, who finds that observing nature often produces scenes of larger-than-life beauty. The Arboretum’s exhibition of Milan’s paintings magnifies nature’s productions, fully illuminating the elegance of plant life as small as a seed pod. This show captures the wonder of the Arboretum in those larger-than-life images.

    Milan received a Certificate of Botanical Illustration with distinction from the Society of Botanical Artists in London, England, where she also received the President’s Award. She has exhibited in many juried shows throughout the US and world, including the 2016 New England Society of Botanical Artists’ show at the Arnold Arboretum. She teaches graphic design as an Associate Teaching Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and is president of MILAN concept & design, a graphic design firm she founded in 1988.

    Simple paper journals, some drawing materials and erasers will be available. Bring your own materials if you have them.

    Free, registration required and limited. Register at www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu.

  • Tuesday and Wednesday, November 6 and 7, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Festive Fruits: A Studio Focus

    The Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens will hold a two day class in the Cheney Classroom at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society on November 6 and 7 from 9:30 – 3:30. Celebrate the changing seasons with Sarah Roche. Taking your inspiration from seasonal fruit, capture their rich colors and textures in a watercolor image on paper or vellum, which you could use on holiday cards. Friends price $195, nonmembers $245. Vellum is not included in the price. Bring your own or purchase it in class. To register, call 781-283-3094 or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu. Image below by Denise Walser-Kolar.

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  • Thursdays, October 18 – November 8, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Drawing and Painting for the Petrified

    Wellesley College Friends of Botanic Gardens’ Education Director, Sarah Roche, encourages your observation skills to grow as you experiment with line drawings and accurate representations of botanical forms. Leap into watercolor painting with a series of fun exercises. The four session class will take place at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley, beginning October 18 and continuing through November 8, from 9:30 – 12:30. $123 for Mass Hort members, $150 for nonmembers. Register at www.masshort.org, or call 617-933-4973.

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  • Wednesday, October 24 – Friday, October 26, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Botanical Illustration: The Fall Meadow

    The meadow in Fall is rich with shapes and textures creating exciting sculptural forms to sketch and draw. Flowers and leaves that have lost their radiant color now await winter with wind-shredded petals, twisted dry leaves, and seed-spilling pods. Capture the textures and patterns of pods, the arching curves and angles of dried grasses and leaves. Guided by botanical artist Carol Ann Morley, tell your own visual story with pen and ink or tones of graphite, bringing to life the drama nature has left in the Fall Meadow. Students wishing to work in pen and ink should have prior experience; for graphite, all levels welcome. This Berkshire Botanical Garden three day class will take place October 24 – 26 from 10 – 4, and is $315 for BBG members, $350 for nonmembers. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

    Bring a bag lunch. Materials list available at http://www.berkshirebotanical.org

    Carol Ann Morley is an illustrator and dedicated teacher of botanical illustration working in Milton, NH. She founded the Botanical Art Illustration Certificate Program at the New York Botanical Garden and teaches illustration there and at other major botanical gardens.

    Image result for carol ann morley botanical artist