Boston Flora

Tag: art class

  • Mondays, January 29 – March 5, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Winter Fruits with Graphite and Wash

    Create a portrait of your favorite winter fruits, using undertones of graphite overlaid with transparent washes of watercolor. Through her guidance and demonstrations, Carrie Megan will help you achieve deliciously pleasing portraits. This Wellesley College Botanic Gardens class takes place on five Mondays, January 29, February 5, 12, 26, and March 5, with a snow date of March 12. For advanced beginners and above. $225 for Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, $275 for nonmembers. Register by calling 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu.

  • Friday, January 5 – Sunday, January 7, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Leaves and Grasses in Graphite: The Beauty of Dried Forms

    Capture the beauty of nature’s dried plants with Carol Ann Morley at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens in a three day session January 5 – 7 from 9:30 – 3:30 (snow date Monday, January 8). Make a compelling composition of the dried leaves and grasses left in winter’s fields, and work in graphite to lend drama and depth to your subject. Contrast slender flowing grass with the curvature of pods and angles of leaves, building a visual narrative of these beautiful forms. Carol includes daily drawing exercises and demonstrations. She breaks down the process of drawing, starting with observation and quick sketches, then developing a compositional idea. You will practice drawing to scale using structural lines to build form, and study the perpective of plant shapes and angles and the balance of tonal values in depth and design. Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens $250, nonmembers $300. Register at 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu. Drawing copyright Carol Ann Morley.

  • Thursday, January 4, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Tonal Drawing Review

    Carol Ann Morley reviews the fundamentals of light and shade in drawing, at the Wellesley Botanic Gardens on Thursday, January 4 from 9:30 – 3:30 (snow date Monday January 8.) Improve your transitions of gray values and strong contrast through graphite pencil exercises. Strengthen your drawing with an in-depth study of structural form and perspective. Revisit the basic shapes of cubes, cones, spheres, and cylinders, and observe how their shapes underlie all forms in nature. Study master drawings in class to examine how these artists used light on form to give visual clarity, depth and power to their drawings. Friends of Wellesley College botanic Gardens $90, nonmbmers $110. Register by calling 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu.

  • Thursday and Friday, November 16 & 17, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Celebrating the Season: Holiday Card Workshop

    Taking your inspiration from the fruits and foliage of the holiday season, create a pen and ink painting suitable for your holiday cards, gift tags, and notepaper. Wellesley College’s Sarah Roche will lead you through the process and help you get your artwork ready for reproduction. This two day class at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens will take place November 16 & 17 from 9:30 – 12:30, and is suitable for Techniques and experienced Foundations students. Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens – $90, nonmembers $110. Register at 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu.

  • Thursdays, October 5 – October 19 and November 2 – November 16, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm – Portrait of a Plant in Watercolor

    Learn to capture a plant in its environment by painting botanical shapes and forms in watercolors with an emphasis on design and composition. This New England Wild Flower Society step-by-step instruction class will introduce you to the spontaneity of the medium as you create textures, highlights, glazes, and the final artwork. Artist Cecilia Sharma will lead the six session event at Garden in the Woods in Framingham on Thursdays, October 5, 12, 19, November 2, 9 and 16 from 10 – 12:30. $200 for NEWFS members, $230 for nonmembers. Materials not included. Register at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/portrait-of-a-plant-in-watercolor

  • Sunday, October 1, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Autumn Leaves in Colored Pencil

    On Sunday, October 1 from 10 – 4 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, celebrate fall by drawing a single autumn leaf in all its glory. Instruction will cover a technique of drawing in layers using colored pencils and watercolor pencils to achieve rich color, correct values, and fine detail. Helen Byers’ demo and personalized instruction will include tips for all levels. To see examples of Helen’s work and slideshows from her courses, visit helenbyers.com.

    Helen Byers is an artist, writer, editor, and educator with a background in literary and educational publishing. Her drawings and paintings have been exhibited in solo and group shows in the West and East and are held in various private collections. Her illustration credits include six children’s books and six literary book covers. Her teaching of art has included courses and workshops in botanical drawing and painting, watercolor painting, figure sketching, still-life drawing, and field sketching. $70 for Tower Hill members, $80 for nonmembers. Register online at https://towerhillbg.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-registration-form—botanical-art-autumn-leaves-in-colored-pencil

  • Tuesday, October 17, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Introducing Small Fall Subjects

    Try your hand at painting a small autumnal subject in this Wellesley College Botanic Gardens one-day workshop on Tuesday, October 17 from 9:30 – 3:30 with British artist Dianne Sutherland and Irish artist Shevaun Doherty. You will learn to draw and paint one or two introductory subjects, such as a small fruit or leaf. You will first observe and interpret the fine details and tonal values in graphite before painting your subject. The class includes demonstrations and guidance on drawing color mixes and techniques. Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens – $150; nonmembers $185. Register by calling 781-283-3094 or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu. Image below copyright Dianne Sutherland.

  • Tuesday – Thursday, August 29, 30 & 31, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Harvest: Botanical Illustration in Colored Pencil

    How is your appetite for drawing veggies? Here’s your chance to find out! Join Helen Byers at Tower Hill Botanic Garden August 29, 30 and 31 from 10 – 4 to create a botanical portrait of a vegetable that “calls” to you. We’ll work in layers to achieve accurate proportions, luminous color, necessary values, and fine detail. Daily demos, tips, and personalized instruction. A list of recommended supplies will be sent to registrants. (Note: Returning botanical art students who prefer working in watercolor will be welcome to do so.) To see galleries of Helen’s work and slideshows from her courses, visit helenbyers.com.

    Helen Byers is an artist and educator who is active in botanical and natural science drawing and painting. Her professional background includes book illustration, art journalism, college-level teaching of art and literature, and a career in educational publishing.

    Helen’s botanical art recently received international recognition at the 19th International Exhibition of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the Horticultural Society of New York (2016). Her work has been shown nationally as well as widely in the Greater Boston area. Her affiliations include the American Society of Botanical Artists, the New England Society of Botanical Artists, and Concord Center for the Visual Arts.

    SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE. Tower Hill members $180, nonmembers $200.  Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Thursday, July 20, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm, or Sunday, August 6, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Celebration of Color

    New to acrylics as a medium? This Tower Hill Botanic Garden program on Thursday, July 20 from 10 – 1 (repeated Sunday, August 6, 1 – 4) is designed to boost your confidence. You will be guided with fun exercises and expert instruction to capture the shapes, textures, forms and colors of the flowers and foliage of Tower Hill’s summer gardens. All materials included.

    Instructor Suzanne Foxwell has trained at the Worcester Center for Crafts, Worcester Art Museum and with private instructors. Her work has been featured in several galleries on the South Shore and locally. She has always been attracted to color and has never met one she did not like! Tower Hill member price $45, nonmembers $60. Register online at https://towerhillbg.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-registration-form—celebration-of-color

  • Saturday, June 17 and Wednesday, June 21, 9:00 am – 11:00 am – Capturing Natural Textures with Pencil, and Landscape Sketching

    Erica Beade, an illustrator and educator, offers observational drawing classes in and around Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Sketching workshops are held at Mt. Auburn Cemetery, and on Saturday, June 17 from 9 – 11 she will explore Capturing Natural Textures with Pencil, and on Wednesday, June 21, will conduct a class in Landscape Sketching.  Each workshop costs $40, and you may sign up by email at sketchclass@verizon.net.  For more information on Erica, visit her website, http://observationaldrawing.com.