Boston Flora

Tag: art class

  • Tuesday, April 12 – Thursday, April 14, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Painting on Vellum

    Denise Walser-Kolar reveals her technique for painting on vellum during this three-day Wellesley Botanic Garden workshop, April 12 – 14 from 9:30 – 3:30. Begin by doing some exercises on small bits of vellum to learn her technique and get a feel for painting on this surface. Then choose a small fruit to draw and paint. This class combines demonstrations, discussion of materials and techniques, hands-on time for developing skills, and lots of individual attention. Wellesley Friends $395, nonmembers $495, includes cost of vellum used for class. Register at 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu.

  • Saturday, February 13 and Sunday, February 14, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Flowers in February

    Banish the blahs and bring on the blooms! Join artist/illustrator Helen Byers for a weekend at Tower Hill Botanic Garden immersed in the colors and forms of spring flowers. The class will run February 13 and 14 from 10 – 4. Instruction will cover step-by-step techniques of detailed botanical painting in watercolor, including wet-into-wet for washes and dry-brush for texture. Returning and advanced students who prefer to draw in colored pencil will be welcome to do so. Daily painting demos and personalized instruction. Flowers will be provided, and a list of recommended supplies will be sent to registrants. To see galleries of Helen’s work and slideshows from her courses, visit www.helenbyers.com.

    To register for this event, please call Gayle Holland (508) 869-6111 x124 or email gholland@towerhillbg.org. Pardon the inconvenience while Tower Hill updates its online transaction system. THBG members $120, nonmembers $140.

  • Tuesday, January 5 – Thursday, January 7, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Tactile Textures, Tips and Tricks

    Immerse yourself for three days (January 5 – 7, 9:30 – 3:30) with Ann Swan while she demonstrates a variety of colored pencil techniques to help you create realistic textures, to make your colors leap off the page, and to amaze with fine detail.  Ann will demonstrate underpainting and layering into wet baby oil to help you create truly luscious, rich, clean colors and banish the grays.  Learn how to use the neon and fluorescent colors to create luminosity and added vibrancy.  For intermediate students and beyond.  Friends of Wellesley Botanic Gardens $365, nonmembers $450.  To register, or for more information, call 781-283-3094, or visit www.wellesley.edu/wcbgfriends.  Image copyright Ann Swan.

  • Monday, January 4, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Taster Day

    The Friends of Wellesley Botanic Gardens will host Ann Swan on Monday, January 4 from 9:30 – 3:30 for a one day workshop in colored pencil for beginners.  This class is a whistle stop introduction to the materials and techniques Ann uses to produce her vibrant, contemporary illustrations with colored pencils.  She will guide you through the minefield of materials and their uses and will demonstrate the basic techniques of layering, burnishing and underpainting, and with some individual attention, will launch you into the exciting world of colored pencil.  Be warned, it is addictive!  WCBG Friend price $125, nonmembers $150.  Register by calling 781-283-3094.  Image copyright Ann Swan.

  • Sunday, October 25, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Autumn Leaves: Botanical Painting in Watercolor

    Sunday, October 25, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Autumn Leaves: Botanical Painting in Watercolor

    How closely have you studied autumn leaves? This popular Tower Hill Botanic Garden workshop takes leaf-peeping to another level! Join botanical artist / illustrator Helen Byers on Sunday, October 25 from 10 – 3 to celebrate the forms and hues of autumn by painting a single leaf in glorious detail. Instruction will cover drawing for accuracy, color mixing, and painting in layers. Helen will provide demos, helpful tips, and plenty of individual attention. All levels welcome. To see examples of Helen’s work and slideshows from her courses, visit her website at helenbyers.com. Tower Hill members $50, nonmembers $65. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

    Byers

  • Tuesday, August 11 – Thursday, August 13, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Luminous Fruit: Highlights and Reflected Light

    Capture the glow of summer fruit by balancing highlights, shadows and reflected light to make your subject luminous. In this Wellesley Botanic Garden seminar designed for artists from advanced beginner to expert, Catherine Watters will teach you how to observe, measure and raw your subject, followed by careful and accurate color mixing using the Double Primary Color Bias Wheel. You are then ready to paint and capture the elegant shape, bold colors and textures using proper lighting to make your fruit come to life. Please note: choose to work on paper or vellum. For those more advanced artists wishing to work on calfskin vellum, Catherine will teach you her vellum dry brush technique. Vellum is not included in the registration fee ($395 for Friends of Wellesley Botanic Garden members, $495 for nonmembers) for this seminar. Contact the Friends office in advance to order a piece from Catherine. The class will take place at the Botanic Gardens on Tuesday through Thursday, August 11 – 13, from 9:30 am – 3:30 pm. To register, call 781-283-3094.

  • Wednesdays, July 22 – August 5, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Butterflies, Dragonflies and Bees – Oh My!

    Insects play an integral part in the life cycle of plants and can enhance a botanical painting with a dynamic element of scientific accuracy and pure whimsy.  Through sketches and more complete full-color works, join Kelly Radding at Wellesley College Botanic Garden on three Wednesdays, July 22, 29 and August 5, from 9:30 – 3:30, to study the form and details that will make the insect come alive in your artwork.  Learn techniques to capture the myriad textures and colors and how to integrate an insect into a botanical composition.  Advanced skill level.  Friends of Wellesley Botanic Gardens $275, non-members $325.  Call 781-283-3094 to register. Image copyright Kelly Leahy Radding.

  • Saturday, May 9, 9:00 am – 11:00 am – Sketching Trees

    Explore an amazing variety of tree forms using pencil and paper in beautiful Mount Auburn Cemetery with Harvard Museum of Natural History instructor Erica Beade on Saturday, May 9, from 9 – 11. Students will focus on capturing the shapes and volume of trunks and branches and on learning techniques for drawing foliage. All skill levels are welcome. $35 for Harvard Museum of Natural History members, $40 for nommembers. Register online at http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/adult_classes/index.php.

  • Saturdays, April 4, 11, 18, & 25, 9:30 am – 11:30 am – The Art of Botanical Drawing

    Explore the beauty and variety of plant forms using pencil, watercolor, and colored pencil with instructor Erica Beade. This four-week course, to be held on Saturdays from April 4 – 25, 9:30 – 11:30 at the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge, will introduce botanical drawing techniques through close observation and practice with contour, gesture, foreshortening, shading, and color. All skill levels are welcome. Fee is $95 for HMNH members, $110 for nonmembers. Advance registration required at http://reservations.hmsc.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?EventID=11.

  • Mondays, March 9 – April 13, 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm – Botanical Illustration with Graphite

    Botanical illustration has been a practiced art for hundreds of years. This Boston Center for Adult Education course will give you a brief overview of the history of this art form and will show you the basics of how to draw flowers and plants with shading, perspective and form in graphite. We will begin with basic graphite techniques and move on to simple flower and plant structure. Students will learn about composition, light and methods to make your artwork “alive.” Each week will focus on a different flower provided by the instructor. Medium used will be graphite pencils.

    Materials List:
    11×14 pad Strathmore drawing paper – 400 series (brown or green cover; NOT yellow 300 series)
    11×14 pad tracing paper (Canson preferred)
    Set of graphite pencils (at least 2B, HB and 2H; you do not need more than that) – Faber- Castill or Prismacolor best brands
    Kneaded grey erasers (2)
    Battery operated pencil sharpener (Panasonic KP-4A is BEST; available online but lesser models should be okay)

    The instructor is Nancy Bentivegna. Nancy Bentivegna was born and raised in Ithaca, NY. Art was always her favorite subject in school and she pursued this passion in the art program at Penn State University where she earned her B.A. After college, she worked in marketing and advertising with several large firms in New York. In 1999, she started her own design firm, Kester House, and began creating custom home décor for clients throughout the New York metropolitan area. Her works include furniture, murals, decorative accent pieces and soft goods (pillows, linens, etc.). In 2008 she began the Botanical Art and Illustration Program at the New York Botanical Garden. Ms. Bentivegna completed all course work in June 2011 and then relocated to Boston. She primarily works in watercolor combined with colored pencil for depth and detail. Her works have been displayed in specialty shops in Connecticut and her original botanical artwork is part of private collections from New York to Florida.

    Classes will meet Mondays, March 9 – April 13, from 7:30 – 9:30 at the BCAE, 122 Arlington Street in Boston. The fee is $204 ($173 for BCAE members) with a materials cost of $15. Register online at http://www.bcae.org/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&int_class_id=12403&int_category_id=1&int_sub_category_id=1&int_catalog_id=0, or call 617-267-4430.