Boston Flora

Tag: Botanical Drawing

  • Monday, June 13 – Wednesday, June 15, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm, and Thursday & Friday, June 16 and 17, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Introduction to Botanical Art

    Explore the world of botanical art over five days in this course designed especially for you – the beginner.  Sarah Roche guides your experience through structured exercises, projects and demonstrations, exposing you to the basic techniques and methods of botanical drawing and watercolor painting.  If you have an interest in plants and a yearning to record what you see on paper, then this class is for you.  All experience levels welcome.  Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens – $275; non-members $325.  Register by calling 781-283-3094.  Image copyright 2012 Sarah Roche.

  • Wednesdays, January 20 – March 2, 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm – Winter Botanicals with Pen and Ink

    Create beautiful illustrations in pen and ink in this Boston Center for Adult Education class beginning Wednesday, January 20, from 7:30 – 9:30 and continuing weekly through March 2. Students will learn the techniques of ink application, including line work, stippling, cross-hatching and inkwash. Each week will focus on a different botanical subject. Knowledge of tone and shading in graphite (either through Botanical Illustration in Graphite or previous experience) is recommended for success in this class. You will leave the six-week course with the skills to create your own “masterpieces.” The instructor is Nancy Bentivegna, and the series price is $238 (BCAE members $202), with a materials cost of $15. A complete materials list may be found at www.bcae.org. The class will be held at 122 Arlington Street in Boston, and you may register online or by calling 617-267-4430.  Image from www.artfire.com.

  • 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.

  • Friday, August 22 – Sunday, August 24, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Tonal Drawing Fundamentals

    Strengthen your plant shading skills with exercises in tonal scales, spheres, cones, and cylinders.  Wellesley College’s Carol Ann Morley focuses this three day course on discerning tonal values and applying graphite pencil techniques.  Working from botanical shapes such as flowers, fruits and berries, learn how to make botanical studies that have clarity, balance, and visual depth.  For all levels – some drawing experience required.  The class will be held in the Visitors Center of the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens from 9:30 – 3:30 August 22 – 24, and the fee is $250 for Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, $300 for nonmembers.  Register by calling 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu.

    http://carolannmorley.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Tonal-Leaves-Number-2-1024x786.jpg

  • Saturday, July 26 and Sunday, July 27, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Daylilies: Botanical Drawing in Colored Pencil

    What flower says “summer” more exquisitely than a daylily? In this two-day Tower Hill Botanic Garden workshop on Saturday and Sunday, July 26 – 27 from 10 – 4, artist/illustrator Helen Byers will demonstrate the use of colored pencils to create a luminous, detailed portrait of this graceful perennial. Studying the forms and habits of leaves, stems, buds, and blossoms, we will practice techniques for achieving accurate color, value, and proportion. All levels welcome! A supplies list will be sent to registrants. To see examples of Helen’s work, visit her website at www.helenbyers.com. THBG members $100, nonmembers $130.  Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Tuesdays, April 1 – June 3, 9:00 am – 11:30 am – Botanical Drawing

    Tuesdays, April 1 – June 3, 9:00 am – 11:30 am – Botanical Drawing

    Taking your inspiration from the historical tradition of botanical illustration, learn to draw botanical specimens in a wide range of drawing media, including graphite, pen and ink, colored pencil, and watercolor pencil. In this 10 week, Cambridge Center for Adult Education class, you will look at the work of great botanical illustrators. You will explore composition and personal style as you execute carefully observed perceptual drawings. The instructor, Sean Dunstan-Halliday, will supply some plants, but you also will be asked to bring in specimens. The class includes excursions to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. The first class will take place Tuesday, April 1 at 42 Brattle Street in Cambridge. The tuition is $249, and you may sign up at www.ccae.org. Thank you Meg Muckenhoupt for the tip.

    poppies

  • Saturdays, September 7 – 28, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Botanical Illustration: Basic Drawing Skills

    Weston Nurseries and the Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens will again partner to bring you the opportunity to study with experienced instructor Jeanne Kuntz on four successive Saturdays, September 7 – 24, from 10 – noon, surrounded by the newest Weston Nurseries’ world class garden center.  You will increase your awareness of and appreciation for plants via the drawing experience.  If you can write your name, you already have some basic drawing skills.  Gain confidence and develop your ability to draw what you see.  The site is at 160 Pine Hill Road in Chelmsford, the cost is $100 for WCBG Friends, $125 for the general public.  Sign up by calling 781-283-3094, or emailing wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu. Below is a photo of cacti from Weston Nurseries – let’s draw!

    http://westonnurseries.wordpress.com/wp-content/themes/pub/coraline/images/headers/cactii.jpg?m=1280264079g

  • Saturdays, November 5, 12, 19, and December 3, 9:30 am – 11:30 am – The Art of Botanical Drawing

    Explore the beauty and variety of plant forms using pencil, paper, watercolor, and colored pencil during adult drawing classes at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Taught by artist and educator, Erica Beade, this four-week course will introduce botanical drawing techniques through close observation and practice with contour, gesture, foreshortening, shading and color. All skill levels are welcome. The four-week series meets November 5, 12, 19 and December 3, from 9:30 am to 11:30 am in the Harvard Museum of Natural History. (Please note: There will be no class on November 26.) $140 non-members; $126 members (10% discount) Class sizes are limited and advance registration is required. Call 617.495.2341 or email reservations@hmnh.harvard.edu. Payment confirms registration. You may cancel up to two weeks before class and receive a refund less a $30 fee. After that time, no refunds can be made. A full refund is issued if the Museum cancels the program.

  • Saturday, November 21, 1:00 – 5:00 pm – Laura Coombs Hills: Portraits from My Garden

    The Cooley Gallery, 25 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, Connecticut is extraordinarily excited to announce a landmark new exhibition of pastel work by Laura Coombs Hills.  Portraits from My Garden will be the largest solo exhibition and sale of Hills’ unparalleled floral pastels in nearly seven decades.  You are cordially invited to the open house reception on Saturday, November 21, from 1-5 pm.  The show will run through January 2, 2010, and you can see a preview exhibition on November 12 at the Cooley Gallery booth at the Boston International Fine Art Show at the Cyclorama, 539 Tremont Street in Boston.  The exhibit is produced in conjuction with Vincent Vallarino Fine Art, LTD and Lepore Fine Art.

    Sandra Lepore writes: “Rendering flowers in pastel became Hills primary artistic concern. Lizzie carefully cultivated and nurtured favorite specimens — peonies, lilies, larkspur, Van Fleet and tea roses, zinnias, and dahlias — at “The Goldfish.” Cut early in the morning, still glistening with dew, the blooms were carefully arranged in full sunlight for optimum vibrancy and contrast. Hills occasionally added an electric bulb to enhance the lighting effect. “It woke those lilies up,” she said, “[and] made them speak.”  Hills worked quickly, laying colors with her pinky poised for selective blending. She paid considerable attention to backdrops: employing scarves, tapestries, and fabrics she had collected on her various trips to Europe.

    Beginning in 1921, Hills began an almost unbroken string of annual solo exhibits in Boston, each extremely successful from a sales standpoint. In her 1927 Copley Gallery exhibition, only five of forty-five floral pastels remained after noon on the first day.”  The image below is courtesy of Childs Gallery, Boston.

    [Pink Flowers in Vases]