Boston Flora

Tag: botanical illustration

  • Thursday, March 6, 7:00 pm Eastern – Art or Science? The Co-Construction of Botanical Illustration, Online

    “How has the history of botanical illustration influenced the way we perceive plants, gardens, nature, and environment in the present day?” Join Tracy Qiu as she explores the complex stories unearthed from botanical renderings and colonial plant collection during her doctoral research at the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew and Edinburgh. This New England Botanic Garden free webinar on March 6 at 7 pm Eastern is in celebration of Black History Month and Women’s History. The Speaker Series at New England Botanic Garden features a dynamic range of authors, experts, and thought leaders sharing their insights on topics such as horticulture, gardening, conservation, and environmental sustainability. These engaging talks and lectures offer valuable knowledge for both seasoned gardening enthusiasts and those new to the world of plants and ecologically-minded horticulture. Each event provides an opportunity to learn from leading voices in the field and connect with a community of individuals passionate about the natural world. Register at https://nebg.org/speakers-series/

  • Tuesdays, October 31 & November 7, 6:00 am – 7:30 am Eastern – Hisui Sugiura, Online

    The Gardens Trust is back with a two part online series on Hisui Sugiura: Botanical Illustrator and Graphic Designer, on Tuesdays, October 31 and November 7, from 6 am – 7:30 Eastern, but don’t worry – a recording of the sessions will be made available soon after the live talk and is accessible for a week, to watch at your convenience. Tickets are available through Eventbrite, £8 for both or £5 each. Registration links are HERE

    In recent years, the work of Hisui Sugiura (1876-1965), a pioneering graphic designer, has been admired both within and outside Japan. In the 1920s and 1930s, his iconic poster designs and magazine covers for Mitsukoshi department store and the new Ginza subway seemed to capture the zeitgeist of a rapidly modernizing society. Less attention has been given to his highly accomplished botanical illustrations which closely reflected his own artistic development and remained a constant source of inspiration throughout a long and productive career. He successfully hybridized Japanese and Western techniques, filling numerous sketchbooks with realistic natural history and botanical illustrations, before offering more stylized depictions of plants in an album of woodblock prints known as Hisui Hyakkafu [One Hundred Flowers], and finally developing abstract floral motifs and designs which he incorporated skillfully into his graphic designs.

    Utilizing a recently discovered cache of preparatory studies for Hisui Hyakkafu, these two richly illustrated talks follow Hisui on his artistic journey: his approach to plants and art, his compositional techniques, and place within the broader botanical art traditions of Japan. Illustration is Hypericum monogynum, attrib. Hisui Sugiura (非水 杉浦), early 20th century. Ink and watercolour on washi. Reproduced courtesy of the Shadowlands Archive.

  • Tuesdays, May 30 – June 20, 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm Eastern – Introduction to Scientific Illustration: Water and Ink, Online

    Smithsonian Associates presents a four session online studio arts course from May 30 – June 20 with Natalia Wilkins-Tyler. Learn to see like a scientist as you use watercolor and ink to illustrate specimens from nature. Gain confidence in observing form while documenting and interpreting what you see. Learn how to apply key techniques such as composition, working with color, and recording fine detail in nature journaling, watercolor painting, drawing, and creating stand-alone biological illustrations. Students with drawing or illustration and composition experience are welcome. Some previous drawing and watercolor experience is required.

    This studio arts program is a Zoom Meeting to allow for patron and instructor interaction online. All Studio Arts programs require an online ticket for each participant so that the instructor can provide individual attention to every student registered for the online program. This program will be recorded. Please see our FAQ for recording terms and conditions. Please refer to the “Materials for this program” section on the registration page for any applicable supply list information and/or special documents for this program. $155 for Smithsonian members, $175 for non-members. https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/scientific-illustration-watercolor-and-ink

  • Sunday, September 20, 10:30 am – Magnificent Mushrooms Botanical Illustration

    Sunday, September 20, 10:30 am – Magnificent Mushrooms Botanical Illustration

    Explore the multitude of mushrooms popping up in the woods at Tower Hill on September 20 at 10:30 am. This program will be held under our open sided outdoor canopy tent. Group size will not exceed current state restrictions. Sketch as you see them, then snap a photo with your phone and add color with colored pencils while sitting at a table under the activities tent. Learn about showing texture and shading.

    Instructor Carol Schwartz graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute, attending her senior year at Rhode Island School of Design. She earned her MFA in Illustration from the University of Hartford, Connecticut in 2014. Her education equipped her to be diverse and adaptable, with work appearing in 60 picture books and countless magazines, newspapers and advertisements.

    $30 for Tower Hill members, $40 for nonmembers. Register at https://towerhillbg.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-registration-form—magnificent-mushrooms

  • Saturday, July 20 or Sunday, July 21, 11:00 am – 12:00 noon – Hands-On with Tower Hill Treasures: Botanical Illustration

    Join Tower Hill’s librarian on either July 20 or 21 from 11 – noon to see and interact with beautiful and historic works from Tower Hill’s vault and learn about the history of botanical illustration.  Class limit 10 per session.  Free, but registration required at www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Saturday, January 19, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm – Introduction to Botanical Art and Illustration

    Botanical artist Bobbi Angell will lead a class in botanical art and illustration on Saturday, January 19 from 9 – 4 at the Lyman Conservatory at the Smith College Botanic Garden, 16 College Lane in Northampton.  Free parking passes will be provided. Registration deadline is January 7. Learning to draw while learning to observe increases one’s knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the world of plants. Botanical artist Bobbi Angell will guide participants through the process of creating an illustration that defines and depicts a particular species. Using pressed herbarium specimens and preserved flowers, participants will design a composition with a plant habit and dissected flowers and enlarged details, with a layout intended for publication or framing. Sketches can be inked or colored afterwards. Bring your hand lens, pencils and erasers; plant material and paper will be provided. The only prerequisites are curiosity and expandable interest in plants.

    Instructor Bobbi Angell draws plants for scientists at The New York Botanical Garden, Harvard University, and other institutions for floras and monographs. Ongoing work features illustrations of neotropical species new to science. To view her work, visit http://www.bobbiangell.com. She is co-author of A Botanist’s Vocabulary (Timber Press).

    Bobbi is the artist for the current logo for the New England Botanical Club. NEBC member price $30, nonmembers $60. Register at http://www.rhodora.org/whatsnew.html

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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.

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  • 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.

  • Wednesday, March 22 – Friday, March 24, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Illuminating Botanicals with Gold Ink

    In this Berkshire Botanical Garden three day studio class with botanical illustrator Carol Morley, students learn to add a decorative element to their botanical drawings by embellishing the flowing lines of a drawing of a flower or leaf with 18-carat-gold liquid ink. They will also learn to add details to a drawing with the point of a luminous silver or gold Prismacolor pencil. Students should bring along a few favorite botanical drawings to the class. They can then transfer one of them to a dark paper, add a bee or two and a butterfly, and weave in some gold lettering, which will transform the drawing into a glowing illuminated botanical illustration. Students will discover how easily spectralite liquid gold flows from the nib of a crow quill pen and how it looks and feels. For those with no crow quill experience, there is the option to work solely with luminous colored pencils.

    Carol Ann Morley is a professional artist and dedicated teacher working in Milton, NH. She founded the Botanical Art and Illustration Certificate Program at the New York Botanical Garden and teaches botanical art and drawing at the New York Botanical Garden, Wellesley College Botanic Garden, and Sanctuary Arts in Eliot, ME.

    This class meets at Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge on Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday, March 22, 23, & 24, 10 am – 4 pm. Bring a bag lunch. A materials list will be e-mailed to you upon registration. Gold ink and paper can be purchased from the instructor. At the moment, the class is fully registered but if you’d like to be placed on a waitlist, please contact the BBG office manager at (413) 320-4794.

  • 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.