The Friends of Wellesley Botanic Gardens invite you to head outside with Carol Govan and Sarah Roche for three days, July 15 – 17, to observe botany in action in the College’s meadows and then record the flowering plants that you see using pencil and pen sketches and dry brush watercolor. The class will be held from 9:30 – 3:30 and the registration fee is $225 for Friends of Wellesley Botanic Gardens and $275 for non-members. Call 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu.
Explore painting the many shades of green in spring vegetables at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, in this art class entitled Growing Green: A Studio Focus, to be held on four mornings, May 20, 22, 27 and 29, from 9:30 – 12:30. Sarah Roche helps you investigate the potential of your palette to capture complex greens and create a veggie study to showcase your new skills. Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens – $150, non-members $200. Register by calling 781-283-3094 or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu. Image from www.burpee.com.
Painting a white subject involves showing nuances of color and value without getting too dark. Explore painting the shadows and leaving the highlights to describe the form – using many more than fifty shades and hues of grey. In this Wellesley College Botanic Gardens class, to be held on Tuesdays, June 3 – 24 from 9:30 – 12:30, Sarah Roche helps you investigate the potential of your palette to create complex greys and compose a delicate, sensitive study. Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens fee is $150, non-members $200. Register by calling 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu. Image of white lilac from www.etsy.com.
In this relaxed, informative seminar at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, with plenty of helpful demonstrations, you will work towards developing your drawing and painting skills. Sarah Roche encourages your observational skills to grow as you experiment with line drawings and the accurate representations of botanical forms. Leap into watercolor painting as Sarah guides you through a series of fun beginning botanical watercolor exercises. All abilities and anxiety levels welcome. Please bring to the first class: 9 x 12 sketch paper, HB (No.2) pencils, and white plastic eraser. Sarah will discuss brushes, palettes, and watercolor papers necessary for the remaining classes. Samples of paint will be provided. The Wednesday series of classes, June 4 – 25, will cost $125 for Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, $150 for nonmembers. Sign up by calling 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu.
Celebrate the colors of the fall, recording their vivid and vibrant palette while learning how to realistically record your subject matter in pencil, then in watercolor, with Wellesley College Botanic Gardens’ lead instructor and Education Director Sarah Roche (her painting of Hops is pictured below.) Through demonstrations and tutorials, Sarah 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. All abilities are welcome. This course is the core of the WCBG Friends’ Botanical Art Program. Choose either 8 Wednesdays, September 11 and 18, October 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30, and November 6, or 8 Thursdays, September 12 and 19, October 3, 10. 17, 24, 31, and November 7. All classes meet 9:30 – 12:30 at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens Visitor Center in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Members $240, nonmembers $295. Call 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu to register.
Explore the world of botanical art over five days July 15 – 19 in this course at Wellesley College Botanic Garden designed especially for you – the beginner. Sarah Roche (her work is shown below) guides your experience through structured exercises, projects, and demonstrations. She exposes you to the basic techniques and methods of botanical drawing and watercolor painting. Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens $250, non-members $300. To register, visit www.wellesley.edu/wcbgfriends.
In this four day seminar, September 6, 8, 13 and 15, taught on location at the Natick Community Organic Farm, 117 Eliot Street, Natick, and in the studio in nearby South Natick, learn to paint economic plants grown locally. Take your observations from the farm’s fields back to the studio to portray the plants in drybrush watercolor. Sarah Roche’s expert instruction will fine tune your drawings to be botanically accurate and expand your watercolor skills to capture textures and tones and the vibrant colors of fruits, vegetables, and foliage. Your paintings will look good enough to eat.  Watercolor and drawing experience required. Foundations or equivalent course required. Work at your own skill level in this class for advanced beginners to experienced watercolor artists, sponsored by the Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture. WCFH members $250, non-members $300 – to register, log on to www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or call 781-283-3094.
Take inspiration for your rose paintings from Redoute and Rory McEwen. Sarah Roche guides your interpretation of the form and dimension of this most elegant of flowers through a series of basic exercises in drawing and painting. Learn to decode the complex shape and structure of flowers. Apply your skills in a watercolor study, portraying the way the petals overlap and curl, the sharp edges of the thorns, and the smooth textures of leaves. Techniques covered in this class will reinforce your painting skills so that you can add a painting of the rose and other similar complex flower forms to your portfolio. The four day class will take place Mondays and Wednesdays, June 13, 15, 20 and 22 from 9:30 am – 2:30 pm at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden in Wellesley, and costs $225 for Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture members, and $275 for non-members. Sign up at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or call 781-283-3094, ext. 4. The image below, by Maria Cecilia Freeman, is part of an art exhibition entitled “Rose Studies” on view through April 30, 2011 at the Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture at the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum.
In a relaxed atmosphere at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden, Sarah Roche will guide you through the elementary stages of illustrating plants. Your observational skills grow as you experiment with your first line drawings. Explore composition and color choices as you enjoy the process of creating botanical art. Please bring sketch paper, HB, B, 2B pencils and a white plastic eraser to the first class. WCFH members $125, Non-Members $150. To register for the four Wednesday classes (May 4 – 25, 9L30 – 12:30), log on to www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or call 781-283-3094, ext. 4. Beautiful line drawing below by Linda Reeves.
The Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony of the Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture will take place on Monday, June 7, beginning with a reception at 3:00 pm, followed by a program at 4:00 pm, where Sarah Roche, Certificate in Botanical Art and Illustration Director, will speak on Botanical Art Today. For more information, and exact campus location of the meeting, call 781-283-3094, or email horticulture@wellesley.edu.
