In this seven part series at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, award-winning artist and educator Susan Swinand offers critiques and projects to spark your creativity and develop your skill. The class is suitable for adults at all levels of experience. Lessons will focus on basic design principles, learning to portray what you see, mixing color, and watercolor painting techniques such as applying washes and glazes, wet-into-wet color, achieving hard and soft edges, etc. The classes begin Thursday, October 7 from 1 – 4 and continue through November 17. Friends of Wellesley Botanic Garden member price $200, nonmembers $250. Register at 781-283-3094.
Tag: Wellesley College Botanic Gardens
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Thursdays, October 6 – November 17, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Watercolor Painting in the Botanic Gardens
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Friday, May 20 – Sunday, May 22, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Composition Challenge
Helen Allen returns to the Wellesley College Botanic Garden for a three day workshop May 20 – 22 from 9:30 – 3:30. Plant studies, colors, and drawings are fun part of creating a beautiful painting, but the challenge is always in composing the page. Helen Allen leads the challenge to create an image that is balanced and draws the viewer to have a closer look – an image that can enchant and inform. Through three days, you will fall in love with your chosen plant, study its habit, and develop drawings that can be used to compose three different paintings. Identify blocks and position of color and study the balance of your compositions. Then, choose the best and spend a day adding color to guide you in completing the painting at home.
A textile designer-turned-teacher, Helen attended the English Gardening School in the Chelsea Physic Garden where she gained the prestigious Diploma in Botanical Painting and Illustration.
Wellesley Friends $375, nonmembers $475. Register by calling 781-283-3094.
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Monday, April 4, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Ranunculus (or Roses) in Spring
Shake off the winter cold with a Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens art class on five successive Mondays, April 4 – May 9, from 9:30 – 12:30 in the greenhouses. Carrie Megan will teach you how to capture the delicate folds of a ranunculus with the use of a mid-range of graphite leads. Then, add a little spring color. With the use of pale “tea washes” you’ll learn how to enhance your finished drawing with a pop of soft color. Intermediate level and above. Friends price $225, nonmembers $275. Register by calling 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu. Photo from www.flowermuse.com.
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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.
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Monday, April 13, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – The Versatility of Black and White: A History of Pen and Ink
Carol Govan discusses the centuries-old tradition of creating pen and ink illustrations, which are valued for their rich detail and ability to be reproduced for scientific as well as artistic purposes. Examples of drawings from artists like Van Gogh and Rembrandt in addition to many botanical artists from the past and present will reveal the beauty of using ink. Carol will also discuss the materials used as well as techniques such as weighted line, cross-hatch and stipple, which enhance the simple contrast of black and white. The Wellesley College Botanic Garden lecture will take place Monday, April 13 from 1 – 3, and is free to members of the WCBG, $10 for non members. Register by calling 781-283-3094 or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu. Image by Ruth deMonchaux.
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Wednesday, November 19, 10:00 am – Tablet Tech for Gardeners
The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s November meeting will take place Wednesday, November 19, beginning at 10 am at The College Club, 44 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. Continuing our exploration of Technology in the Garden, we welcome Sarah Roche who will speak on Tablet Tech for Gardeners. Sarah Roche teaches a variety of courses for all abilities throughout the year, focusing on botanical drawing and painting in watercolor. She currently teaches at the South Shore Art Center in Cohasset MA, at the Copley Society in Boston and at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens for the Friends of Horticulture, where she is Education Director for the Certificate program in Botanical Art and Illustration . She will demonstrate how the tablet computer can be an invaluable tool in the garden – feel free to bring your tablet with you to this meeting. Open to the public but reservations are essential. Please email info@bostonflora.com if you plan to attend. Garden Club members will receive written notification of the event. One of Sarah’s beautiful watercolors is shown below, courtesy of the Copley Society.
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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.
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Tuesday, July 29 – Thursday, July 31, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Painting with Sunshine: The Sunflower
The Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens has scheduled a three day program at the height of sunflower season, July 29 – July 31, 9:30 – 3:30, which will lift your spirits. Van Gogh’s iconic paintings of sunflowers have inspired many artists to capture their strength and vibrancy. Don’t be daunted by the complexity of their spiral centers. Join this workshop with Elaine Searle to explore the sunflower from all angles. Create a study sheet or small painting filled with sunshine. You may discover that the backs of the blooms are just as fascinating as their faces. Friends price $340; non-members $425. Register by email at wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu, or call 781-283-3094. Image from www.naturework.wordpress.com.
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Saturdays, July 26 and August 2, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Patterns from Nature
The Arts and Crafts movement was noted for its nature-derived patterns. Elaine Searle is your guide in this Wellesley College Botanic Gardens fun expansion of your art. On the first Saturday, July 26, look at historical references and learn how to simplify a botanical form to make a pattern repeat. Work up your unique pattern in between classes. On the second Saturday, August 2, learn about restricted color palettes and use gouache paint (supplied) to work up your design. Elaine will offer an email critique of your final work. WCBG Friends – $225; non-members $280. Register at 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu.
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Tuesday, July 22, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Tablet Computers as a Tool
The Friends of Wellesley Botanic Gardens have arranged for Elaine Searle to help you look objectively at the role of the iPad and similar devices as tools for the botanical artist, and to evaluate some of the most interesting apps available for reference and recording. Discover the difference controlled lighting can make to your plant reference photography. Elaine will also cover usage etiquette and the possible pitfalls of over-reliance on these devices. While the focus will be on iPad usage, many of the concepts are easily transferrable to other tablets which have built-in cameras. The class will take place at the Visitors Center of the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens on Tuesday, July 22, from 9:30 – 3:30. Wellesley Friends – $85; non-members – $110. Sign up by calling 781-283-3094 or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu.
