Botanical Paint Col Pencils 0007275528, 9780007275526

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  ∆ PINK CAMELLIAS 50 x 36 cm (20 x 14 in)

  COPYRIGHT

  First published in 2010 by Collins, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

  www.harpercollins.co.uk

  Collins is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Limited.

  © Ann Swan, 2010

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  Geraldine Christy Richard Palmer

  Jacket painting: GINGER FLOWERS 54 x 36 cm (21 x 14 in)

  Ann Swan asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

 

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  Source ISBN 9780007275526 Ebook Edition © SEPTEMBER 2018 ISBN: 9780008328252 Version: 2018-10-02

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  ∆ PURPLE ANEMONES 30 x 44 cm (12 x 17 in)

CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Foreword

  Introduction

  CHAPTER 1

  Materials

  CHAPTER 2

  Getting To Know Your Subject

  CHAPTER 3

  Composition & Style

  CHAPTER 4

 

Basic Pencil Techniques

  CHAPTER 5

  Coloured Pencil Techniques

  CHAPTER 6

  Colour

  CHAPTER 7

  Small Details

  CHAPTER 8

  Finishing Touches

  CHAPTER 9

  Gallery

  Checklist

  Stockists & Societies

  Bibliography

  About the Publisher

 

  ∆ LINE OF BULBS 30 x 46 cm (12 x 18 in)

  Line of Bulbs are reproduced by kind permission of The Southern Bulb Company of Texas, USA.

  FOREWORD

  THE ART OF drawing and painting plants has a long history: it ranges from decorative framed paintings to very detailed scientific illustrations, often in pen and ink. I have collected botanical illustrations for more years than I care to remember and I love to discover the work of new artists.      Most botanical artists use watercolours. Time was when an illustration in coloured pencils was instantly obvious because of its grainy appearance. But coloured pencils have improved immensely, and there has been a huge increase in the number of artists who use coloured pencils to produce refined work.      Ann Swan has extraordinary skill. Her illustrations range from conventional plant portraits (mainly flowers and fruits) to exquisite portrayals of dying autumnal plants and leaves, and exuberant studies of fruit and vegetables in which the available space on the paper is completely covered. She also likes to combine coloured-pencil work with graphite pencil, or draws in graphite pencil alone.      All Ann’s work shows an infectious enthusiasm for, and understanding of, her chosen subject and demonstrates her meticulous observation and attention to detail. She is an outstanding exponent of coloured-pencil painting. This book will not only be of enormous help and encouragement to anyone who wants to learn how to produce coloured-pencil illustrations: it will be an inspiration.

  Victoria Matthews BSc (Hons), Dip.Tax., FLS Botanist

 

  ∆ FLY AGARIC TRIO Amanita muscaria 25 x 28 cm (10 x 11 in)

  INTRODUCTION

  In Spring, when Flow’rs your garden grace, With Needle or Pencil you can trace Each curious Form, and various Dye So represent unto the Eye, Nobly proportion ev’ry part, That Nature blushes at your Art.

  John Rea, 1665

  Coloured pencil is an ideal medium for botanical painting. It is immediate, portable, easily manipulated and very forgiving, making it useful for both the beginner and the more accomplished artist.      This is a very exciting time to be working in coloured pencils. Since I came to the medium in the late 1980s, many new and extended ranges have been introduced that contain better quality and more lightfast pigments. There is also a great variety of blender pencils, blender pens and battery-operated erasers now available. All these new products make it so much easier to produce vibrant and finely detailed plant portraits.      I started using coloured pencils as a way of introducing areas of colour into my detailed graphite pencil drawings. I tried watercolour, but I could not cope with using brushes – they seemed to have a will of their own – and all my colours turned to mud. At first I used colour only for part of the image, but as I have learned more about coloured pencils and the way they perform I have concentrated on enjoying colour.

 

  ∆ ‘JANUARY KING’ CABBAGE 30 x 32 cm (12 x 13 in) Coloured pencil and graphite pencil over underpainting.

  Through this book I hope to share with you the techniques, tips and ideas that I have tried and tested. With a clear overview of the materials that are currently available and how to use them, the book shows you how best to get to know your subject and explains how to create interesting and eye-catching compositions. It also looks at ways of finely tuning your work and presenting it well, both on the ‘page’ and in the frame. Finally, there is a gallery showing

some beautiful work by other artists and students who use this versatile and increasingly popular medium.

 

  ∆ A watercolourist recently described coloured pencil as being of no use for depicting fine detail. Maybe this butterfly, which repeatedly tried to land on my drawing of beetroot at an exhibition, had not read those words!

  TRADITIONAL BOTANICAL ART

  Traditionally botanical painting has been the realm of the watercolourist, but more and more artists are discovering that coloured pencil can be a very effective alternative to watercolour. If you find painting difficult, then this is the ideal way to achieve colourful and detailed botanical studies. The quality of materials is improving all the time and, with several ranges of pencils

being rated as lightfast, work created now in coloured pencil will last as long as paintings executed in watercolour.      People are often dismissive of coloured pencils because they are associated with the poor quality crayons of childhood. Well yes, my pictures are effectively ‘done with crayons’, but with materials of very high specification and quality. Too often coloured-pencil work can appear grainy and too obviously pencil, but this may be because the paper used was not smooth enough, the pencil was not sharp, or the pencil was applied too lightly and not layered or blended. However, by using the techniques I will show you it is possible to achieve brilliant, lively colours and a painterly effect.      The use of coloured pencil as a medium for botanical illustration is a relatively new phenomenon and there is still some resistance against it. I hope to dispel outdated ideas and show that coloured pencil as a medium for botanical painting is very much here to stay. Equally there is some debate in horticultural circles as to the subjects that should be covered by botanical art. My own remit is wide and includes fungi as well as plant material.      I teach my methods around the UK and Europe, and also in the USA and New Zealand, and I am constantly surprised by the wealth of talent already emerging in this medium and the huge enthusiasm to learn this technique.

  WATERCOLOUR vs COLOURED PENCIL

  If you do not like using brushes, but love drawing, as I do, then coloured pencil could be the medium for you. Unlike watercolour, coloured pencil is a very forgiving medium. It can be lifted off and reapplied, mistakes can be rubbed out and colours can be layered and re-layered to achieve pure, vibrant tones. A major advantage of coloured pencil is that once you have some knowledge of the techniques and the way different colours behave when layered, you can be sure to reproduce exactly the same effect over and over again, whereas watercolour mixes can often be rather hit and miss.

     Another advantage is that coloured pencils are very portable, so with a selection of maybe 20 to 25 colours, some paper, an eraser and a sharpener you are ready to hit the road, and there is no washing of brushes and palettes afterwards.      We are all used to handling writing implements, so using pencils comes much more naturally to us. Brushes can be frustratingly difficult to control and sometimes seem to have a life of their own; a stray hair can spring out and ruin a clean line whereas coloured pencil is much easier to control.      I hope this book will introduce you to the wonderful world of coloured pencil for botanical painting and will encourage you to make your own explorations and discover new ways of working in this very versatile and exciting medium. Enjoy!

 

  ∆ BEETROOT TRIO 50 x 36 cm (20 x 14 in) Coloured pencil and graphite pencil.

  CHAPTER 1

  MATERIALS

  THE WIDE ARRAY of coloured pencils available to the artist can be daunting and confusing, especially to the beginner. New colours are constantly coming onto the market, and the names of existing pencils change or colours are discontinued, sometimes returning in a different form. Additionally, good quality materials are not always easy to obtain and may need searching for, while poorer quality alternatives seem to be in every shop. In this chapter I will endeavour to guide you safely through the materials’ minefield and introduce you to the full range of equipment that you will find useful.      In order to ensure good results, as with any form of artistic work, try to use the best quality coloured pencils you can afford. Sometimes bargains can be had, but most good quality art materials are a bit more expensive. You generally get what you pay for, but do not be put off by the huge choice of materials as you can get up and running for a relatively small outlay in terms of cost.      Do not rush out and buy full sets of coloured pencils. You will find that many colours in these sets are not needed in botanical work, in particular many of the more lurid greens, turquoises and blues. It is better to buy single pencils and build up a collection of colours that you know you will use. Especially avoid the small tins of 12 or 24 colours as at least half of them will be no use for botanical work.

 

  ∆ SPANISH POMEGRANATES Punica granatum 45 x 30 cm (18 x 12 in)

 

  ∆ Artist Ann Swan at work in her studio.

   

BASIC START-UP KIT

You can add more pencils and other equipment as you progress, but these items will start you off. • 2 graphite pencils – HB and H • 20 to 25 good quality coloured pencils

• Sharpener with spiral blade • Hot-pressed paper – at least 300 gsm (140 lb) • Plastic eraser • Sketch paper • Magnifying glass

   

COLOURED PENCILS

The coloured strip, or core, of a coloured pencil consists of pigment held together with either a wax or an oil-based binder. The binder can either be watersoluble, to make a pencil that can be used with water, or non-soluble and this type is mainly used dry. Generally speaking, you will find that more expensive pencils have better quality pigments and tend to be more lightfast.      Coloured pencils vary enormously not only in quality and feel, but in the range of colours available. Before you buy any, try them out. We all have a different way of drawing, so what suits one person may not work at all for another.

   

LIGHTFAST OR FUGITIVE?

What do we mean by lightfast colours? When colours exposed to light over many years do not change much, if at all, then they are considered ‘lightfast’. However, exposure to light can alter some pigments over time and these colours are termed ‘fugitive’ because they fade, change colour or, occasionally, darken or become dull. How quickly colours deteriorate from their original, and over what period of time, determines the lightfast rating of a colour; that is, just how lightfast or fugitive the colour is.      Although the pigments used in coloured pencils are often identical to those used in watercolour they can behave differently because of the oil or waxbased binder. Oil-based binders can make some pigments more lightfast than

they are when used with water. Over the last few years a lot of work has been done to achieve an acceptable standard for measuring lightfastness in coloured pencils. Most of this work has been done in the USA, and the American Society for Testing Materials or ASTM accepted test for coloured pencils is ASTM C-6901. Coloured pencils complying with this standard are considered to be lightfast.

  TEST SWATCHES If you have a mixed range of pencils accumulated over many years, as many botanical artists have, it is a good idea to do your own lightfast testing. Make two identical colour swatches. Place one swatch under glass in full sun (the dashboard of a car is a good place or a greenhouse or south-facing window), and cover the remaining one and place it in a drawer away from any light. You can then compare the effects of light on the two after a few weeks, and sometimes, in strong, bright sunlight, a difference will show up in a matter of days.

   

FABER-CASTELL POLYCHROMOS COLOURED PENCILS

These are good quality, oil-based artists’ pencils with 3.8mm leads that hold a point well, an essential requirement for fine detailed work. They come in a range of 120 colours. Colour laydown is smooth and colour is easily blended without smudging.      The colour on the casing quite closely resembles the actual colour, which is useful, and the pencils are clearly marked with individual lightfast ratings, from three asterisks (***) for lightfast down to one asterisk (*) for fugitive.      Coloured pencils generally are poor in the green range, which is not helpful for the botanical artist, but Faber-Castell have at least seven good greens. What I mean by a ‘good’ green is one that looks natural, mixes well and stays true in combination with other colours and when blended. Some greens that sound well suited to the work of the botanical artist, such as Sap Green, Leaf Green, Grass Green and Pine Green, can be a bit garish and

unnatural looking. They do not always produce successful or consistent results when mixed with other greens, so use these with caution.      Polychromos have a good range of greys too – six warm (redder) greys and six cold (bluer) greys. Greys are the main method used for deepening the tones of colours without changing their hue.

 

  From left to right FC270 Warm Grey I FC271 Warm Grey II FC272 Warm Grey III FC273 Warm Grey IV FC274 Warm Grey V FC275 Warm Grey VI FC230 Cold Grey I FC231 Cold Grey II FC232 Cold Grey III FC233 Cold Grey IV FC234 Cold Grey V FC235 Cold Grey VI FC181 Paynes Grey

  ∆ These warm and cold greys are useful for a starter palette.

 

  From left to right: FC101 White FC103 Ivory FC102 Cream FC184 Dark Naples Ochre (Ochre) FC118 Scarlet Red (Scarlet Lake) FC142 Madder FC133 Magenta (Bordeaux Wine Red) FC193 Burnt Carmine FC225 Dark Red FC123 Fuchsia FC134 Crimson (Magenta) FC139 Light Violet (limited availability) FC138 Violet FC170 May Green (Apple Green) FC168 Earth Green Yellowish (Moss Green) FC172 Earth Green (Grey Green) FC173 Olive Green Yellowish (Olive Green) FC174 Chrome Green Opaque (Cedar Green) FC278 Chrome Green Oxide FC179 Bistre FC178 Nougat FC175 Dark Sepia

  ∆ Here is a useful basic starter range of 22 Faber-Castell Polychromos coloured pencils. (The names in brackets appear on older stock and are no longer used, but the pencil numbers remain unchanged.)

   

PRISMACOLOR PREMIER COLOURED PENCILS

These artists’ quality pencils are made by Sanford in a range of 132 colours with good quality pigments that provide rich colour saturation. They are waxbased pencils, but I find the range mixes well with the Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils as they are smooth and creamy in texture.      Prismacolor has an excellent range of the colours found in fruits such as autumn berries, blackcurrants, aubergines and cherries – the darker violets, purples and reds – with colours such as Black Grape, Black Cherry, Dark Purple and Black Raspberry, and some more unusual greens such as Pale Sage, Limepeel, Green Ochre and Artichoke.      You can buy these pencils online mainly from suppliers in the USA although a few UK sites are now offering them. It is worth the effort to try and obtain them; even with shipping and import tax, they are still no more expensive than other makes.      The disadvantage of using these pencils as your main range for botanical work is that the point invariably snaps off in use, making fine detailed work quite difficult. Additionally their softness can create rather too grainy a texture if they are used alone. However, because the colours are so rich and blend so well, they make excellent companions to the Faber-Castell range.

   

ART MARKERS AND BRUSH PENS

Both Faber-Castell and Prismacolor produce a range of matching brush pens and markers that can be useful for underpainting if care is taken to match the pen to the coloured pencil you have used for the main drawing. Faber-Castell produce the Pitt Artist Brush Pen in a range of 48 colours, with plans to extend the choice, and the Pitt Artist Pen Big Brush, a much chunkier version, with a range of 48 similar colours. Prismacolor produce a huge range of 156 double-ended Art Markers.

 

  From left to right (left-hand pot): PC938 White PC1084 Ginger Root PC1032 Pumpkin Orange PC 922 Poppy Red PC923 Scarlet Lake PC924 Crimson Red PC925 Crimson Lake PC994 Process Red

  From left to right (right-hand pot): PC1095 Black Raspberry PC1078 Black Cherry PC996 Black Grape PC931 Dark Purple PC1009 Dahlia Purple

PC1005 Limepeel PC1089 Pale Sage

  ∆ Prismacolor offer several colours useful for botanical work that are not available in any other range.

   

OTHER GOOD RANGES

There are many makes of coloured pencil available now, too numerous to list here, but the following ranges are good quality and worth consideration. Try out each make before you buy to see which you prefer because we all have different styles and draw with differing pressures. Most art shops will let you try pencils, but if not just buy one before you commit yourself to any additional expense.

  DERWENT STUDIO This is a useful range of 72 slim artists’ quality pencils. They share the same colour core as Derwent Artists coloured pencils, but have a slim, hexagonal barrel. The 3.4mm core sharpens to a fine point, producing a narrow colour strip that is useful for detailed work.

  CARAN D’ACHE LUMINANCE 6901 Relatively new to the market, this range of 76 pencils comes with full lightfast guarantee on 61 of the colours. They have a lovely soft, creamy laydown similar to Prismacolor but without the tip breaking off. However, there is only one good green and the range is limited. The grey, light brown and beige colour ranges are strong, with some lovely violets and purples, but they are weak in the yellows, oranges, reds and greens. They can be confusing to use as the barrel is wooden with a colour reference just on the tip

and the number is written around the barrel, so is difficult to read. I recommend that at first you buy just a few of the more unusual colours.

  LYRA REMBRANDT POLYCOLOR A range of 72 oil-based colours, these pencils are similar to the Faber-Castell Polychromos range with similar colour names and numbers.

  PRISMACOLOR VERITHIN A limited range of 36 colours with narrow, hard colour strips, Prismacolor Verithin are useful for fine details and edges.

 

  ∆ CONCENTRATED PLUMS 13 x 11 cm (5 x 4 in)

   

EXTRA COLOURS

You will come across many other makes, mostly with limited colour ranges, but keep a look out for the occasional colour that is not in any of the other ranges and collect any you think might be useful. Ask if you can try different makes out before you buy to check their consistency and ease of use.      Some distributors are now manufacturing their own brands, such as Dick Blick in the USA, who have produced a range of 72 Blick Studio Artists’ Colored Pencils with what they call ‘fade-resistant’ leads, which they state are formulated utilizing feedback from the Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA) artist members and teachers.

 

  ∆ SUNFLOWER SEEDHEAD Helianthus annuus 49 x 66 cm (19 x 26 in) Pencil PAPERS

   

GRAPHITE PENCILS

Graphite pencils range from the very hard 9H through to the extremely soft 9B, with an F for fine in the middle of the range. For botanical work you will mainly need pencils from 2H to 2B. There are many brands to choose from, but try to select a make that is consistent and non-gritty and that gives a good depth of blackness at the HB grade. Look for leads that are well centred in the wooden shaft and check the wood for any signs of splitting.      The pencils I prefer are the Derwent Graphic range as they produce a good dense black tone at the HB and F grades. Some makes are quite pale and grey at this level, so you would have to use a much softer pencil to achieve depth of tone, resulting in a loss of precision.      Graphite can also be used in the form of a propelling pencil. Again the range is wide, with the added variation of width of lead. Generally, good makes come in a range of 0.3mm, 0.5mm and 0.7mm diameter leads and a range of grades. I find the most useful is a 0.3mm with HB and H leads to handle fine detail and clean outlines.

  SHARPENING GRAPHITE PENCILS A sharp point is essential when drawing. Rather than using a pencil sharpener, which can produce a short conical point that soon blunts, sharpen graphite pencils with a scalpel for a long-lasting point.

   

PAPERS

For coloured-pencil drawings it is important to have a good quality paper on which to work. It needs to be at least 300 gsm (140 lb) in weight, to withstand the constant pressure to the surface with a sharp point; also the use of erasers and solvents will quickly wear out a lighter weight paper. The paper surface

needs to be fairly smooth, otherwise work can look too grainy, but it does need to have some texture in order to hold the pigment on the surface.      The type of paper I use is ‘hot-pressed’ (HP), which has a slight texture. Other paper types, called variously ‘rough’, ‘cold-pressed’ or ‘Not’ (meaning not hot-pressed) are generally too textured. Very smooth papers such as Bristol board will only take a few layers of colour before the pencil starts to slip and slide over the surface without depositing any further pigment. Whatever make or type of paper you prefer it needs to be acid free (that is, have a pH balance of 7), so that your work can be kept for many years without the paper discolouring. Non-acid free paper can discolour alarmingly in just a few months, spoiling your finished work.      There are many quality makes of watercolour paper available, such as Arches, Saunders, Hahnemühle and Schoellershammer, all of which take coloured pencil well. Rising Stonehenge is a popular paper from the USA and a lot of artists working in coloured pencil prefer its softer texture.      The make I use for preference is the Italian-made Fabriano Classico 5 hotpressed paper. This white paper is available in sheets and in pads, called ‘Fat Pads’. Fabriano also make another, better quality 100 per cent cotton paper called Artistico, which is also good to work on with coloured pencil, but is creamy in colour. It comes in ‘white’, which is very creamy, and ‘extra white’, which is still cream coloured. White or cream paper is a matter of personal preference; however, as I shall be showing you later, white flowers are much easier to depict on white paper.

 

  ∆ A basic start-up kit should include graphite and propelling pencils. It is worth buying a good quality pencil sharpener with a spiral core and you will find a range of erasers is helpful, including a battery-operated one as well as plastic and kneadable erasers. A scalpel and eraser shield are also essential.

  WHICH SIDE TO WORK ON? Hot-pressed paper is made in a mould and in the manufacturing process it is pressed by rollers against a soft wire mesh, which can leave the often quite clear impression of the mesh on one side of the paper. This is not a sympathetic surface for coloured-pencil work, so always use the other, more uneven, side to work on. The manufacturer’s watermark will usually read on the right side, with the exception of Fabriano. Paper presented in blocks or pads needs to be checked with a magnifying glass as it varies depending on the manufacturer as to which way up the paper is presented.

   

ERASERS

For correcting graphite pencil work use a plastic eraser that is quite firm and so tends not to damage the paper surface or leave any unwanted residue on

the paper surface.      Cut off a small triangle from your plastic eraser and put the rest safely away in a polythene bag to keep it clean. This way you always have a clean piece, with sharp edges, to work with. When this small piece is dirty throw it away and cut a new piece.      For lifting off areas of tone or highlights and generally cleaning the paper, use one of the soft, malleable types of eraser such as Maped’s dark grey kneadable eraser, Blu or White Tac or a piece of kneaded putty rubber.

   

PENCIL SHARPENERS

Invest in a good quality pencil sharpener for your coloured pencils. Whether it is electric, battery operated or hand cranked, choose one with a spiral metal sharpening core and not the type that just has a revolving pencil sharpener. This latter type quickly becomes blunt and only sharpens to a small conical point. Pencil sharpeners can become clogged with waxy residues, but regularly sharpening a graphite pencil in them helps to keep them clean.      Always sharpen your pencils from the un-named end so that you do not lose the name and reference number of the colour.

   

STORAGE

There are many ways to store pencils, but it is a good idea to have a safe and convenient way to carry your pencils should you wish to work away from home. I use strong zip-up cases that hold the pencils firmly in slots and travel well. Pencil rolls and wooden boxes also provide good protection.      The cheapest and simplest container for your pencils at home or in the studio is a cardboard wine-bottle carrier with six compartments, easily available from the supermarket or off-licence, with a large plastic pot placed in each compartment to contain a separate range of colours: one pot for greens, one for reds, and so on. Easy and organized!

   

BLENDERS AND SOLVENTS

Blender pencils are used for mixing the colours together on the page and for burnishing: that is, pushing the colours together and smoothing them into the grain of the paper to give a paintlike effect. These specialized pencils can also be used for resist work (see

 

  ∆ Useful extra materials include blender pencils, solvents and embossing tools. A handheld magnifier is invaluable, as are a lightbox and a clamp.

       Solvent melts the binder that holds the pigment in all forms of dry media and because it is not affected by any size or sealant in the paper it takes the pigment straight into the paper, in effect staining it. This then provides a good

base for drawing as the solvent does not change the texture of the paper as water can.      There are various types of solvent on the market that can be used with coloured pencil. You can use any substance that will dissolve oil or wax, such as white spirit, but this is not ideal for studio use. There are alcohol-based solvents available that come in felt-tip pen form or in a container. There is also a turpentine substitute called ‘Zest-it’; this is lemon based and less toxic, but bear in mind that it can dissolve masking fluid. You can also buy empty felt-tip pens, which can be filled with a solvent of your choice. Always use solvents in a well-ventilated space.

   

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS

You will need a drawing board, preferably A2 or larger, to work on, propped up at a slight angle.      A magnifier is essential for use both on the plant material and on the drawing to help with the smooth laydown of colour, fine detail and crisp edges. Use either a handheld one or, preferably, a clamp type with a flexible arm that can be attached to the drawing board, leaving both of your hands free.      Other useful extras include Frisk film or sticky-backed plastic, fixative, masking fluid, a scalpel, a sanding block and embossers.      Small hobby clamps with jointed arms are a good way of holding specimens.      A cheap icing turntable or ‘lazy susan’ will allow you to revolve your plant material and view it from every angle.      Feathers are useful for cleaning debris such as broken pencil tips and eraser dust from your work. Use a feather or large soft paintbrush regularly to prevent accidental smudges and marks on the paper.      A lightbox will enable you to trace your layouts more easily onto decent drawing paper or to place additional elements in your composition.

 

  ∆ AMARYLLIS TRIO 29 x 50 cm (11 x 20 in)

   

WORKING ENVIRONMENT

The best place to work is near a north-facing window, with the light coming from the opposite side to the hand that you draw with, so that you are not working in your own shadow. The north light means that you will get a more even light distribution and avoid the constantly changing shadows that strong sunlight can produce.      It is always best to work in natural light. Tungsten light bulbs give a yellow caste, fluorescent lighting flickers and can result in a strobe effect when you are colouring in rapidly, and daylight bulbs give a very cold blue light, all of which make colour matching tricky and frustrating.      You will need a stable surface to work on as you will be applying strong pressure at times. Sit on a comfortable chair with good back support and use a board to rest your paper on, which you can prop up at an angle so that you do

not overstretch your neck muscles. Do not sit for long periods without getting up and stretching your legs.      Place your plant material in front of you at eye level, so that you only have to move your eyes back and forward, thus avoiding too much head movement. Your eye muscles also need stretching, so look up from your work regularly and stare out of the window at the horizon.      Most importantly, make a space that works for you, and preferably one that is not cramped, where you can keep your work and materials out all the time so there is nothing to deter you from working.

   

PROTECTING WORK

Use a piece of similar paper to rest your hand on while working to avoid smudging and to try out colour mixes on. Always cover your drawing completely when not working to protect it from dust and insects. When completed, cover it with acid-free tissue paper or another sheet of paper and store it out of the light in a folder or drawer. If you are framing your work, the extra expense of UV glass to screen out UV light that fades colours is well worth it to ensure the long life of your work. Additionally take care not to hang your work in direct sunlight or strong reflected light. After all, your drawing has taken a lot of time and effort to complete.

  CHAPTER 2

  GETTING TO KNOW YOUR SUBJECT

  AS BOTANICAL ARTISTS we accurately record the growing habit, structure and colour of the particular plant we are drawing. Even if your work is not for a scientific purpose, if it falls into the botanical category then it should be botanically correct. A looser interpretation, even though still fairly accurate, would qualify as a flower painting.      Most of us are drawn to botanical art because we want to capture the beauty of the plant kingdom rather than study it scientifically. We do, however, need to be keen observers of detail, for plants are not random collections of leaves, flowers and buds, but often grow to a quite rigid pattern. We also need to be able to source photographic and scientific descriptions to check that the specimens we are depicting are representative of their species and that our interpretation is correct.      If your painting is for a strictly scientific purpose you may need to include many phases of the plant’s life cycle. This may necessitate taking over a year to complete a piece of work so as to observe it throughout its growing season, or you may need to take some photos for reference. For decorative purposes a more personal interpretation may be appropriate, or you may choose to depict one particular characteristic of the plant. This chapter looks at key points for examining plant structure, recording plant information and preserving plant material.

 

  ∆ AUBERGINES 50 x 30 cm (20 x 12 in)

   

OBSERVING PLANT STRUCTURE

Observation is the key – use your eyes. The most important part of getting to know your subject is looking, so spend as much time as you can just doing that. If you can bring your subject into the studio and place it on a turntable or lazy susan you can study it from every angle. Explore the way the plant grows and is structured, but also try to get a feel for the character of the plant. Is it strong and thrusting, or delicate and floppy, sophisticated, cheeky, aggressive or even sexy? What is the plant saying to you and what aspect of the plant do you want to depict? Decide what story about your plant you want to tell in your painting.      Once you have a feel for the plant’s character, overall shape and growing habit, start to look closely at how it is constructed. Look at the arrangement of the leaves on the stems: are they paired, alternate or do they spiral round the stem? Study the leaf shapes, their margins, structure and markings. Note the pattern of the veins and how they divide from the midrib. Do they go straight to the margin of the leaf or do they divide and join up with another vein before reaching the edge? Once you have observed this on one leaf do not blindly repeat that exact pattern on every other leaf; even on the most rigidly structured plant every individual leaf is different. Remember, too, to look at the backs of the leaves as the structure of the veins is often easier to observe from this side.

 

  ∆ A good way to study leaf structure is to make a pencil rubbing. Place a thin piece of layout paper over the back of a leaf and rub with a soft pencil to see the pattern of the vein structure emerge.

       If you have more than one sample of the plant you can deconstruct the flowers to examine the sexual parts of the plant, count the stamens and really see how the plant works. Look closely at all parts of the plant with a magnifying glass to see if there are any small hairs or markings not so easily visible to the naked eye.

   

SIMPLIFYING THE SHAPES

Often plant structures seem quite complicated and you may find it easier to simplify this by defining the plant through simple geometric shapes and lines in quick sketches before becoming concerned with detail. Stems can be represented by single lines, and flowers become circles, ellipses, cones or cylinders.

 

  ∆ Diagram of Orchid flower simplified into triangle and circle shapes.

   

SETTING UP THE SUBJECT

Wherever possible try to obtain plants growing in pots as they will last longer than cut flowers. Plants will change and move quite rapidly when brought into a warm room, so quickly assess which parts will fade the fastest and draw these first. Usually the leaves and stems will keep fresher for much longer than the buds and flowers. Keep plants and cut flowers away from excessive heat, direct sunlight or draughts to avoid increased transpiration and wilting. If possible collect two specimens, unless they are rare species, and keep one in the fridge or a cool place in case the first one fades.      Pick flowers and fruit at the last possible moment. Flowers should preferably be just opening and are best cut in the morning when their moisture content is at its highest. Place cut flowers immediately in water. When deprived of water for even 30 seconds stems can start to dry out and lose their capacity to draw up water.      Cut the stems diagonally to stop them resting flat on the bottom of the container and cut hardwood stems upwards about 2.5 cm (1 in) to expose the soft inner tissue and assist water uptake. Make sure that no leaves are left on the stems below the waterline as they will quickly decompose. To stop some plants, such as poppies and poinsettias, leaking a milky latex from their stems when cut, either plunge the stems into iced or boiling water for 30 seconds or sear the cut edge with a flame.      Cut flowers keep longer if aspirin, sugar, lemonade, tonic water or flower preservative is added to the water. Renew the water each day and recut the stems about 2.5 cm (1 in) shorter, preferably under water. Misting some flowers can also help to prolong their life. Overnight keep flowers in the fridge or a cool safe place in the garden, either in water, in a plastic box on top of damp tissue or in a polythene bag. ‘Stay fresh’ food bags are excellent for keeping fruit and vegetables.      Position your plant material carefully in a stable glass vase that is weighted at the bottom to prevent it toppling over. Use tissue or Blu Tac in the neck of the vase, or place oasis or pebbles in the water to secure the plant in the position you require. If stems are particularly floppy, such as tulips, you can stabilize them by using florists’ wire.

     Model clamps with universal joints can be purchased quite cheaply from hobby shops and are invaluable. They are capable of holding quite strong branches. You can use small florists’ orchid tubes to keep the stems moist.

 

  ∆ PUSSY WILLOW Salix caprea 26 x 10 cm (10 x 4 in)

 

  ∆ Prevent vigorous buds, such as tulips, from opening too quickly in a warm atmosphere by tying cotton around them.

  TIP Do not hold your plant material in your other hand while you draw – it is impossible to keep still and you could be there for hours and your arm will

drop off! Find another way; be inventive.

 

  ∆ To capture the character of your subject draw a quick, free sketch keeping to simple geometric shapes and single lines and avoiding too much detail at this stage. Always work within a frame.

 

  ∆ Draw the outline of your plant material as a continuous line or contour line. Do not get sidetracked with details; just draw the outline.

   

RECORDING INFORMATION

Once you have studied your plant and are sure of its structure make a series of small thumbnail sketches to capture the character of the plant. Keep the sketches small and free and work from your own instinctive response to the plant to capture its character, movement and rhythm. Always work within a frame even when sketching as this will help you to design the whole picture space and create a more unified and dynamic composition. We will be looking at this aspect in more detail in the chapter on Composition and Style      Do not be afraid to move the plant around; make the plant work for you rather than always just drawing what is in front of you. Try to maintain the botanical truth of the plant.      It is a good idea to keep a small sketchbook to record all your information about each piece of work. Keep together your initial sketches and layouts, measurements of the various parts of the plant such as the diameter of flowers and stems, length of leaves, stems and buds, and any special idiosyncrasies of the plant. Also make notes about the plant’s growing habit and surroundings, plus close-up sketches of any small details such as the stamens, buds, petal markings and root structure, along with some basic colour notes.      This sketchbook information, with any photographs you can take of parts of the plant, will give you good references for your current drawing and for any time in the future when you want to draw the same type of plant again.

   

TONAL STUDIES

Now look at the plant as a series of solid shapes and make some tonal studies. Work out which are the darkest areas of the plant and give them a value on a greyscale between black (darkest) value and white (lightest) value. Then try to establish the areas of highlight and whether these are to be left as white paper if they are very shiny or to be given a slight tonal value if they are softer, hazy highlights. Seeing tonal values is so important, but can be difficult as our eyes are usually overwhelmed by colour. Looking at your plant material through half-closed eyes can sometimes make it easier to see the subtle changes in tonal values. Another way that helps is to shield your plant from light and then re-introduce the light, watching exactly where it falls and where shadows are formed. A black and white photograph of your plant material with the correct directional lighting can be very helpful for recording and gauging tonal values too.      Establishing this range of tonal values helps create contrast in your work and gives depth and form to the subject matter. Once you have evaluated this range then just quickly sketch in the various areas of tone to produce a tonal study of your plant.

   

COLOUR MATCHING

Having observed the structure, shape, size and character of the plant you now need to study the colour of the various parts of the plant. Colour swatches are by far the easiest way of matching all these colours accurately and are invaluable when working in the field.      To make some colour swatches take a strip of the paper you usually work on and fill in small blocks of each colour you possess in the various ranges and makes. Grade each block of colour from the darkest value, or full saturation, to the lightest value and label each one with the colour name and number. Once you have matched your colours make a note of the name and number of the colours used for future reference. Photographs are no good for

colour reference as they rarely reproduce colour accurately, and you will find that computer and printer outputs differ widely too.

 

  ∆ Various colour swatches on Fabriano Classico 5 paper, each colour graded from full saturation to the lightest value.

 

  ∆ Make a tonal study of your plant using simple hatching strokes of varying pressure to depict the range of tonal values from dark to light.

  TIP A useful exercise is to make a tonal study of a plant using a colour not associated with that plant. For instance, draw the whole plant in values of blue, just varying the pressure of the pencil to increase the tonal value.

   

MEASURING

As botanical artists we combine scientific observation with artistic representation and however we choose to interpret our plant material we must be accurate. Botanical paintings are always life size unless otherwise indicated and for strict scientific purposes if you enlarge a part of the plant, for example the stamens, you must note on the painting what the magnification of that part is, such as ‘x 2’ or ‘x 4’ for instance.      Take measurements from the plant using dividers. Always measure from the same distance in front of the plant. Imagine there is a sheet of glass between you and the plant and take all your measurements on that vertical plane; otherwise you will lose the perspective in your drawing. This method of measuring will help you draw foreshortened forms, when leaves or petals point directly towards you and therefore appear shorter than they actually are.

   

FORESHORTENING

To help you understand how much objects can be foreshortened shut one eye and hold up one hand about 25 cm (10 in) from your face, and then place your other hand about another 30 cm (12 in) further away. Place the fingertips of both hands at eye level and note how much smaller the furthest hand

appears – almost half the size of the first hand. Bear this in mind when drawing a large plant: the flowers to the back could be several inches away from the foreground flowers and thus appear a lot smaller.      When drawing, hold a straightedge up against any curved lines in your plant material so that you can see where the fattest part of the curve is and look at the shapes created between the curve and the straightedge. Look at the negative shapes created between and around the flowers, leaves and stems of the plant which are usually left as white paper in botanical art. Assessing these negative shapes as well as the positive shapes of the plant will help you to gauge your drawing more precisely.      Keep your head still and only move your eyes when measuring and laying out your drawing. This will make it much easier to achieve an accurate drawing – the slightest movement of your head will change how you view foreshortened forms as well as the perspective and the highlights of the subject.      Because foreshortened forms, for example a leaf, can appear quite distorted from the norm our brains struggle to make sense of it, but we know it is a leaf so that is what we tend to draw. Try closing your fist and pointing your index finger directly towards you – what do you see? Your finger has been reduced to a misshapen circle with a thin crescent-shaped fingernail, not what you would expect a finger to look like. To draw foreshortened forms accurately you need to look and measure very carefully and draw what you see, not what you think you see.

 

  ∆ This drawing of Cymbidium orchid leaves illustrates foreshortening in several directions.

       Use the following method to help you draw foreshortened leaves that grow in different directions. Measure the linear distance between points A and B on your leaf and mark lightly on your paper. Using a straightedge, gauge the curve of the line of the midrib between points A and B and lightly draw in that line. Then draw in the outside edges as two continuous lines, ignoring at this stage any serrations or indents. Next, join the top of the curve of the midrib from point C to the top of the outside curve of the leaf, point D. Erase the lines of the midrib and the far outside edge where they disappear behind the curve of the leaf (the dotted lines on the diagram below). Finally, add the shadows to the underside of the leaf and to the tip and to one side of the central vein on the upper side of the leaf, leaving the top of the curve as highlight.

 

  ∆ By changing how you join points C and D the leaf can appear to point away from or towards the viewer. Keep the lines simple; only add uneven edges or serrations once the perspective is achieved.

 

  ∆ Not only do I have a ruler in this photo to give me measurements, but also some coins to help me gauge the dimensions.

   

USING PHOTOGRAPHS

It is not always possible to bring a plant into the studio or to draw a plant when it is in flower, so you will need to record as much information as possible from the plant while it is available. Capture the form with quick sketches, making detailed drawings of particular areas such as the centres of

flowers, buds or special markings, and tonal studies. Then take reference photographs of the specific parts of the plant you want to draw from the angle you want to draw them and, if possible, with the light coming from the correct direction.      Random photographs are often difficult to incorporate into your picture and may not contain the essential information you need.      Take a long shot of the whole plant to show the growing habit. Then take close-ups of all the important parts, such as veining on leaves, leaf junctions, stamens and buds, preferably with a macro or super macro facility on your camera. As well as taking measurements from the plant try to include either a ruler or something easily measurable, such as a coin, in the photos to give a useful sense of scale.

  CHAPTER 3

  COMPOSITION & STYLE

  IMAGINATIVE, INTERESTING and dynamic composition can transform a botanical illustration into a masterpiece. It is through composition that you introduce your own personal style into your work. This chapter explains the elements that go towards creating a good composition and the basic principles underlying a successful painting. It also looks at different styles of botanical composition and then outlines some of the pitfalls that you may encounter on your creative journey.      Many works are competent plant portraits, but when we visit an exhibition of botanical art and look around the gallery it is usually the interesting, striking or unusual compositions that catch the eye. Once you have the viewers’ attention you can go on to amaze them with your fine detailed drawing and stimulating use of colour, but you have to attract their attention first. You want them to notice your work from afar and then step nearer to examine it closely.      Most of us start off by finding a plant that excites us and in our eagerness we start work immediately. So we simply place the image in the centre of a sea of white paper without giving any thought to the surrounding spaces and negative shapes we are creating. We have given no consideration to how the eye will move through the picture space, where the main focus of attention will be or even how we are eventually going to frame our work. If this is the way you tend to approach your botanical painting, read on.

 

  ∆ VANDA ORCHID ‘RUBY MOON’ 38 x 30 cm (15 x 12 in)

   

THE PICTURE SPACE

TIP Define your image size and shape before you start your composition. Is your subject best suited to a square, landscape or portrait format?

  Experience has taught me the importance of planning a composition before starting so that I have a clear idea of how the entire finished picture will look. This does not mean that I do not change things as I go along, but it helps to know what I am aiming for.      The picture space is the arena in which you captivate your viewers and make them want to stay looking at your painting rather than moving on elsewhere. Think of this picture space as your stage – you are the director, the producer, the actor and, most importantly, the critic of the performance that takes place in this space. If you start right from the inception of the work to think of the whole finished picture, you are less likely to create awkward negative shapes and jarring juxtapositions.      Spend some time studying other artists’ work that you admire and work out how they have caught and kept your attention. Also ask yourself why some pictures do not work for you. Look at botanical art from the past and present but also mainstream art and define what it is you like or dislike in those pictures. Maybe it is the sense of rhythm, strong colour, bold shapes, or the movement or flow through the picture space that the artist achieves. Some artists compose instinctively, but many of us find that composition needs to be carefully planned. Remember that you are aiming to create a balanced, harmonious and beautiful picture space that viewers of your painting will be

happy to linger in rather than a place that is uncomfortable and jarring so that they move swiftly on.      To start planning your composition you first need to define the picture space by choosing a suitable format and then giving it some structure within which you can work.

   

FORMAT

Study your plant material and assess its character, then decide what aspects of the plant you want to portray and how much or what part of the plant and its life cycle you are going to include in your painting. This will help you choose which format is best suited to convey your image, whether square, portrait (vertical), or landscape (horizontal).      Use small ‘L’ shaped pieces of card to make a viewfinder to help you decide on your format and focus in on the area of the plant you find most interesting. Do not be afraid to experiment and push the boundaries. For instance, just how much of the plant can you leave out before the plant becomes unrecognizable? Give yourself permission to move the plant around to suit your picture rather than be dictated to by what is in front of you. As long as you stay within the scientific truth of the plant you can give your imagination some free rein. Look at other portraits of the same plant and try to find something different and interesting to say in your work.

 

  ∆ SINGLE IRIS FLOWER (square)

 

  ∆ DARK TALL BEARDED IRISES (portrait)

 

  ∆ PURPLE IRISES (landscape)

 

  ∆ STRAWBERRY RUNNER 15 x 43 cm (6 x 17 in)

 

 

PICTORIAL STRUCTURE

TIP Use artistic licence in making the most interesting arrangement of your plant material, but check for botanical accuracy. So, for example, if the leaves are not interesting on one stem of flowers borrow some more interesting or fresher leaves from a neighbouring stem of the same plant.

  Draw your chosen format on your sketch paper and design your composition within that shape. Always work within a drawn frame as this allows you to extend your picture if you need to and focuses your planning within the picture space. If you use the edges of your paper as the frame you may run out of space or your negative spaces may be too large.      Once you have decided on a format you can work out more precisely how the image will lie within this space. A well-composed picture lets the eye move comfortably around the picture space and leaves the viewer feeling satisfied but wanting to see more. Studies have revealed that we usually start viewing a picture at the bottom left and move diagonally up and across the space. So if you plan your design you can lead the viewer comfortably through the picture space to your focal point.

 

  ∆ Draw the image within a frame, leaving space around it to make the image larger should you wish. You can also use the margins for making colour notes and mixing colours.

   

PROPORTION

TIP Look at other works of art and see if you can place where the focal point lies and if it is on or near one of the Golden Section crossover points.

  Early mathematicians discovered a ratio that creates a perfectly balanced proportion. Known as the Divine Proportion or the Golden Section, the ratio is 1 to 1.618 and it occurs in nature everywhere, in the relationship of various parts of the human face and body as well as in plants and animals. Over the centuries architects and artists have incorporated these proportions into their designs and paintings to produce work that is aesthetically pleasing.      In more practical terms as artists we can use these proportions to help us structure our designs by simplifying the ratio to approximately two thirds to one third – the ‘rule of thirds’. Dividing the picture space into thirds both vertically and horizontally and aiming to place the main area of interest on one of these crossover points creates a natural and comfortable focal point.

 

  ∆ The apple is placed on the lower right crossover point as it is heavy and needs to be placed lower down the picture space so the stem and leaves lead down to it from above.

 

  ∆ In this image the tall flower stem has dictated that I place the focal point of the flower on the upper left crossover point with the stem leading up from the bottom picture edge.

   

PERSPECTIVE

In a two-dimensional picture space we are trying to give the impression of a three-dimensional plant in three-dimensional space. The correct use of perspective helps create the perception of depth and reality in a picture.      The basic principle of linear perspective is that the further an object is from you the smaller it becomes and parallel lines come together to disappear to a vanishing point on the horizon. So by drawing flowers that are the same size progressively smaller as they grow further back on a plant you can create a sense of recession. With foreshortening, whereby a leaf or petal pointing towards the viewer rapidy diminishes in size as it recedes, you can really emphasize this sense of perspective. You can also increase the sense of depth in a picture by drawing leaves or stems overlapping as they come towards you. Observe carefully how the shadows fall on stems and leaves and do not crowd or overlap too closely or you will flatten this sense of depth.

 

  ∆ MINIATURE CYMBIDIUM ORCHID 34 x 43 cm (13 x 17 in) This shows clearly how the use of foreshortening in the foreground leaves and the diminished size and softer colours of the flowers on the background flower spike help to give a sense of depth to the picture.

 

  ∆ Shading close to the bottom of the leaf and straight across the stem flattens the stem and gives no impression of space between the leaf and stem.

 

  ∆ Shading around the stem, but still fairly close, gives some distance and gives the impression of a round stem.

 

  ∆ Deeper shading further down the stem creates a larger depth of field.

   

PLANNING THE ELEMENTS

TIP Nothing in your composition should jar or discomfort the viewer. Look at other artists’ work and see how successfully they have incorporated different elements into their pictures and where they have placed their focal point.

  A successful composition brings all the elements of line, shape, tone, colour, texture and mood together in harmony and balance. Composition is all about making choices: choosing one flower over another, selecting what to include and what to leave out, deciding the format and choosing the angle of view.

     Before you get carried away by all the delicious detail of your plant, make some thumbnail sketches from various angles to get movement and spontaneity into your design and work out how best to use the picture space. Initially, break the plant material down into simple geometric shapes at first and ignore all the details. Use circles, cup shapes or ellipses for the flowers and single lines to represent the stems and branches.

 

 

∆ ‘Pink Ginger Flowers’ has strong use of line and pleasing negative shapes.

  LINE The first element to go into a picture is line. In nature there are no lines, just edges or the perception of edges and these can change every time you move your head and look at the plant from a different angle. But as artists we have to choose an angle of view and then delineate that perceived edge as a line in order to capture and define the shape of the plant on the paper surface.      Lines are also needed to divide and separate shapes and to link the forms together. A strong line in one direction can be balanced by the use of line in another direction, as shown in ‘Pink Ginger Flowers’ (left). How you use the lines of the stems and leaves can help the viewer’s eye move easily around the picture space and lead them to the focal point.

 

  ∆ ‘Aubergines’ displays a strong diagonal line.

  SHAPE Obviously shapes are determined by the subject of the painting. But you need to consider how they are arranged and placed to determine the balance from top to bottom and from left to right in the picture. They should also be

interesting and visually pleasing shapes and relate well to each other and to the whole composition. This can be seen in ‘Aubergines’ (left), where I used a strong diagonal stem to lead the eye into the picture and placed the large dominant shape of the dark aubergine on the lower right focal point. To balance this and lead the eye on I placed a smaller aubergine above, reversing the angle, and this leads the eye up to the final small, baby aubergine. You also need to think about the negative shapes as well as the positive to ensure that they, too, are pleasing, as in the ‘Vanda Orchid’ drawing There the shapes between the roots and leaves are pleasing and the line of the extended root leads up to the focal point of the large flower cluster.

  TONE Tonal changes can separate one part of the plant from another and by careful use of contrast you can help accentuate the focal point and even create a mood.      Strong contrast between light and shade can make your picture seem bathed in strong sunlight, and strong deep shadows can accentuate the depth of field.      In ‘Aubergines’ I created contrast and depth by using the strong tones of the fruits in the foreground and eliminating colour completely on the more distant top leaves.

  COLOUR A botanical artist has to accurately represent the colour of the plant that is being drawn, but usually has a choice of plant subject and how the balance of colours is achieved within the picture. By choosing flowers in the same colour range you can create harmony or by using strongly contrasting colours provide more impact. The psychological effects of colour can help you to give energy and impact through the use of punchy reds, oranges and purples or to achieve a calmer, restful picture using softer pinks and light violets. You can use colour to aid recession, with warmer colours such as reds, which tend to come forward, in the foreground and cooler or bluer ones in the

background. So, for example, when shading underneath leaves in the foreground of a picture use a range of warm greys and for background leaves use cold, or bluer, greys.

  TEXTURE Textures can enhance your work and create richness and interest. Observe fine details up close with a magnifying glass. Markings on stems and leaves, fine hairs, tiny veins, velvet bloom and bark all add variety. Beware of creating an overall texture, for example to the surface of a lemon or orange, as this can flatten the picture. Use texture carefully just in the areas where the light is strongest and around the highlight; as the fruit curves away into the shadows reduce the amount of texture to help create depth.

 

  ∆ Texture on lemon peel.

  MOOD Mood can be an important element of your picture. All plants have character and you should strive to capture their characteristics and convey them to your audience. Lines, shapes and colour can all suggest mood. A tall sophisticated plant needs long elegant lines, plenty of space and smooth curves to convey

its nature. You can create a calm, peaceful mood by the use of colour, lift the spirits with bright highlights and light tones and create a darker, more menacing mood by the use of heavy, dark tones.

 

  ∆ DANCING SPRING ONIONS 37 x 25 cm (15 x 10 in) In this simple composition I created a cheerful feel by the use of bright, shiny highlights, strong warm purples and magentas, and curving lines, and drew the roots so that they appeared to dance. Superimposing the coloured onions over the pencil ones creates the effect of recession.

 

  ∆ TOMATOES 42 x 37 cm (17 x 15 in) This traditional-style portrait of a tomato plant gives quite a lot of botanical information about the growth pattern and stages of the plant’s life. Many plant hunters produced drawings in part colour and part black and white as they needed an accurate record of colour and form, yet worked at speed often in inhospitable terrain. For more scientific purposes I would have added the flowers and maybe a cut-through tomato to show the fruit structure and seeds.

   

STYLE

Since the first printed herbals of the fifteenth century botanical illustration has mainly served as an aid to plant recognition with little thought to artistic interpretation. Subsequent plant hunters and explorers took records of plants from the wild to identify and categorize them, so crammed as much information about a plant into each picture as possible, again with little thought to the artistic impression. From about the eighteenth century, however, artists such as Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708–70), Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759–1840), Francis Bauer (1758–1840) and his brother Ferdinand (1760–1826) created pictures of real artistic beauty. This tradition has continued and blossomed, though most botanical paintings nowadays are for decorative rather than scientific purposes.      As you work more and more in this field you will start to develop your own way of expressing yourself and decide on the aspects of plant life you want to depict. Studying other artists’ work will also help you to develop your own individual style. Think of something different to say – try to find a distinctive viewpoint.      We are now going to look at three very different ways of portraying the same plant.

  TRADITIONAL BOTANICAL STYLE The traditional style of botanical illustration owes much to the influence of the herbals and the plant hunters. In this style scientific information is combined with artistic interpretation. If the picture is a scientific commission a lot of information often needs to be included in the picture, possibly all the growing stages from the seed or bulb through to the buds, flowers and fruits, even sometimes including dissections of plant parts. However, more often these days work is for purely decorative purposes and we can, as artists, choose which such elements we include, how much detail we go into and how we lay out the information on the page to achieve a pleasing representation of the plant.

  CONTEMPORARY STYLE In recent years there has been renewed interest in botanical art and, with more and more artists working in this genre, the emphasis has been less on scientific information and recording, and more on artistic interpretation. So artists are becoming more adventurous and, while still maintaining botanical accuracy, they are starting to push the boundaries and create images that are designed to complement the contemporary home.      In this form of botanical illustration the emphasis is more on design and less on just copying from nature. The picture space is used differently, with the image no longer just placed centrally surrounded by white paper. You can look at a certain aspect of the plant or even just one part of a plant and focus on the impact this makes while still including a lot of botanically correct information about the plant. Think small as well as big; you do not have to include everything to make a picture work.

 

  ∆ CONCENTRATED TOMATOES 13 x 11 cm (5 x 4 in) In this contemporary-style picture I show the lovely shapes in a box of mixed tomatoes and the rich colours of various stages of ripening fruits. The varieties are botanically accurate, but I have not included any information about the growing habit, flowers or other details.

  TOWARDS ABSTRACTION This is possibly the future of botanical art and interpretation. Many modern artists are pushing the boundaries even further towards abstraction, influenced by the work of artists such as Rory McEwen (1932–82). Anything is possible and the aim is more about making an interesting or thought-provoking statement. Perhaps you could enlarge part of a plant, such as a petal, seedpod or leaf or, alternatively, see how little of a plant you can include and still make it botanically identifiable.

 

  ∆ TOP TOMATO 11 x 11 cm (4 x 4 in) Abstracting from the whole tomato, I painted the top section of the fruit, concentrating on the strong shape and vibrant colour, but still including the fine detail of hairs on the bracts. The larger part of the picture space is the white paper and I set the image in a 75 x 75 cm (29 x 29 in) deep cut mount to emphasize the minimalism of the tomato.

  DEVELOP YOUR CRITICAL EYE

  Once you have decided on the format, style and elements that you want to to include in your picture, completed your preliminary sketches and worked out your design, stand back from your drawing and look at it with a critical eye. Make sure that there is nothing in the design that will lead the eye straight out of the picture and that there are no awkward junctions of crossing stems, elements such as fruits or petals just touching or unattractive shapes that will distract the viewer’s attention and stop the eye from moving easily around the picture space. Remember that the viewer needs to be able to understand everything in your picture as they will not see the actual plant you are drawing.

  TIPS FOR A BALANCED COMPOSITION • Odd numbers seem to work better in a composition than even numbers – for instance, choose to depict one, three or five flowers or leaves. The reason for this is that the brain always tries to pair things up and once it has achieved this loses interest, so to keep the viewer engaged keep to odd numbers of elements. • If you are taking a leaf or petal out of the edge of the picture space make sure that it is cut off by about a third. If you just cut off the tip it will attract attention away from the focal point as the brain of the viewer tries to work out whether it is a mistake or intentionally planned. • Cut an old mount in half at diagonally opposite corners to make two ‘L’shaped pieces. Use these as a viewfinder to frame up your composition and see if your design will work. • Check that you have left enough space around your chosen image and that the tips of leaves do not line up in parallel to the frame. • Remember, rules are meant to be broken, so you can pretty much please yourself as long as it works! Above all, enjoy creating your composition and experiment – be adventurous.

 

 

  ∆ CLEMATIS 16 x 24 cm (6 x 9 in) DAPHNE In this illustration the marked square effect of four leaves on the left-hand side detracted from the colourful bloom that should be the focus of attention in the picture. The artist skilfully added a fifth leaf to make the picture more balanced. The eye enters the picture space from bottom left and is led to the flower, which now gets the full attention it deserves.

 

  ∆ CHESTNUTS 37 x 28 cm (15 x 11 in) This picture includes a lot of information about the growth of the plant, from sticky bud to shiny conker, in a contemporary style. The cropped leaves create interesting negative spaces.

  CHAPTER 4

  BASIC PENCIL TECHNIQUES

  PENCIL DRAWING was and is my first love, and I believe the ability to draw well is fundamental to most art forms and is the core skill for botanical illustration. You need to be able to describe your plant material in outline and detail, then to be able to give that line drawing form through tonal shading, and pencil is the best medium for practising this skill.      Everything in the world in which we live has three dimensions and as artists we have to convey accurately the illusion of three-dimensional plant material on a two-dimensional surface. In a pencil drawing you are trying to capture not only the size, shape, form and details of the subject but the colour values as well, using only line and tonal values of greys. In order to do this well you must look and look again, and practise, practise, practise.      I believe that we can all draw, and most of us a lot better than we think we can. But what happens with so many of us is that we undermine our confidence by constantly telling ourselves we cannot draw, or we blame the plant for moving and the light for changing or we get intimidated by the large expanse of white paper in front of us and we just give up.      This chapter looks at the basic techniques of line and tonal drawing, and will help you to develop your skills and increase your confidence in your ability to draw form accurately.

 

  ∆ STRING OF GARLIC AND BULB 50 x 30 cm (20 x 12 in) Pencil drawing and coloured pencil over underpainting.

   

LINE DRAWING

TIP It is useful to draw the outline of your plant material as a continual line or contour drawing. Follow the outline of the plant with your eye and try not to look at your paper too much or get sidetracked with details or shading.

  In order to convey the illusion of the plant on the paper you need to show perceived edges, either with a drawn line or by changes in tonal values.      The way we view objects and interpret them through drawing varies from person to person. Some artists naturally draw life size, while others tend to draw smaller or larger than life and so have to measure more carefully to draw the plant material true to life. Although measurements are important for the correct dimensions, do not rely too much on them but try to use your eyes and practise drawing freehand to keep lines smooth and get movement into your drawing. Practise every day, even for just half an hour, and you will see a marked improvement. Draw simple shapes such as ellipses and circles, and draw parallel lines and long gentle curves over and over again. Keep your drawing arm relaxed, move from the shoulder and be careful not to grip your pencil too tightly.

 

  ∆ This line drawing of Chinese Lanterns was made using negative shapes. When trying to draw very intricate, detailed or textured subjects it is sometimes easier to look at and draw the negative shapes as the eye can be confused by all the detail of the plant.

       Think also of the quality of line you produce. Keep to single, clean, light lines and try to avoid sketchy, grainy, heavy or woolly ones. Use a good quality sharp F or HB pencil or a 0.3mm propelling pencil. A propelling pencil gives a clean, clinical line, but a hand-sharpened pencil enables you to create a more sensitive and varied weight of line. Do not press too heavily or you will indent the paper, which makes erasing difficult. If you have a tendency to press heavily, change to a softer pencil. By keeping your initial lines light it is easier to incorporate them into pencil shading later or, if you are completing the drawing in coloured pencil, you may erase your initial pencil lines and restate them in colour.      As you draw, keep your head still and just move your eyes back and forth between the paper and your subject. To achieve a confident, smooth line try not to focus on the point where your pencil touches the paper, but keep your eyes ahead looking towards the ultimate destination of your line. Be aware of the negative space on both sides of the lines you are drawing. Mostly you will concentrate on the positive image you are creating – that is, the plant material – but by being aware of the negative shapes you will increase the accuracy of your drawing.

  TRACING Sometimes it is helpful to do the initial drawing on lightweight cartridge paper or layout paper. This will help you to be less self-conscious as it does not matter if you make mistakes. Once you are happy with the image you can

use tracing paper or transfer paper such as ‘Tracedown’ to transfer the drawing to your good quality, hot-pressed, acid-free, paper.      Another method is to use a brightly lit window or a lightbox to transfer the drawing. The additional benefit of working this way is that if you do make mistakes on the finished piece and have to start again you can just use your tracing and do not have to start the entire drawing from scratch.

   

CONTINUOUS TONE

Form is fundamental when translating three dimensions into two, and is particularly important for creating a botanically accurate representation of a plant. We perceive form when light hits the subject, creating highlights and shadows that give the impression of a solid object. There are many ways of introducing light and shade into your drawing, such as hatching (using quick uni-directional lines), or cross-hatching (using lines in two opposing directions), or smoothing graphite on with your finger or a paper torchon. By far the best way for botanical interpretation, however, is the method of continuous tone.      Continuous tone is a way of laying down pencil with varying pressure, using small, shallow, elliptical strokes to give a smooth gradation from dark to light to illustrate the form of the plant material. It is a technique that needs some practice to achieve, but once mastered it will seem easy. Use a magnifying glass to help you get the shading really smooth with no visible pencil strokes. Hold your pencil at about 45 degrees to the surface of your paper, keep the point very sharp and when you feel the pencil slipping slightly on the surface re-sharpen the point so that you can feel it connect with the grain of the paper. Soon you will be able to achieve a seamless gradation from dark to light simply by changing the pressure as you move across the paper surface.      A simple exercise that will help you to develop the technique is to draw two parallel lines and shade between them from dark to light and then to mid tone to create the impression of a curved stem.

 

  ∆ RAMIRO PEPPERS 38 x 24 cm (15 x 9 in) A continuous tonal drawing using a burnishing technique on the very dark areas.

 

  ∆ CHINESE LANTERN This quick tonal study of a Chinese Lantern uses just tonal values, not lines, to delineate form.

   

TONAL VALUES

TIP To judge tonal values take a photo and convert it to black and white before printing so you just have the tonal values and no colour to confuse. You can also try looking at green leaves through a piece of red acetate. The red neutralizes the green colour so you can more easily perceive the tonal variations.

  Judging tonal values – how dark or light areas are in relation to each other – is often quite difficult. You may find it helpful to shield the plant material from the light with your hands or a piece of card and then watch what happens when you let the light flood back. You can see more easily which areas are bathed in light and which are in shadow. Make sure that you have a good source of light and preferably from the top left if right-handed and top right if left-handed. Avoid a direct overhead light as this will tend to flatten shadows. Another aid is to squint at the subject with half-closed eyes; this excludes the details and you will see strong contrast more clearly.      It is not easy to capture form, line and colour, all with just a limited range of grey tones, from the darkest 9B value, which is a very dark grey, to very light grey 9H. This requires a lot of practice, a lot of looking and a lot of value judgements.      Assess which are the darkest areas of your subject and which grade of pencil to use, then decide which are the lightest areas, usually any highlights, and establish whether these are going to be a light shade of grey or left as white paper.

     Using a greyscale of the grades of pencil will help you work out the range of tones available. available. available. available. available.

  ∆ A GREYSCALE OF TONAL PENCIL VALUES You will find that the laydown of tone in the range from 9B to 4B is very dense and grainy, and it can also appear quite shiny on the paper because of the nature of graphite. If you look at the opposite end of the range you will see that the 4H to 9H pencils get paler and greyer, and are much more difficult to lay down smoothly as they contain a much lower ratio of graphite to waxy binder. Therefore, whenever possible, keep to the mid range of pencil grades.

  DETAIL AND CONTRAST You can achieve both detail and strong contrast in tonal values with a limited selection of mid-range pencils. I use an H pencil for the lightest tones, an F for line drawing, and an HB for all the mid range, moving to B and 2B for darker shades. You can get a wide range of tonal values just from an HB pencil if you use a good make.      Sometimes it is necessary to use very soft pencils, such as 4B to 9B, to get dense blackness, as I have done in the Giant Sugar Pine Cone step-by-step demonstration However, to stop the work looking too shiny and grainy, it is best to burnish afterwards with a harder pencil such as an H or F, pressing quite heavily to smooth the graphite into the grain of the paper. This type of burnishing with a hard pencil over soft pencil helps to fill out the tooth of the

paper and also produces a much more even distribution of tone as illustrated in the Ramiro Peppers drawing

 

  ∆ BURNISHING FOR DEPTH OF TONE In the left and centre boxes a 9B pencil was laid densely (top rectangle) and more lightly (lower one). Then the right and centre boxes were burnished heavily with an H pencil to give an even tone in the middle.

 

  ∆ This apple shows a range of tonal values from white highlight to quite dark shade. All subjects below a light source will exhibit a range of highlights. Try looking at the surface of an undulating leaf.

  HIGHLIGHTS Light falling directly on an object, such as a fruit or leaf, creates a highlighted area. If the surface is very shiny, for example a cherry or an aubergine, then this highlight will be very bright and can be left as white paper on your drawing. If the light source is less bright or the surface is not so shiny, for example on a peach or a plum with bloom on, then the highlight will need to be softened with tone and colour. As light disperses over the object, it creates

areas that are quite light, but not bright highlights, and further away from the highlight slightly darker areas of half tone. The darkest area is usually towards the base of the object where the light does not reach, although some of this area will be slightly lightened by light reflecting off the surface the object is resting on. This is called a reflected or secondary highlight.      As light falls on the undulating surface of a leaf imagine the veins as rivers set in valleys; so as the sunlight falls across the valley one side will be in shade and the opposite side across the river will be bathed in light.

  GIANT SUGAR PINE CONE

 

  PENCILS

DERWENT H, F, HB, 2B, 3B, 4B, 8B

  PAPER FABRIANO 5 HP 300 gsm (140 lb)

  This drawing of a pine cone was built up using line and tonal shading. When attempting to draw complex forms it helps to break them down into more simple geometric shapes. The pine cone is constructed of scales lying one on top of the other in opposing spirals. The spiral growth of the branches, needles and the cone scales of pine trees are arranged in a frequently occurring natural proportional order that relates to the mathematical interpretation of the Golden Section worked out by the twelfth-century Italian mathematician Fibonacci.

 

  ∆ Stage 1 I measured the length of the cone from top to bottom and marked this on the paper, then did likewise for the width of the cone at the widest part. I drew a rough outline using these points as a guide and faintly marked out the spirals of the scales going from top left to bottom right and vice versa. This gave a clear framework within which to start constructing the drawing.

 

  ∆ Stage 2 Starting from top right as I am left-handed (or top left if you are righthanded), I worked down the cone and systematically observed and drew all the scales. This way of working meant I could clearly see everything I had already drawn as I worked. I used a piece of paper to rest my drawing hand

on. This stopped sweat or oil from being deposited on the paper from my hand and also helped me to avoid smudging my work.      When plotting out these intricate structures it is sometimes helpful to mark with a small piece of Blu Tac or tape which part of the plant you are currently working on so your eye can easily return to the place where you are working after you glance away to draw. Also place your plant material so that you do not have to move your head, only your eyes, otherwise dimensions, angles and perspectives will change and you will find it impossible to draw such a complex form accurately.

 

  ∆ Stage 3 Once the outline drawing was completed I started to work out the tonal values. In this case there were no areas of pure white and the darkest areas

were very dark, so everything on the cone would be a value on the greyscale between the darkest and the lightest areas. I decided the darkest areas would need to be applied with an 8B pencil to achieve the depth of shading required and for the lightest areas I could use an H pencil. I again started work at the top right side of the cone, and worked on the individual scales using elliptical shading to achieve a smooth tone on the mid to light tones. Then I carefully observed and added all the wrinkles, splits and rough textures of the scales with more directional strokes, using a combination of HB, F and B pencils for a variety of tones. For the extremely dark areas between the scales I used the 8B pencil.

 

  ∆ GIANT SUGAR PINE CONE Pinus lambertiana 37 x 22 cm (15 x 9 in)

  ∆ Final Stage The dark areas of 8B shading appeared very grainy as the pencil was so soft, so I burnished over these areas with a harder F pencil, which pushed the graphite into the grain of the paper more evenly and smoothed out the tone. I gave some overall tone to the darker side of the pine cone to give it form. Some areas that caught the light were not light enough, so I lifted off some of the pencil with a soft, clean ball of kneadable eraser. Finally, I neatened the edges and cleaned away any smudges.

   

ERASER TECHNIQUES

If you need to lighten any areas of tone this can easily be achieved by using a piece of kneadable rubber, softened putty rubber, or Blu Tac kneaded into a ball and lightly applied to the surface of the drawing. Keep cleaning the rubber by re-kneading as you work. You can also use this technique to lighten a whole, large area of a drawing if the tone has been applied too unevenly.      If you knead your soft eraser into a point you can easily lift off small highlights, veins or even small hairs, although this is much easier to do if you have a battery-operated eraser and an eraser shield. These can also be used to add texture to an area of your drawing or to remove unwanted lines or smudges.

   

RESIST AND TEXTURE

The technique of incising as a means of resist works particularly well with pencil. By pressing into the paper surface with a fine engraving tool or any slightly blunted point you can create texture or hair effects, such as for seedheads. Another method for resist is to use a much harder pencil such as a 9H under any of the B pencils to give slightly less distinct marks.

 

  ∆ DEAD LEAF Pencil 25 x 15 cm (10 x 6 in)

 

  ∆ HOLLYHOCK SEEDPODS Detail showing resist-work hairs on the seedpods and stem executed with a fine embossing tool.

 

  ∆ Examples of resist work for texture.

       Wax blender pencils that work very well as a resist under coloured pencil do the opposite with pencil and seem to attract much more graphite to produce a dense black mark. This can be useful for some textures and effects; for example, if you need to draw dark variegations on leaves or stems.

   

UNDERPAINTING PLUS GRAPHITE

Underpainting is an excellent way to introduce colour and still have the joy of making a full graphite pencil drawing. It is suited to subjects that do not have very strong colours, as the solvent dilutes the colour, and to those that are strongly three dimensional or will need a lot of shading, as the pencil is a dark grey and produces a strong shading effect.      It is important when using this technique that no pigment is left undissolved on the surface of the paper as this could act as a resist or be picked up by the pencil and show up as a dark mark.

 

  ∆ MIXED NUTS 6 x 26 cm (2 x 10 in) The different textures of the nuts were achieved using graphite pencil over an underpainting of colour applied using conté pastel and solvent.

       Start by drawing a faint pencil outline, with no detail or shading at this stage as this will all dissolve when the solvent is applied. Choose a range of colours based on just the hues of your subject and not the tonal values, which will be represented later by the pencil shading applied on top of the colour. Mask off areas of highlights, or any areas you want to save as white, with masking fluid and then lay down a light layer of the colours you have selected – if you use too much it will be hard to dissolve, but if you have too little it

will be difficult to spread. Blend the colour in with a felt-tip solvent pen or decant a small amount of solvent into a receptacle and apply using a pointed cotton bud. Use ellipses to ensure that the colour blends in smoothly. As you move from one colour area to another clean the tip of your blender pen on a spare sheet of paper or use a clean cotton bud to avoid muddying your colours.      Once you are happy with the colours use a clean cotton pad with some solvent on and gently wipe off any spare pigment left on the surface of the paper. Take care, as this can be a slightly messy technique, and do not drench the paper with the solvent. Continue with clean cotton pads until no more pigment can be removed from the paper. Leave it to dry for a few minutes and then remove any masking fluid.      During this process you may lose some of your original drawing, so this will need to be re-drawn. At this stage you can start to do a normal, tonal pencil drawing showing all the shading, texture and detail of the subject, the difference being that you are drawing on a tinted background.

  CHAPTER 5

  COLOURED PENCIL TECHNIQUES

  THE ACTUAL TECHNIQUES of applying coloured pencil are simple. There are just three basic ones to master – layering, burnishing and underpainting – and they can be used alone or in combination. This chapter describes how to put them into practice and introduces further special effects possible with resist work, embossing and blending.      Layering is the technique I use mostly. You cannot mix pencil colours in a palette, as you would with paint, so colour is mixed directly onto the paper by layering different hues and tones one upon another until you arrive at the desired colour. Coloured pencil is a translucent medium so, as the colours are added, each new layer changes the colour of the previous ones. By layering several colours you can achieve true, rich hues.      The second technique is burnishing, which simply involves pressing very heavily on the paper, and has the effect of blending or mixing together the layers of coloured pencil. By pressing very heavily over layered colours with either a light coloured pencil or a clear blender pencil you are able both to mix them and push the colour into the grain of the paper to achieve a smooth, paintlike finish to your work.      The third technique of underpainting involves applying a quick wash of colour over the paper before layering; it is very useful for covering large areas with colour and saves time.

 

  ∆ SPANISH OLIVES 25 x 15 cm (10 x 6 in)

   

LAYERING

  Coloured-pencil artists rarely use only one colour to draw, even if it is the perfect match. They prefer to layer colours on top of each other to produce depth and vibrancy. As coloured pencils produce translucent colour any imperfections in base layers will be picked up, and sometimes almost magnified, by the layers applied on top. It is important therefore that every layer is applied as smoothly and evenly as possible. Apply the colours with a sharp point, laying down the colour using small ellipses.

  Method: Layering colours 1 Choose your main colour, or body colour, which will be a hue nearest to the colour of your subject. Use colour swatches to help you to get a close match.

  2 Chose two or more shades of colour: darker and lighter, warmer and colder than the main colour. Even if your main colour is a perfect match still add at least two other colours to your mix or your work will appear flat.

  3 Test out the colours you have chosen on some spare paper. Layer them up from dark to light, varying the pressure and see if that gives a true, accurate and rich colour. As you gain confidence and learn how the pencils work together in combination, then you can add more colours to your mix. If you are working on a good quality paper you can easily layer ten or more colours.

  4 Select a colour for the shading, usually a grey; this should be a tone or two darker than the darkest hue. Grey will darken the tonal value of your colour in areas of shade, without changing the hue, and thus create depth to your work. With some colours this effect can be achieved by using complementary colours (see

 

5 Sharpen all your chosen pencils so that you can begin to apply your colours. Then, starting with the grey you have chosen, and using ellipses, apply this only to areas that are in shadow and where you want to make the tonal value darker. Apply more pressure in the darker areas and gradually decrease the pressure as you move into the lighter areas.

  6 Layer the colours on top of the greys, starting with the darkest hue and working progressively into the areas of white paper. Continue to vary the pressure in the same way, so that where you pressed heavily with the grey you also press heavily with your colours. As you move onto the white paper press less heavily until finally the lightest colour will cover all the area. Only areas of strong highlights on your subject should be left as white paper.

 

  BURNISHING

  Burnishing involves pressing very heavily over the layers of colour to pull them together and push the pigment into the grain of the paper. This can be done using one of the clear blender pencils or the lightest coloured pencil in your mix.      The Splender blender by Lyra blends smoothly and easily with a slight tint and is good if you have many layers and do not want to change the colour much. The Prismacolor clear blender is harder and waxier, but completely clear, and is useful if you have not used many layers or are burnishing white or light coloured flowers. If you use this one when you have built up many layers, however, it tends to push the colour off the paper as it is quite hard. You can burnish at any stage, but if you are using blender pencils it is best to leave the process until last. In effect you are putting a layer of wax or binder over your work, making it more difficult to add further colours on top. Some manufacturers produce separate pencils for blending and burnishing, but essentially they serve the same purpose.      You can also burnish with the lightest colour in your mix – that is, the last colour in your layers – and this will make your colour lighter. Burnishing with white or a light colour, such as very pale blue or light violet, gives a soft misty effect. This can be useful for the backs of leaves or for iris and tulip leaves that have a bloom to them.

  Method: Burnishing 1 Apply the burnishing colour or blender pencil using ellipses, but pressing very heavily, almost to the extent that the point crumbles on the pencil. Make sure that the grain of the paper is filled and the colour looks smooth with a paintlike quality. If your work still looks grainy then you are either not

pressing heavily enough or you need to apply more pigment – that is, add more colour – and then burnish.

  2 Once you have burnished with a blender pencil it is more difficult to apply additional colour due to the build-up of wax. However, you can apply a layer of workable fixative, such as Lascaux archival fixative, making sure you have cleaned the surrounding area of paper first. Once this has dried you can apply more colour, but you will not be able to blend with the colours underneath as they are then fixed.

 

  ∆ Burnishing with a Lyra Splender blender pencil. Press heavily using an elliptical stroke until the colours blend and the surface appears smooth.

 

  ∆ Spraying with a workable fixative. First mask the area off with a paper overlay to avoid getting fixative on the rest of the drawing.

  BEARDED IRIS

 

  PENCILS

 

  PAPER FABRIANO 5 HP 300 gsm (140 lb)

  EXTRAS REMBRANDT Splender blender pencil PRISMACOLOR 1077 Colorless blender pencil PERGAMANO Fine embossing tool

  This step-by-step illustration of a Bearded Iris takes you through the stages of layering and burnishing and shows how these techniques can help you to achieve a paintlike effect to your work. Some artists might wish to finish working at Stage 4 or 5 but I like to take my work a stage further, so that the viewer tends to see the plant rather than taking too much notice of the coloured-pencil medium used to describe it.

 

  ∆ Stage 1 I took dimensions from the plant, marked them up on the paper, and then drew a clean pencil outline. (For reproduction purposes these lines are darker than I would normally apply.) If you have a lightbox you can trace the outline onto your quality paper using the main colour for each area to avoid pencil lines showing in your work. I faintly marked out the top line of the beard of the iris with pencil dots.

 

  ∆ Stage 2 To make sure the beard would stand out on the finished drawing I used a combination of the fine embossing tool and a sharp white pencil to incise the hairs in the direction of growth, keeping within the dotted pencil guideline and pressing very heavily.      Having decided on my colour mixes and tested them out with some greys for depth, I started to lay down the greys. For the very dark buds I used FC099 Black Soft, then FC274 Warm Grey V for the leaf and FC272 Warm Grey III for the lighter bracts at the base of the flower and buds. I varied the pressure and added more grey on the leaf where the petal cast a shadow. The flower itself required very little grey as I wanted to keep the colours pure, so I just put a hint of FC273 Warm Grey IV along the edges of the petals where the folds were deep.

  TIP Practise incising lines with an embossing tool and a sharp white pencil on a separate piece of paper to ensure you apply the right amount of pressure. If you press too lightly the marks will not show up.

  TIP If your incised white spots fail to appear because you have not applied enough pressure, do not panic – you can easily lift them off afterwards using low-tack sticky-backed plastic.

 

  ∆ Stage 3 I worked on the buds first as they would open quickly in a warm room and began by layering the darkest red-violet, using PC1078 Black Cherry followed by PC1009 Dahlia Purple on the lighter areas. I left some white paper for the areas of highlight as the buds were quite shiny.      On the two lower petals, or falls, of the iris I decided to use L120 Violet for more shading over the grey, but before doing so I incised some white spots using FC101 White underneath the beard on the two lower petals. For this process I held the pencil at right angles to the paper, pressing hard and turning the point. When I added the Violet over the top, the white resisted the violet, giving white spots. To make the background folds of the lower petals recede I darkened them by adding FC194 Red Violet.      For the shading on the top petals I used FC160 Manganese Violet and in the darker folds again applied FC194 Red Violet.      On the leaf I started layering FC172 Earth Green, laying down the colour in the direction of the leaf markings with long sweeping strokes rather than ellipses, and I varied the pressure to give the striped effect typical of iris leaves. I also used a light touch of Earth Green on the stems and spathe.      I added a touch of FC179 Bistre to the creases in the bracts and I drew in the veins on the bracts with FC182 Brown Ochre, carefully following the folds. Then I put a tint of FC168 Earth Green Yellowish to mark out the patterns at the neck of the falls and on the base of the two buds.

 

 

  ∆ Detail from Stage 4 showing incised hairs on the beard of the iris and the resist patterns at the base of the falls.

  ∆ Stage 4 On the lighter top petals I layered some FC194 Red Violet in the deeper folds and then layered FC136 Purple Violet over, pressing heavily in the shadows and using less pressure over the rest of the petals.

     I layered FC134 Crimson over the Violet on the lower falls of the iris, pressing very lightly over the lightest part and more heavily in the deeper shadows of the frills. Over the green patterned area at the neck of the falls I layered FC135 Light Red-Violet: the green would be absorbed by the Light Red-Violet and would change the colour to a browner purple. I used the darker FC194 Red Violet just below the beard and around the bottom edge of the top petals to give extra depth.      On the buds I layered PC931 Dark Purple over the Black Cherry, brightening and warming the colour. PC1084 Ginger Root was the perfect match for the papery bracts layered over FC179 Bistre and FC182 Brown Ochre, but some areas of white paper still remained.      To the leaf I added FC174 Chrome Green Opaque to strengthen the contrast, particularly in the shaded area under the fall. Then I layered FC168 Earth Green Yellowish over the stems and swollen bases to the buds and flowers.

 

  ∆ Detail from Stage 5 showing how varying the pressure creates the impression of the folds of the petal. Notice also the sheen on the background dark bud.

  ∆ Stage 5 The top petals were then burnished using FC129 Pink Madder Lake to give a slightly pinker tinge to the colour, and the lower falls were burnished with FC119 Light Magenta, pressing very heavily in the folds to pull all the colours together and easing off slightly into the lighter areas.

     On the buds I added FC170 May Green (Apple Green) over the Earth Green Yellowish to brighten the green and blended it into the edge of the purples using the Lyra Splender blender pencil. I added FC184 Dark Naples Ochre over the tops of the bud basal swellings and to the flower bracts. Finally, I layered FC170 May Green over the leaf, varying the pressure to keep the striated effect.

 

  ∆ Final Stage I checked the shadows and deepened them slightly in places to give more contrast, using the original greys from Stage 2 with some of the plant colour over the top. Highlights on the buds were softened with L002 Silver Grey and I then burnished the leaf and stems with PC1089 Pale Sage.      As I did not want to change the colour of the petals too much I burnished them heavily with the Prismacolor 1077 Colorless blender. Then I added the veins to the petals, with FC134 Crimson on the top petals and FC136 Purple Violet on the falls, using a very sharp point and pressing quite heavily. I ensured the veins followed the curves of the petals, which helps to increase the three-dimensional effect.      These final touches gave the picture a much more painterly effect, smoothing and blending the colours and softening the highlights.

 

  ∆ BEARDED IRIS Iris germanica 19 x 16 cm (7 x 6 in)

    TIP

UNDERPAINTING

Always try out the solvent with the colour on a separate piece of paper first as colours can change when solvent is applied. Some colours change quite violently, such as Prismacolor 931 Dark Purple, which becomes a bright pink.

  The technique of underpainting can be carried out in a variety of ways to achieve different effects. It can be used to cover large areas of white paper quickly with a layer of colour, making it less hard work to layer colours on top. Underpainting can also be used to achieve interesting resist effects such as textures, hairs and veins, as illustrated in Chapter 7.      There are several methods of underpainting. The simplest is to apply a watercolour wash. However, water reacts with the size and changes the feel of the paper, giving the surface a crispness that is not always suitable for layering dry coloured pencil.      You can also apply undercolour with Faber-Castell brush pens or Prismacolor felt tips. This method gives a much stronger, fully saturated colour, so you need to take care and exactly match the felt-tip colour with the coloured pencils you are using, otherwise the underpainting will show through any coloured pencil layered on top. Matching colours is easy to do with Faber-Castell and Prismacolor because they are colour coded to match across all their ranges, but you may find this difficult with other makes.      My preferred method of underpainting is to use coloured pencil or pastel pencil with a solvent applied using a cotton bud or a solvent felt-tip pen. All dry mediums, including oil and wax-based coloured pencils, pastel pencils, conté pastels, oil pastels and even children’s wax crayons, can be blended using a solvent. The solvents melt the binder holding the pigment and take the pigment directly into the paper without changing the surface of the paper. This stains the paper while diluting the colour, and produces an even wash of a paler colour.      For all of these methods first use masking fluid to mask off any areas you need to keep white for highlights, stamens or different colours. Apply the underpainting colour and then remove the masking fluid. Then layer your drawing colours and burnish as described

     The following illustrations show two different methods of underpainting on red peppers.

 

  ∆ Method 1: Using felt-tip pen I used a PC924 Crimson Red marker pen. The felt tips produce a strong, fully saturated, colour and leave a hard edge that can show through the final drawing, so I put only a small amount on and left larger areas of highlights. (These pens are indelible, so use them carefully.)

 

  ∆ Method 2: Using coloured pencil and solvent I used a coloured pencil, PC924 Crimson Red, to lay down the colour and then blended it with an alcohol-based solvent pen. I laid the colour down quickly and not too heavily right up to the masking fluid and nearly up to the pencil outlines, leaving a couple of millimetres before the edge. This makes it easier to blend the colour accurately up to the pencil lines without going over them.      Then, starting from the top, I applied the blender pen with little elliptical strokes to smooth out the colour. Using the finer tip of the blender pen I carefully took the pigment up to the edges, making sure not to smudge the pencil lines. I used the broader nib for the rest of the blending.

  RED PEPPER TRIO

 

  PENCILS

 

  PAPER FABRIANO 5 HP 300 gsm (140 lb)

  EXTRAS PRISMACOLOR 924 Crimson Red marker pen REMBRANDT Splender blender pencil

  Pebeo drawing gum

  I chose the first method of underpainting for this step-by-step demonstration as I think the stronger colour of the marker pen more accurately suits the vibrant colour of the peppers. I wanted to capture the robust, rather muscular form of these glossy seedpods as well as their bright hue and shiny highlights. The strong, saturated colour achieved with the marker pen method is ideal for so fiery a subject.

 

  ∆ Stage 1 When using solvents with colour for underpainting it is a good idea to keep to a simple outline drawing as the solvents dissolve graphite pencil and any detail will probably get lost when blending. Always work in a well-ventilated space when using solvents. I used masking fluid to cover any areas of paper I wanted to keep white for the highlights on the peppers and then left it for a few minutes to dry thoroughly. I prefer Pebeo drawing gum as it has a strong blue-grey colour that shows up easily (some masking fluids are a light cream and do not show up well). It is also soft and therefore easy to remove without damaging the paper surface. I applied the masking fluid using pointed cotton buds, which could then be thrown away.

  TIP Always leave larger areas of white than you think you need, so that you have space to soften the edges of the highlights. Remember when using solvents you cannot rub out or get back to the true white of the paper after you have blended, so it is safer to leave more rather than regret it later.

 

  ∆ Stage 2

I applied colour with the PC924 Crimson Red marker pen. Once this was dry (a matter of seconds), I removed the masking fluid. Dried fluid should peel off quite easily and you can help it on its way by rubbing with clean fingers, some Blu Tac or a putty rubber, or even by using a battery-operated eraser.

  TIP Do not leave masking fluid on too long as, after a day or two, it can sometimes bond with the paper and become very difficult to remove.

 

  ∆ Stage 3 I started to shade the peppers from right to left (being left-handed) to give them form. I did not use greys here as I wanted to keep the colours as vibrant as possible, so I started with a touch of PC1078 Black Cherry for the darkest areas and then continued most of the shading with FC194 Red Violet and FC133 Magenta. As always when layering, I varied the pressure of the coloured pencils, pressing more heavily in the darkest areas. Then I began to layer the colours from dark to light, starting with PC925 Crimson Lake and then the main colour PC924 Crimson Red, more or less covering everywhere apart from the highlights.      I layered the stems from dark to light, starting with FC274 Warm Grey V to give them form and then applied FC173 Olive Green Yellowish and FC168 Earth Green Yellowish.

 

  ∆ RED PEPPER TRIO Capsicum frutescens 32 x 22 cm (13 x 9 in)

  ∆ Final Stage I completed the peppers with some brighter reds – FC219 Deep Scarlet Red, FC118 Scarlet Red and PC923 Scarlet Lake – to make the colours zing. Then I burnished heavily with the Lyra Splender blender pencil to smooth and blend the layers of colour together. I added softer, secondary highlights using PC938 White pencil, particularly along some of the edges of the peppers to simulate reflections. Then I lightened and burnished the stems using FC170 May Green (Apple Green). I tidied the edges using a very sharp pencil of the colour used, with the aid of a magnifying glass, for really crisp and clean lines.

  CHAPTER 6

  COLOUR

  AS WELL AS DEFINING the size, form and detail of the species or cultivar you are drawing, it is also necessary to accurately gauge the colours. In botanical painting, while there is room for some artistic licence with the design and arrangement of the plant material, you must stay true to the plant’s natural growing habit and colour.      This chapter looks at ways of matching colours, mixing them and giving colours depth. It shows you how to create realistic greens, the most important colour for botanical artists, and methods of giving form and depth to white or light-coloured flowers without making them dark and heavy.      As a species human beings are not, apparently, very good at recognizing colours. We can cope with the main groups or spectrum colours – red, blue, green, yellow, orange, violet – but we are poor at identifying smaller colour differences. How often have you bought an item thinking it matched something you already had, only to find when you returned home that it was nothing like the shade you were thinking of? The Pantone colour system used by designers has over 2000 colours, which gives you some idea of just how many variables there are. The ability to recognize specific nuances of colour and your skill in depicting these accurately will improve dramatically as you practise identifying and matching shades and get to know how your coloured pencils mix with one another.

 

  ∆ ONIONS 26 x 11 cm (10 x 4 in)

   

COLOUR TERMS

Colour theory and its use as applied when using paints is rather different with coloured pencils, and there are several reasons for this.      First, coloured-pencil shades are already mixed by the manufacturers and tend not to retain traditional, pure formulas, such as the cadmiums or cobalts that are used in paints and pastels, so they do not behave in the same way as paint. Second, manufacturers have given different names to similar colours and the same name to very different colours, and there is no definitive standard to which one can work. Third, although secondary colours such as green can be made by painstakingly layering blues and yellows, it is labour intensive and the end result is often not as convincing as using a combination of ready-mixed greens. Finally, coloured pencil is semi-translucent, so overlaid colours do not mix in the same way as paints. This means that you have to take great care in choosing colours, particularly when using complementary colours. For example, with paint you can simply add red to give depth to green, but with coloured pencil unless you use just the lightest touch the red will not be fully absorbed and your green leaf will end up as red tinted.      Before looking at using colour with coloured pencils in more detail, let us look at some of the accepted terms used when talking about colour.

  HUE The hue is the actual colour of the subject, such as red, magenta, green, and so on.

 

VALUE OR TONAL VALUE The value or tonal value of a colour refers to its relative lightness or darkness; for instance, is it a dark red or a light red?

  SATURATION OR CHROMA The saturation or chroma of a colour describes its intensity. Colours of the spectrum (rainbow colours) – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet – are all considered fully saturated colours.      We also use the word ‘saturated’ with coloured pencil to indicate that the grain of the paper has been fully impregnated with colour and no white paper is showing through.

  PRIMARY COLOURS Red, blue and yellow are termed the three primary colours, so called because these colours cannot be made by mixing any other colours.

  SECONDARY COLOURS Secondary colours are made by mixing together two primary colours. Red and yellow make orange, yellow and blue produce green, and blue and red give violet.

  COMPLEMENTARY COLOURS When a primary colour is placed next to a secondary colour mixed from the remaining two primaries, the two colours are said to be ‘complementary’; for instance, the complementary of red is green, mixed from yellow and blue. Complementary colours enhance each other, so the red will make the green seem brighter and more intense. Additionally the shadow of an object will also contain its complementary colour; for example, the shadow of a green apple will contain some red.

 

  ∆ Yellow over red (top) makes a brighter orange than red over yellow (bottom). It is thus safer to layer from dark to light.

 

  ∆ These Scotch Bonnet Chillies display a range of warm colours from yellow-gold through shades of orange to scarlet and crimson.

  COLOUR TEMPERATURE Colours are also described as warm or cool. Warm colours tend to be reds and yellows, although some reds are cooler than others, while blues are considered to be cool. Warm colours tend to appear to come towards us and cool colours recede. So for shadows on a plant I would use warm greys for the foreground and middle distance and cold greys for the background flowers and leaves.

   

NAMING OF COLOURS

Colour pigments come from three sources. First there are organic pigments, those made from vegetable or animal dyes such as indigo and madder or cochineal. Then there are the inorganic or mineral pigments such as the ochres, umbers and siennas. Last, there are synthetic versions of these natural colours plus many new additions made chemically. In fact manufacturers are regularly creating new colours and giving them new names.      One of the major causes of confusion when using coloured pencils is the variation in the naming of colours between the different manufacturers. Sometimes you will find the same name used for quite different shades or, conversely, you will see similar colours that have entirely different names. Then, as if to confuse the coloured-pencil artist further, manufacturers change the names of existing colours and issue the pencils with a new name. So, for example, throughout this book I have been using Faber-Castell 174 Chrome Green Opaque in many of my green mixes, but you may have bought this same colour and number a few years ago when it was called Cedar Green. The pencils are the same colour, but they have been renamed by the manufacturer. The names may change but the number has remained the same.

 

  ∆ The translucency of coloured pencil means that the use of complementary colours for shading can be difficult as the stronger colour in the mix shows through the lighter colour and is not absorbed.

 

  TIP Remember to test out colour combinations on a separate sheet of paper before applying to your finished work.

 

  ∆ GRASS GREENS

Five very different ‘grass greens’, none of which bear much resemblance to a real blade of grass (below).

 

  ∆ ‘TRUE’ FABER-CASTELL GREENS With just these seven greens it is possible to make a great variety of greens simply by varying the combinations and the pressure when applying them. Into these mixes you can add other colours such as greys to add value to the green and give depth, and touches of reds, purples, yellows and blues to create an infinite variety of shades.

   

GREEN

Green is the most important colour for the botanical artist, but matching greens can sometimes be quite difficult and frustrating.      A word of warning: some makes of pencils have several greens with names that sound ideal for the botanical artist, such as Sap Green, Leaf Green, Grass Green and Juniper Green, but all of these should be treated with caution. These colours can often change their hue when mixed with other colours and appear quite unnatural.      Some artists mix their greens using yellows and blues in a painterly way, but this can be very time consuming. I tend to use a selection of greens from the Faber-Castell Polychromos range that will always stay true and in combination can produce most greens accurately. These are: FC170 May Green (Apple Green), FC168 Earth Green Yellowish, FC174 Chrome Green Opaque, FC173 Olive Green Yellowish, FC278 Chrome Oxide Green, FC172 Earth Green and FC268 Green Gold.      To add even more variation to your greens there are now some very useful new colours in the Prismacolor range, such as PC1089 Pale Sage and PC1098 Artichoke.

 

  ∆ USEFUL PRISMACOLOR GREENS Pale Sage and Limepeel are very useful light greens.

   

COLOUR MIXING

Unlike artists who use watercolour or oils, coloured-pencil artists mix their colours on the paper and not in the palette. As described the method of doing this is to layer one colour over another until you arrive at the colour you require. But there are many variables in this mixing process and the end result can be changed not only by the order in which you layer the colours and the pressure you use to apply the colour, but also by the various makes and types of pencil and paper.      As there are so many variables in mixing coloured-pencil colours it is impossible to make any hard and fast rules other than to suggest you try out

your mixes first on a separate piece of the same type of paper you are working on until you are happy with the hue and saturation level achieved. When you have done this make a note for future reference of the colours used and the order in which you applied them.      The order of application can be important as a light colour can have less impact under a darker colour than on top. One of the reasons I advise layering from dark to light wherever possible is that light colours, which tend to have less pigment and more binder, often resist darker colours laid over them. So, for instance, if you wanted to blend an orange using red and yellow, I would advocate layering the red first and then the yellow. If the yellow is layered first and the colour is not applied smoothly the overlaying red will not blend with it and the uneven marks of the yellow will show through. Even if the yellow is applied smoothly, the red is unlikely to sit smoothly on top of the yellow and can appear streaky.

 

  ∆ CONCENTRATED SCOTCH BONNET CHILLIES 13 x 11 cm (5 x 4 in)

 

  ∆ For the large apple, the red was applied with textured strokes, then burnished with the lighter green. The dark red marks were overlaid on top.

  IVY LEAF

 

  PENCILS

 

  PAPER FABRIANO 5 HP 300 gsm (140 lb)

  EXTRAS Sharp HB or F graphite pencil REMBRANDT Splender blender pencil

  Cotton buds Fine embossing tool

  This step-by-step demonstration of a shiny, variegated, ivy leaf shows how to add depth and richness to different greens by layering them over a range of greys. It is important to get the value of the grey right: too light and it will not affect the green, but too dark and the green will appear dull and grey. The highlights are left as white paper. It is better to leave more rather than less white as more colour can be added but you cannot retrieve the white of the paper as easily.

 

  ∆ Stage 1 I started by measuring the central vein of the leaf and marked the top and bottom on the paper, then drew a clear outline with a sharp graphite pencil. I marked the main veins very lightly in pencil, observing exactly how they divided and subdivided and where and how they met the leaf margins. (Sometimes you can see the structure of a leaf more clearly on the reverse of the leaf.) Then, beside the faint pencil marks, I drew in the veins using FC103 Ivory. Ensuring that the point was sharp, I pressed quite heavily as this line would define the veins and act as a resist to the colours layered on top. Additional fine veins were added using a fine embossing tool to incise the lines. These would show up once the grey had been added later.

 

  ∆ Stage 2 I gave form to the leaf by shading in strong shadow with warm greys. For the darkest green I needed a grey at least a tone or two darker and I decided on FC274 Warm Grey V. For the lighter green I used FC273 Warm Grey IV. Shadows in the lighter cream areas around the edge required only light pressure with FC271 Warm Grey II, keeping the shading very smooth as any unevenness would be accentuated by the ivory to be layered on top. I varied the pressure as I applied the colour, pressing more heavily for very dark areas and less heavily in the paler areas. I used small shallow ellipses to apply the grey. Any areas of highlight I left white. The fine incised veins began to show and could be shaded along one side.

 

  ∆ Stage 3 Start with the darkest green of the leaf; in this case, I used FC278 Chrome Oxide Green, pressing more heavily where the grey tone was darkest and less heavily over the lighter grey and slightly into the white areas. Next, on top of the Chrome Oxide Green, I layered some FC174 Chrome Green Opaque, again layering more heavily in the darker areas and less heavily in the lighter ones and into the white. Finally, I added some FC172 Earth Green to the leaf margins.

 

  ∆ IVY LEAF 12 x 8 cm (5 x 3 in)

  ∆ Final Stage I added FC103 Ivory along the edges, making sure that the Warm Grey II was totally absorbed. I applied just a tint of FC168 Earth Green Yellowish on top of the ivory veins to make them slightly greener. Then I burnished using the blender pencil, pressing very heavily with little ellipses to smooth the colour into the grain of the paper and give a more painterly effect. This made the colour slightly paler, so I reemphasized the shadows by adding more dark grey and dark green to the darkest areas of the leaf.

  TIP Always use a mix of colours to achieve your final colour as this will add depth to your picture, and vary the pressure from dark to light over the grey to create more contrast in the painting.

   

VIOLETS – RED OR BLUE?

In nature there are very few true blue flowers, such as the gentian and mecanopsis poppy, but there is a wealth of blue violet, violet and red violet flowers. These shades of blue through to red violet are often quite difficult to gauge accurately and one of the reasons is that as blue violet fades it loses some of its blue colour and appears more red. A flower picked freshly in the morning will often fade quite quickly to a more red violet by afternoon. I find the easiest way to deal with this is to choose a range of violets, blue and reds and mimic nature by incorporating both hues into my mixes.

 

  ∆ ROMAN HYACINTHS Hyacinthus orientalis 48 x 31 cm (19 x 12 in)

  Roman Hyacinths are reproduced by kind permission of The Southern Bulb Company of Texas, USA.

   

VERY DARK COLOURS

The darkest colours we encounter in nature are the deep, almost black, purples on fruits such as blackberries, black cherries, aubergines, plums, black grapes, blackcurrants, and flowers such as irises. Unfortunately for the coloured-pencil artist these colours are limited in most ranges of pencils with the exception of the Prismacolor Premier range, which has a number of lovely colours.

 

  ADDING BLACK Such purples are rich, strong colours, but are very dark, and I find the darkest greys such as FC275 Warm Grey VI or FC175 Dark Sepia are not really effective at deepening these hues and can tend to deaden them, so it is necessary to use black to make any impact. I prefer to use FC099 Black Soft, which is not quite as harsh as black. This pencil is no longer sold in the full sets, but can be obtained as a single colour from some stockists.      Care also needs to be taken when lightening these colours as lighter colours applied on top of PC931Dark Purple, for example, will pull out the bright magenta in the colour and you may end up with a garish pink that you do not want. PC996 Black Grape is a bluer purple and lighter colours applied

over this will emphasize the blueness, so take extra care when lightening these dark colours and test them first.

 

  ∆ BABY AUBERGINES 13 x 11 cm (5 x 4 in) For the shading on these shiny aubergines I used FC099 Black Soft applied lightly and left the white of the paper to indicate the characteristic sheen.

   

WHITES AND YELLOWS

How do you shade white and yellow flowers to give them form without ending up with a grey flower?      White and yellow flowers are often quite defined, sculptural shapes – think of daffodils and lilies, for example – and therefore need quite strong shading to create the form and depth needed. This is particularly tricky with coloured pencil as light colours, such as yellows and creams, are very translucent and tend to accentuate any shading used. Yellow flowers can be given depth using either a very soft layer of FC172 Earth Green or PC1089 Pale Sage if they have a slightly greenish hue. If the flowers lean more towards an orange or peachy hue, FC139 Light Violet works well. This colour is no longer sold in the sets of Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils, but it can sometimes be obtained as a single colour. If you use grey to shade, make sure it is a very light grey.      Whichever colour you use for the shading needs to be applied with an extremely sharp point, very softly and evenly, as these lighter, translucent yellows and creams will accentuate imperfections in the shading.

  WHITE FLOWERS With white flowers it is important that the paper you are using is truly white. There are some papers called ‘extra white’ that are still very creamy, but because white pencil also looks creamy it will not show up on creamcoloured paper. By using a brilliant white paper you can leave the white of the paper for the main body colour and highlighted areas, and use white

pencil for the slightly darker parts of the flower and to burnish on top of the shading. Also try out different makes of white coloured pencils as they can vary and give you more shades of white to use.      Wherever possible, place white or light coloured flowers against the leaves to make them stand out. This is not always possible when you are faithfully drawing the true growing habit of the plant as some flowers, such as Anemone Japonica and the Arum Lilies, have long flower stems that carry the flowers way above the leaves.

 

  ∆ BABY ‘BETH’ PEARS 13 x 11 cm (5 x 4 in) For the shading on these light creamy, yellow pears I used FC172 Earth Green, which is a lovely grey green and does not dull the colour of the pears too much.

  TIP Take care to remove stray pencil lines when drawing light coloured flowers as the pencil lines can become trapped under the lighter colours and are then difficult to remove.

  ARUM LILY

 

  PENCILS

 

  PAPER FABRIANO 5 HP 300 gsm (140 lb)

  EXTRAS 0.3mm F propelling pencil PRISMACOLOR 1077 Colorless blender pencil

  Flowers such as Arum Lilies pose a problem for the botanical artist because their lovely white flowers rise far above their rich green leaves, so you cannot position the flowers against the leaves to make them show up. How do you make the white flowers stand out on white paper not only when seen up close but also when viewed from across the room? The stages in this drawing show you how to approach the problem.

 

  ∆ Stage 1 I drew a clean, faint outline in pencil. (For purposes of reproduction I made the outline much bolder than usual, otherwise it would not have printed clearly.) Then I lifted off as much surplus graphite as possible using a kneadable rubber or low-tac adhesive, so that only the very faintest of outlines remained as a guide.      Using a sharp FC103 Ivory pencil I applied some texture to the central spadix, pressing heavily so that this would resist the darker yellow to be layered on top. I then shaded the left side of the spadix with FC139 Light Violet. I also applied some FC103 Ivory to the light veins in the lower green part of the spathe beside my pencil guidelines. There was no need to erase the

pencil lines as these would be incorporated later as shading into the darker greens.

 

  ∆ Stage 2 With a very sharp FC230 Cold Grey I, I applied shading smoothly to the upper, white part of the spathe where the edges curl under and on the underside, texturing carefully where necessary to indicate any undulations and unevenness on the surface of the spathe.      The lower green part of the spathe and the curly tip needed to be shaded with a darker grey such as FC233 Cold Grey IV. I used cold greys throughout this spathe as it was the further back of the two stems in the finished picture. (The foreground spathe would be shaded with warm greys.) On the base of

the flower and stem I then started to layer the greens from dark to light with a linear stroke, using FC174 Chrome Green Opaque, followed by FC168 Earth Green Yellowish and PC1005 Limepeel.      I applied FC184 Ochre to the spadix over the incised ivory, pressing more heavily on the side shaded with the FC139 Light Violet.

 

  ∆ ARUM LILY Zantedeschia aethiopica 53 x 29 cm (21 x 11 in)

  ∆ Final Stage Next I burnished heavily over the light grey shading on the white part of the flower with FC101 White, extending the burnishing into the white areas of the paper, but still leaving quite large areas of the paper without any white coloured pencil, for the lightest part of the flower. I then burnished over the greens on the base of the spathe with FC103 Ivory to soften the colours. Then, to smooth any uneven texture, I burnished any areas that were still grainy with the Prismacolor clear blender pencil. Finally, as the white flowers were drawn against a white background, it was necessary to outline them using a 0.3mm propelling pencil with an F lead, so that they would be visible from across a room.

  CHAPTER 7

  SMALL DETAILS

  SMALL DETAILS can often guarantee the success of a picture. They hold the viewer’s eye with added interest and showcase the fine talent of the artist. They may be time consuming to do, as with fine hairs on stems or roots, but can be easily executed and the final result will really impress.      This chapter shows you how you can create shiny highlights, soft lowlights and bloom on fruit and leaves. It also looks at ways of handling hairs, stamens, thorns, roots and tendrils and how to create a variety of different textures. In Chapter 4 I explained how to achieve veins using an eraser and we shall now look at several other methods of achieving effective veins on leaves, plus how to draw realistic water droplets on petals.      Observation is the key to depicting fine details with success. You need to examine the plant material very closely with a magnifying glass to see exactly how and in which direction any hairs or thorns grow on stems and leaves. By carefully dissecting spare plant material you can observe the structure of flowers and their reproductive organs, and count the stamens and note how they are constructed. You can unwind tendrils to find out how they behave and how and where they attach to the plant, and clean and unravel roots to look at their structure.      We can all see the shiny red flesh of the strawberry and observe the small pips, but few observe the tiny hair that often extends from the base of each pip. Adding such small details to your work can make all the difference.

 

  ∆ PRICKLY PEAR Opuntia ficus indica 25 x 15 cm (10 x 6 in)

  Prickly Pear are reproduced by kind permission of the Royal Horticultural Society Lindley Library.

   

HIGHLIGHTS

The surface of a shiny fruit, vegetable or leaf acts like a mirror, and light that strikes it is reflected back to the viewer as a highlight. The correct placement of highlights can really help to give depth and form to your work, making it sparkle and come alive. Whether the light source is a window, door or lamp this light will be reflected on the surface.      When drawing smooth, shiny subjects such as aubergines or peppers the strong highlights can be represented by the white of the paper as little or no colour is reflected in them. With less shiny subjects such as plums or grapes the highlighted areas can be softened with a blender pencil using an elliptical stroke to gently bring in some of the surrounding body colour.      Fruits that are multi-faceted, such as blackberries and raspberries, need to be carefully observed as not every drupelet will have a highlight. Drupelets on the shaded side of the fruit will only have lowlights since they receive no direct light. The position of the highlights on the rest of the fruit will change depending on where the drupelet is placed on the curved surface of the whole fruit. A common mistake is to place all the highlights in the same place on each drupelet, which will flatten the appearance of the whole fruit.

 

  ∆ Reflections on the surface of these very shiny aubergines follow the curved surface of the fruits and help to create the feeling of roundness.

       Similarly, on clusters of small fruits such as blackcurrants, redcurrants or olives the position of the highlights will change according to how near or far each fruit is from the light source.      Try to place your subject so that you do not have to move your head when drawing, but just your eyes, as even a slight movement will change the position and shape of the highlights. If you are in a room with several windows or overhead lights all of these will be reflected in the subject. Do not include all these highlights as it will break up the surface of the fruit too much and you could end up with a very patchy effect. Light your subject carefully from one side, excluding the light from the opposite side using two sheets of card taped together or an open book. If you still have too many highlights use your judgement and leave some out, making sure you still retain the main one.

   

LOWLIGHTS

Lowlights or secondary highlights are those produced indirectly as light bounces off a surrounding surface or a neighbouring fruit. These usually occur on the opposite side from the main highlights and are much less intense. So if the primary light souce is coming from the top right, the reflected highlights will tend to be bottom left.      You can create effective lowlights by adding white over the colours applied for the body of the fruit. If you want just a little reflected light, use a harder white pencil such as FC101 White, but if you wish a stronger reflection use a very soft white such as PC938 White. Another way to achieve a softer, more muted, reflected light is to apply less body colour and soften it with a blender pencil.

 

  ∆ RED ONIONS 26 x 11 cm (10 x 4 in) This drawing looking down on a pile of red onions illustrates bright white highlights on the shiny surface of the very fresh purple skin of the onions, softer more muted highlghts on the older browny-red skin and much softer reflected highlights on the shaded side and bottoms of some onions.

  DANCING CHERRIES

 

  PENCILS

 

  PAPER

  FABRIANO 5 HP 300 gsm (140 lb)

  EXTRAS

  REMBRANDT Splender blender pencil

  This step-by-step painting will show you how to deal with highlights and lowlights on the very shiny surface of these cherries and how the positioning of the highlights varies on each cherry as the fruits dance across the page. Also you can see quite clearly how the mirror effect works, since my head and shoulders are reflected on the surface of each cherry.

 

 

∆ Stage 1 I drew the outline with a single clean line and then lightly marked in areas I proposed to leave white for highlights. I marked out considerably larger areas than the actual size as the edges of the highlights would later be softened by gently letting the pencil pick up the texture of the paper around them. If you do not leave enough white paper there is a danger that the highlights will be lost.

 

  ∆ Stage 2 As these cherries were very dark in colour or hue, undertones of greys would not give enough depth so this is one of the rare occasions when I decided to use black, or preferably FC099 Black Soft, to put in the shadows and the dark reflections, including my own reflection. I varied the pressure from dark to light as I worked and only used black in the areas where I wanted the dark cherry colours to be even darker.

 

  ∆ Stage 3 A colour that is perfect for this subject is the appropriately named PC1078 Black Cherry – so I used this colour over the black shading to absorb it, pressing quite heavily and then easing off the pressure as I edged into the whiter surrounds. I kept varying the pressure to avoid losing the shading and flattening the colour.      I started to add FC194 Red-Violet to the right-hand cherry to soften and smooth over the Black Cherry, which can be quite grainy. The sharp point of the Red-Violet pushed the colour into the grain of the paper and smoothed it out. I also used this colour to sharpen up the edges; Prismacolor pencils are so soft that crisp edges are more difficult to achieve and the point will often break off, spoiling the line.

 

  ∆ Stage 4 To give depth and richness to the cherries I added FC194 Red-Violet and FC142 Madder to the middle and left-hand cherries and FC133 Magenta and Madder to the cherry on the right. With these lighter colours I also varied the pressure, using more pressure over the darker areas. I softened the edges of the highlights by gently shading into them with a very sharp FC142 Madder pencil, the lightest colour in the mix. I also broke up the highlights slightly by putting in very light reflections to make them less harsh and create more interest.

 

  ∆ DANCING CHERRIES 18 x 38 cm (7 x 15 in)

  ∆ Final Stage I added the softer reflected lowlights around the bottoms and sides of the cherries using the Lyra Splender blender pencil and some FC101 White to give a more muted light. Finally, I burnished with the Splender to pull everything together and to further soften around the edges of the highlights.

 

  TIP Take care when drawing very dark subjects as many darker pencil colours, such as PC996 Black Grape or FC263 Caput Mortuum Violet, can absorb light, so look rather dull. They are useful for some dense, dark subjects, such as plums or damsons, or the velvety petals of a streptocarpus or pansy, but not so good for very shiny bright subjects like these cherries.

  WATER DROPLET ON A LEAF

 

  PENCILS

 

  PAPER

  FABRIANO 5 HP 300 gsm (140 lb)

  Colour pencil is ideal for fine detail and in this demonstration you can see how much information can be included in a very confined space. You are drawing not only the reflections and highlights on the water droplet, but also the dark surface of the leaf on which the droplet sits. The surface of the leaf is slightly magnified by the curve of the surface of the water droplet, which acts like a magnifying lens. Since the droplets are raised above the surface of the leaf they also cast a shadow.

  TIP In order to convey all this information for fine detail it is vital to work with a pin-sharp point on your pencils at all times. It is also essential to use a magnifying glass on your work to see exactly what you are doing.

 

  ∆ Stage 1 I drew in the leaf outline and then marked in the veins strongly using FC103 Ivory. Then I lightly pencilled in the outline of the water droplet and, after studying the leaf closely with a magnifying glass, I shaded in the shadows using FC274 Warm Grey V, saving the reflected highlights as white paper. You can see the windows of my studio reflected along the right side of the water droplet. Since the light was coming from the top right, the mass of the

droplet casts a shadow on the leaf to the bottom left, which I indicated by again using FC274 Warm Grey V.

 

  ∆ Stage 2 I layered the colours on the leaf using FC194 Red-Violet, FC193 Burnt Carmine, FC174 Chrome Green Opaque, FC168 Earth Green Yellowish and FC170 May Green (Apple Green). Then I strengthened the colours of the water droplet and emphasized the leaf veins within the droplet to create a

magnified effect. Finally, I deepened the shadow at bottom left using PC1078 Black Cherry and put in a softer reflected lowlight on the left side of the droplet with FC101 White.

   

HAIRS

Many plants have hairs. Some plants, such as Stachis or ‘Lamb’s Ears’, are covered with soft, downy hairs and others, such as Chinese Lanterns or tomato stems and bracts, have areas of small hairs that can hardly be seen with the naked eye. Plants such as poppies or sunflowers have much more obvious wiry hairs. Often the hairs are white, which can make them difficult to translate onto white paper, but sometimes they are quite strongly coloured, as on this Slipper Orchid (right).      The effect of hairs can be achieved in several ways. You can emboss or stipple with a fine embossing or engraving tool, and then colour over the embossed marks, which will resist the colour and emerge as white hairs, or you can draw the hairs with a fine pointed coloured pencil or a very sharp, fine propelling pencil. Another way is to lift off larger hairs by lightly laying some low-tac sticky-backed plastic over the drawing and using a fine point to lift out the colour. With this method you will need to redefine the edges of the hairs with colour.

 

  ∆ I stippled and embossed the fine hairs of these pussy willows and applied FC274 Warm Grey V, PC1084 Ginger Root, FC103 Ivory and FC101 White over the top. To increase the hairy effect I added some fine pencil lines round the outside.

 

  ∆ The tiny hairs on this Slipper Orchid were achieved using a mixture of very sharp FC194 Red-Violet and PC1078 Black Cherry. The latter would not hold a point for long, but I found that by rubbing the sharp point on a rough piece of paper I could get a sharp edge that lasted a bit longer. Even so, I still had to re-sharpen after every four or five hairs.

 

  ∆ White hairs on stems can be achieved by stippling down the centre of the stem with a fine embossing tool for the hairs coming towards the viewer. Then emboss longer lines out towards the sides of the stem. Layer the greens and the hairs are revealed. For the hairs along the sides, underline the lower edge with a 0.3mm F propelling pencil to create the illusion of shadow on a white hair.

  HAIRS ON A SUNFLOWER BUD

 

  PENCILS

 

  PAPER

  FABRIANO 5 HP 300 gsm (140 lb)

  EXTRAS

  REMBRANDT Splender blender pencil

  HB or F pencil

  0.3mm HB propelling pencil Fine embossing tool

  FRISK Sticky-backed plastic

  This sunflower bud is covered with fine white hairs and the simple embossing technique can be used here to great effect to create the impression of a very hairy surface. Where the bracts overlap, the embossed hairs show quite clearly against the colour of the neighbouring bract, but along the edges of the stems and bracts I have underlined each hair with a fine pencil to create the illusion of white hairs. This method is a bit time consuming, but looks very effective.

 

  ∆ Stage 1 I drew an outline with a sharp F pencil and then, pressing fairly heavily with the fine embossing tool, incised some random hairs over the body of the stem, along the overlapping lines of the bracts and along the outside edges of the bracts, stem and leaf. I embossed rows of hairs along the raised edges of the veins down the centres of the bracts and along the left side of the basal ridges on the stem under the lower bracts.

 

  ∆ Stage 2 The bracts, stem and leaves were shaded with FC273 Warm Grey IV, taking care to keep the shading to the dark side of the hairs on the veins of the bracts and the ridges on the stem. Then I began to shade the petals with a very light touch of FC139 Light Violet, varying the pressure as always. This action starts to reveal the incised lines quite clearly if they are indented sufficiently.

 

  ∆ Stage 3 Starting to build up the colours, I layered FC173 Olive Green Yellowish over the grey, varying the pressure to mimic the grey and absorb it. I deliberately did not apply much colour to the bottom part of the stem so that the grain of the paper would help to create the hairy effect. I then layered FC172 Earth

Green over the underside of the leaf and bracts. Moving to the petals, I layered FC183 Light Yellow Ochre over the Light Violet shadows.

 

  ∆ Final Stage I layered FC170 May Green (Apple Green) over the bracts, stem and leaf on top of the FC173 Olive Green Yellowish and FC172 Earth Green and then FC185 Naples Yellow and FC107 Cadmium Yellow were layered over the petals. I burnished with FC103 Ivory over the back of the leaf and the lighter parts of the stem and bracts. The white hairs growing along the edge of the stems were added by using the 0.3mm propelling pencil to underline the indentation on the body of the stem and continuing that line outside the edge to create a shadow effect underneath to give the illusion of a white hair.

  TIP When using the embossing technique it is important to test it out first on a similar piece of paper to make sure you are using the right amount of pressure. Too much pressure and the hairs will look too robust; too little and they will not show up at all.

   

VEINS

You cannot avoid having to draw leaves in botanical painting – most plants have them and most leaves have visible veins. Coloured pencil is an excellent medium for creating veins and there are several methods you can use. The most labour-intensive way is to carefully draw round the veins, layer the body colour of the leaf and then lightly colour the veins in afterwards. You can also use one of the techniques below – resist, incising, lifting off or erasing – or employ a combination of any or all of these techniques to good effect.

 

  ∆ On long strappy leaves such as irises the colours are applied following the line of the leaves. There are no marked veins, just ridges that are indicated using shading, then burnished to give the effect of the bloom that is so typical of iris leaves.

 

  ∆ These arum lily leaves presented a large expanse of green. I painstakingly drew in all the veins first, pressing quite heavily, and saved areas of white paper for the highlights with masking fluid. I then used the underpainting method for the base colour.

  RESIST Light colours act as a resist, so you can draw the veins in a light colour such as FC103 Ivory and as long as you press heavily enough the veins will show

through any colour applied on top whether layered dry or applied with a solvent. You can also use a clear blender pencil for veins; the Prismacolor Colorless blender pencil is especially good for resist work, although not as easy to see as a FC103 Ivory coloured pencil. If you use pencil guidelines do the resist work beside the guidelines and not over the top or you will trap the lines.

  INCISING You can incise veins using one of the embossing tools that are available in varying widths. The incised lines will resist the colour laid down on top, but this method will leave quite stark white veins.

  LIFTING OFF If you have forgotten to put in the veins you can always lift them off after layering the colour by using low-tac sticky-backed plastic and a fine point such as a pencil or embossing tool.

  ERASING As a last resort you can erase colour in fine lines, to represent veins, using a battery-operated eraser and a metal eraser shield.

 

  ∆ BUNCH OF CARROTS 46 x 26 cm (18 x 10 in) A carrot is an example of a tap root. It is a single long root with small hairs that extract moisture from deep beneath the soil.

   

ROOTS

Roots are another area that a lot of botanical artists find difficult to depict, often drawing a wonderful flower or vegetable and then fudging the roots. The quantity and fineness of roots can be overwhelming, but if you study them carefully and then work systematically they can be easily achieved and, when drawn to perfection, can amaze the viewer.      First of all look at the plant to establish the type of root system it has: are they tap roots, aerial roots or fibrous roots?

 

  ∆ The aerial roots of the Vanda orchid enable the plant to attach itself (often to another plant, when it is termed epiphytic) and extract moisture from the surrounding atmosphere.

  NARCISSUS BULB ROOTS

 

  PENCILS

 

  PAPER

  FABRIANO 5 HP 300 gsm (140 lb)

  EXTRAS H or HB 0.3mm propelling pencil

  Many plants, such as this Narcissus tazetta ‘Grand Primo’, have a mass of fibrous roots that can be intimidating to draw. This step-by-step shows you how these can be easily and effectively achieved by systematically plotting them a few at a time using a very sharp pencil. Careful shading and colouring give the roots depth and substance but, as with all fine details, examine first with a magnifying glass to assess growing habit, coloration, variation in width and any characteristics.

 

  ∆ Stage 1 I started by plotting the nearest root as a single fine line representing the side of the root nearest the light source. Then I drew in the same side of the next six roots. Every time the line of one root met another line I left a root’s width on either side of the crossover point. This would avoid the need to rub out overlapping lines at a later stage when I might accidently erase more than needed.

 

  ∆ Stage 2 I drew in the line on the shaded side of the root, pressing more heavily. Whenever the line met a crossover point I filled in the gap on the other side. A single drawn line marked any roots going over the body of the bulb.

 

  ∆ After drawing in the second, darker side of each root, close the gap. I am left-handed, so if you are right-handed you will need to draw the darker side of the root on the right side.

 

  ∆ Stage 3 It was now easy to fill in more roots behind these first ones. At the crossover points I shaded the roots below with a light grey, FC271 Warm Grey II. Roots over the body of the bulb were drawn in with FC103 Ivory or FC101 White, pressing very heavily to create a resist when the body colour for the bulb would be applied later.

 

  ∆ Final Stage I applied colour to the roots: FC103 Ivory or FC101 White on the foreground roots, and PC1084 Ginger Root, PC1068 French Grey 10%, PC1069 French Grey 20%, PC1070 French Grey 30% or PC1083 Putty Beige on the background roots. This created a sense of depth. Finally, I filled in the background with more roots and coloured them with FC232 Cold Grey III overlaid with L732 Olive Brown 10% or L801 Buff Titanium to add even more depth. Shadows between the roots on the base of the bulb were deepened with a fine H or HB 0.3mm propelling pencil.

  TENDRILS

 

 

PENCILS

 

  PAPER

  FABRIANO 5 HP 300 gsm (140 lb)

  EXTRAS

  REMBRANDT Splender blender pencil

 

There are many different types of tendrils and careful observation is necessary, especially of the tips of the tendrils, which may have suckers or hooks. Also look to see from what part of the plant they emerge. Mostly they come from the leaf nodes (the joint between the leaf and stem), but some leaves have tendrils extending from their tips, such as the beautiful Glory Lily Gloriosa superba ‘Rothschildiana’.

 

 

∆ Stage I I carefully observed and drew the right side of the tendril. Then I added the left side parallel to the first line, and rubbed out my original line where another line crossed behind. If you are right-handed draw the left side first.

 

  ∆ Stage 2

Using FC274 Warm Grey V, I shaded along the tendril on the side away from the light and where the tendril curves behind itself creating a shadow. Where the tendril curls in a tight spiral towards the bottom I shaded on the underside of each coil and also down the left side of the whole coil. This helped to create the three-dimensional effect of the tendril curling around itself.

 

  ∆ Stage 3

I layered the colours using FC173 Olive Green Yellowish and then FC170 May Green (Apple Green), leaving some areas of highlight down the centre of the tendril to make it appear round. I burnished with the Lyra Splender blender pencil to smooth the colour and soften the highlighted areas. Then I very carefully overdrew my original pencil lines on the shaded side of the tendril to increase the contrast and clarity of this detail.

   

STAMENS

There are a large number of different types of stamens and, as I am an artist rather than a botanist, I will refer you to Michael Hickey and Clive King’s excellent book ‘The Cambridge Illustrated Glossary of Botanical Terms’ for specific examples. Suffice it to say that observation is all important; you need to count the stamens, observe their layout, the size and orientation of the anther, and the placement and shape of the style and stigma. Drawing all this detail in a small space requires careful planning, very sharp points on your pencils and the use of a magnifying glass over your drawing. Light-coloured stamens can be incised with a light colour first such as FC101 White or 103 Ivory and then the colours of the petals can be layered in around them. Others may need to be drawn in pencil first with a very light touch and clean line to avoid confusion.

 

  ∆ These Amaryllis stamens have large, ivory-coloured, dorsifixed anthers on long pink filaments that curve upwards. It was vital to get the perspective of the curving filaments correct in relation to the age and angle of the flower. The style and stigma is also longer in the older flower.

 

  ∆ This large Camellia flower has numerous light ivory stamens and it was necessary to define them with light pencil shading to separate them from one another. The style and stigma can be seen, but is not very prominent.

   

THORNS, SPINES AND PRICKLES

There is no special technique for drawing thorns, but it is again necessary to really look at how and where they grow on the plant and not just draw them in at random. Rose thorns are often quite large and curved, so you need to observe the direction of the curve, and some varieties such as Rosa rugosa show a combination of large thorns and small prickles. Some plants, such as Berberis, have thorns that grow at the base of the leaf nodes.

 

  ∆ I drew the long, thin side spines of this Prickly Pear with a fine propelling pencil, then tinted them. For the spines on the flesh of the cacti I used FC103 Ivory as a resist, then coloured around them before sharpening the outlines. After shading them around the base, I left a highlight to create a hollowed

effect. I drew the tufts of fine prickles that grow in a spiral pattern over the surface aided by a magnifying glass.

   

TEXTURE

Texture can be an important means of identification with some plants; for example the scaly undersurface of some rhododendron leaves or the velvety texture of a streptocarpus flower. Observe with a magnifying glass to see what is causing the texture – very fine hairs, wrinkles on the surface, indentations, or scars perhaps. Do not be afraid to experiment on a separate sheet of paper. Try embossing, stippling, overlaying contrasting colours or wax pencil resist until you achieve the required effect.

 

  ∆ Two textures are shown here. The smooth surface of the corn kernels was heavily shaded with FC099 Black Soft, and then layered with purple-red colours. Each kernel was burnished and the highlights were softened with

white. I created the fibrous texture of the bracts by drawing the fine fibrous lines in pencil over an ivory-ginger underpainting base.

  American Corn are reproduced by kind permission of the Royal Horticultural Society Lindley Library.

 

  ∆ PARASOL TRIO Lepiota procera 59 x 39 cm (23 x 15 in)

  ∆ The soil and mycelium at the base of these parasol mushrooms was achieved by incising the root-like strands and grass with white and ivory pencils, clear wax blender and embossing tools. I overlaid darks, browns and greys, sharpening the definition with a fine propelling pencil. For the mushroom stems I used a colourless blender as a resist and overpainted the colour.

  Parasol Trio are reproduced by kind permission of the Royal Horticultural Society Lindley Library.

   

BLOOM

The effect of bloom is one of the easiest to achieve, as you can simply mimic with coloured pencils the process that happens in nature as you layer the colours. Shade your fruit, then layer the chosen colours and burnish if required. Then apply the bloom on top of the layered colours using a very light colour such as a soft white, light grey or very pale blue. The best makes of pencil to use for this are Prismacolor Premier or Caran d’Ache Luminance as they are very soft and creamy and will sit on top of other layers better.      Test this effect out first on a separate sheet of paper, as white or light colours layered over some darker purples, such as PC931 Dark Purple, can create a rather lurid pink. In which case, if you need the PC931 Dark Purple in your colour mix, place it under another dark purple such as FC194 RedViolet to avoid this happening.

 

  ∆ The deep shadows were applied, and then shading on the foreground plums. The dark purples were layered, moving into FC193 Burnt Carmine and finally FC184 Dark Naples Ochre for the lighter orangey-yellows. I applied bloom patches using a light cool grey and white to achieve the scuffed look.

 

  ∆ The purple grapes were drawn using FC275 Warm Grey VI for the shadows and then layered with dark purple-red pencils. The bloom was layered on heavily with white. For the green grapes I used FC272 Warm Grey III for shading, layered the colour and again used white for the bloom. The colour of the red-green grapes was prduced by adding FC193 Burnt Carmine, turning the green to pinky-brown.

 

  ∆ These artichoke bracts were shaded, then layered with a touch of FC194 Red-Violet, building up the green using directional strokes with FC172 Earth Green, FC174 Chrome Green Opaque and FC170 May Green (Apple Green). They were burnished very heavily with ivory and white to give a soft bloom.

  CHAPTER 8

  FINISHING TOUCHES

  SO, YOU HAVE studied your plant material, sketched, measured and planned your composition, worked out your colour combinations, and layered and burnished your work to complete the plant portrait. It is now time to look at the finished work without the plant present, assess the painting and add those finishing touches.      Look at your work with a critical eye and see if the composition works as a whole, whether you need to add anything to give it balance and harmony, whether the contrasts are strong enough, and the shadows are deep enough to give a three-dimensional feel to your work. Have you achieved what you set out to do? Try to see your work as others will, remembering that they have not seen your particular plant subject. This chapter looks at how to sharpen edges, and how to polish and clean the work for a professional-looking finish. Some notes on signing, framing and presenting your work to the public follow, and how to preserve your work for posterity.      Coloured pencil is increasingly appreciated as a medium for botanical art and is accepted in the UK by societies such as The Royal Horticultural Society and The Society of Botanical Artists, plus the UK Coloured Pencil Society, and by botanical art collectors. In the USA it is extremely popular and recognized by the American Society of Botanical Art and the Colored Pencil Society of America.

 

  ∆ SPINY ARTICHOKE Cynara cardunculus 30 x 21 cm (12 x 8 in)

   

SHARPENING EDGES

Of all the techniques for finishing work well and adding that professional touch, sharpening the edges for a clean look is the most important. Even when you apply colour with care you can forget to attend to the edges of the painting, and if you apply colour too quickly or with a blunt pencil it is all too easy for them to become woolly and blurred.      Look at your work through a magnifying glass to help you to see areas that need attention. Use the same colour as the body colour or, if you have used many colours in the mix, use the predominant colour and make sure that the coloured pencil is sharpened to a fine point. Using a magnifying glass, apply the point from the inside of the drawn image to the outer edge in a clean crisp line that you can then blend into the rest of the colour. Make sure you rest your hand on a clean piece of paper to avoid smudging your finished work.

 

  ∆ Use a magnifying glass and a very sharp pencil to help you achieve really crisp, clean edges. Draw from inside the image.

   

POLISHING THE SURFACE

Once the edges have been sharpened, you have finished the drawing and completed all burnishing, hold the work up to the light at an angle; you will notice the directional waxy marks left on the surface from the many layers of colour applied. These blemishes can look messy, but the problem is easily remedied by lightly polishing the surface of the work with a clean cotton bud, moving it across the surface using ellipses. In effect this action polishes the

wax and leaves the surface of the drawing smooth and shiny. Change to a clean cotton bud whenever you move to an area of a different colour to avoid contaminating your colours.

 

  ∆ With a pointed cotton bud carefully and lightly polish the surface of the drawing using an elliptical stroke. This polishes any waxy directional marks and gives the surface a smooth appearance.

 

  ∆ ROSEHIPS

42 x 32 cm (17 x 13 in)

   

CLEANING THE PAPER

TIP Protecting your drawing with an eraser shield will enable you to clean right up to the edges in tight corners, such as in between roots, petals or crossing stems.

  With the edges sharpened and the surface polished it is now time to clean the surrounding paper. Even with the best intentions and having carefully covered your work at all times, it is easy for the surface of the paper to become grubby. The pencil dust from layering and burnishing can smudge the paper surface, your hands can leave marks or the tips break off the pencils and get pressed onto the work.      Start by giving the work an overall clean using a soft, clean ball of kneadable rubber or Blu Tac, pressing down lightly over any smudge marks. To avoid more marks and to keep the surface clean, reknead the rubber every time you use it. Then use a plastic or a battery-operated eraser to do a final clean.

   

REMOVING UNWANTED MARKS

If, or should I say when, a pencil tip breaks off while you are applying colour heavily or burnishing, luck will have it that the pencil will always stab down into the white areas of paper and leave a deeply embedded mark. Do not immediately rub this out; first of all use sticky-backed plastic and a fine embossing tool to lift off as much colour from the hollow as possible and then rub out with a battery-operated eraser. This will usually remove the mark.

 

  ∆ Gently apply sticky-backed plastic and press down with an embossing tool to lift off colour.

 

  ∆ Carefully rub out the mark with a battery-operated eraser. An eraser shield will help protect other areas of your work.

  TIP To avoid spoiling your finished work always try ‘first aid’ remedies on a spare piece of the same type of paper first.

 

  ∆ Stage 1 Milton method: Dip a pointed cotton bud into Milton fluid or mild bleach and apply carefully to the unwanted stain or mark. Do not rub.

       However, if you are still left with a slight mark you could try to enlarge your plant to encompass the mark or you could try the ‘Milton method’. Milton is a mild bleach used for sterilizing baby’s bottles and will, if applied carefully, remove coloured pencil.      Pour a small amount of mild sterilizing solution into a receptacle and use a clean cotton bud to apply the bleach to the mark. The colour may deepen or change alarmingly at first, but immediately press down on the stain with a pad of clean kitchen roll – DO NOT RUB. Repeat this several times; each time you will find that the mark gets fainter. Once it has disappeared completely, wet the area with clean water, using either a clean cotton bud or a clean soft paintbrush, and again immediately press down with a clean pad of kitchen tissue. Leave it to dry.

     This method also works well if you get fly or spider droppings on your work or you inadvertently squash a small insect on the painting. You can also use it if the colour spreads beyond the outline when you are working with solvent. I cannot vouch for the extreme long-term effect of using sterilizing fluid, but I have used it occasionally over the past fifteen years or so with no detrimental effects to date.

 

  ∆ Stage 2 Milton method: Press with absorbent tissue to remove the bleach. Rpeat the whole process, reapplying the bleach and removing it with tissue, until the stain has gone. To neutralize the bleach apply a cotton bud dipped in clean water and again press with absorbent tissue to remove the moisture.

  ‘TO FIX OR NOT TO FIX?’

  TIP Do make sure all the white areas of paper have been thoroughly cleaned of smudges and pencil dust before spraying fixative; otherwise you will fix these to the paper.

  As a general rule I do not fix graphite pencil drawings as I feel this tends to flatten and dull the appearance slightly and I like to achieve maximum contrast and crispness with my pencil drawings. However, if you are not going to frame your work straightaway, but are planning on storing it interleaved with acid-free tissue paper, I suggest you do spray lightly with fixative after cleaning as there is a strong danger that any protective covering may smudge the work.      I do, however, recommend fixing coloured-pencil work, mainly to prevent what is called a ‘bloom’ forming on the surface of the work. This is more likely to happen with wax-based pencils or watersoluble pencils used dry rather than oil-based ones, but when it happens it can ruin the look of a piece. What happens is the wax in the mix rises to the surface and forms a misty, bloom-like layer over the work, almost bleaching out the colour. It can occur quite quickly, almost overnight in some instances, but is fortunately easily remedied. Sometimes the bloom can be cleaned off just by rubbing with a dry cotton bud or by lightly brushing with a cotton bud slightly dampened with a solvent, but take care using this latter method.

 

  ∆ SINGLE PEAR 11 x 6 cm (4 x 2 in) As I used wax-based yellows, creams and whites to achieve this lightcoloured pear, I sprayed with workable fixative to prevent a bloom forming.

       A final spraying with archival fixative will prevent bloom happening and is unlikely to discolour the surface of the paper. It is best to spray in a wellventilated area or out of doors on a still day. Hold the spray can about 30 cm (12 in) from your work and gently move the spray over the surface applying one or two coats but not drenching the paper.

   

SIGNING OFF

The accepted convention is to sign a picture at the bottom right. Your signature should be planned as part of the picture space and should be neatly executed in graphite pencil, not ink or ballpoint pen. Complicated monograms or convoluted signatures down the side of a stem or leaf can be very distracting and you do not want viewers to have to crane and twist their necks to find out who did the painting or spend ages trying to work out what the initials stand for.      Also take care if you are writing anything else on the work, such as the plant name. Ask yourself if your writing is as good as your drawing. If it is or you are skilled at calligraphy then it could be valuable to include the plant name. But otherwise perhaps it is best to write it neatly on the back of the picture, mount or frame.

 

  ∆ BUNCH OF GARLIC 32 x 30 cm (13 x 12 in)

 

  ∆ Mount Proportions A = 8 cm (3 in) or more B = 10 cm (4 in) or more

   

STORAGE

Not all work is going to be good enough to frame or you may decide not to frame immediately because of the cost of doing so. What is the best way to protect and store your work?      Store your work flat and out of the light, and always cover it with a piece of acid-free tissue or preferably acid-free layout paper, which is a bit stronger but still slightly transparent. Rather than loosely interleaving your pieces, which could cause smudging, attach the protective paper to each piece of work using a small piece of masking tape at the top and bottom. This can easily be removed when you want to show your painting. If you have a portfolio with clear plastic sleeves avoid putting unprotected work in the sleeves since each time the work is removed it could become smudged.

   

MOUNTING AND FRAMING

As the aim is to make the drawing of the plant stand out and catch the viewer’s attention, nothing in and around the picture should distract from this. So try to keep the mounts and frames simple and in keeping with your work.      Experience has taught me to keep colours fairly neutral too, so I generally choose white or off-white mounts and simple matching frames that will complement the bright colours and composition of the picture. I prefer to use a fairly light wooden frame, either plain or lime waxed, or a simple silver-gilt moulding.

     When mounting your work try to give it space to ‘breathe’ by using a substantial mount. The borders, top and sides, should be the same depth and at least 8 cm (3 in) deep with the bottom margin being 2–3 cm (1–1½ in) deeper. Many framers mount work with the same depth of border on all four sides simply because it is easier as they do not have to adjust the mount cutter, but it is worth persuading them to make the adjustment and a professional framer will automatically do this. If the border at the bottom is the same as the sides and top the picture will appear to be sliding out of the frame. This optical illusion is remedied by giving the image that extra space at the bottom.

   

PRESENTATION

There is a well-known saying in art that asks the question ‘When does a painting become art?’ and replies with the answer ‘When it gets sold and starts a life of its own’.      Unless you present your work to the world no one will know about it. Nowadays there are many ways of showing your paintings. The traditional route is to sell through galleries, and group or solo exhibitions, but now you can do this online as well, with the internet providing a wide audience. You can join a gallery website or an online exhibition or even create your own website. On a smaller scale you can have just an image or a page on a community website, and it is a good idea to get some good quality digital images of your work by taking photographs yourself or getting the work scanned. Many companies offer a package whereby you can have your work scanned professionally and they will give you a proof copy that you can then use to show potential customers.      If you are not yet ready to go down the internet route you can follow the example of one of my students who uses a local printing company to reduce her images in size to print onto greetings cards, making enough money to cover all her costs and more by selling them through local fairs and shops.

Another student makes a calendar every year with one of her botanical images on each page, downloading the calendar from the internet and printing and binding it herself to give to friends and relatives at Christmas.      Another way to show your work is to join a society such as the UK Coloured Pencil Society and submit your work for their website or for their annual exhibition. The Society of Botanical Artists holds an annual exhibition, usually at Westminster Hall in London in the spring, and you can submit up to five pieces of work for exhibition. There are also local botanical art societies around the country who hold meetings, workshops and regular exhibitions. Have a good look around to see what is available in your area. If there is nothing suitable why not start a group yourself, even if you just meet with a couple of friends once a week in your own homes for coffee, exchange of ideas and some drawing practice? Whatever you do, enjoy your botanical painting with coloured pencils!

 

  ∆ If you are planning on showing your work at exhibition it often looks best to see a body of work mounted and framed to match. This creates harmony and the viewer can enjoy your paintings with no visual distraction.

  CHAPTER 9

  GALLERY

  IN THIS GALLERY is displayed a selection of work by other excellent coloured-pencil artists. Some of them have used very different materials to those I generally use, some have used bolder design or a more delicate layering technique to beautiful effect. Some, indeed, are students who I have helped on their way and now excel in their own right and some are teachers passing on their knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium. If you are already working with coIoured pencils I hope these images inspire you or, if you have not tried coloured pencil before I hope they encourage you to have a go.      All the artists display a great variation in style and use of the picture space, from the traditional, accurate illustration to a more expressive or contemporary interpretation of the plant material. All have developed very much their own personal approach to depicting plants, thus proving how versatile coloured pencil can be. These paintings express their love of plants and joy of depicting them and illustrate how well suited coloured pencil is as a medium for botanical painting.      My intention with this book was to share with you all the knowledge I have accumulated over the years so that you too can experience the joys of working with coloured pencils and I trust this book will set you on the path towards producing truly beautiful botanical paintings with coloured pencils.

 

  ∆ EXOTIC AMARYLLIS Hippeastrum ‘Merengue’ 29 x 21 cm (11 x 8 in) Faber-Castell Polychromos on Fabriano Classico 5. Marilyn was inspired to draw this Amaryllis because of its vibrant bloom and unusual variation. Having experimented with various mediums, Marilyn prefers coloured pencils for portraying flora.

 

  ∆ PARROT TULIP ‘ROCOCO’ 15 x 13 cm (6 x 5 in) Faber-Castell Polychromos on Fabriano Classico 5. This is part of a triptych Diane drew including side and back views as well as this full on front view of such a colourful tulip. She was attracted by the exotic shape, frills, twists and turns of the petals. Diane enjoys the control that coloured pencils give the artist when portraying botanical studies.

 

  ∆ REDCURRANTS 14 x 18 cm (6 x 7 in) SBA, RHS GM 2006 Faber-Castell Polychromos on Fabriano Classico 5.

Hilary was particularly attracted by the bright berries and heavily veined leaves of the redcurrants, which she considered perfect subjects for coloured pencil. She enjoys this controllable medium for the fine detail and glowing colours that the artist can achieve by multi-layering.

 

  ∆ NUT PINE’ Pinus monophylla 27 x 25.5 cm (11 x 10 in) SBA Faber-Castell Polychromos on Bristol board. Sue enjoys drawing flowers but has a preference for more structural subjects such as seedpods, bulbs, and pine cones, and has a passion for trees. She was inspired to work on a project to illustrate some of the rare trees in a local arboretum. Sue was specially drawn to the ‘One-leaved Nut Pine’ Pinus a magnificent tree that has been recognized as of national significance. Under normal growing conditions the Nut Pine has needles in pairs, but on this particular tree most pairs of needles are fused together to become one.

 

  ∆ A WINTER SCENE 28 x 22 cm (11 x 9 in) FHCPFS, FCPGFS, IN Faber-Castell Polychromos on Fabriano Classico 5. Maggie produces exquisitely detailed work and enjoyed the challenge of depicting these shiny holly leaves with coloured pencil. The Founder Chairman 2004–08 and Fellow of the Hampton Court Palace Florilegium Society, she was the first person to have a coloured-pencil painting accepted into the Palace Archive.

 

  ∆ DESERT DUO II 22 x 26 cm (9 x 10 in)

Coloured pencil and graphite on Herculene drafting film. Janie is a gifted coloured-pencil artist, teacher and author of Colored Pencil Exploration and Colored Pencil Solution

 

  ∆ KNOWLTON’S MINIATURE CACTUS Pediocactus knowltonii 20 x 20 cm (8 x 8 in) Faber-Castell Polychromos and Prismacolor on Mylar film. Susan has worked with coloured pencils since 1990 when she first turned to botanical subjects. She is a teacher in the Denver Botanic Gardens Certificate Program in Botanical Art and Illustration and has developed a complete

course in colour layering that allows the coloured-pencil artist to mix colours like a painter. This traditional illustration was created for Rare: Imperiled Plants of which showcases endangered species. The tiny inset of the cactus is its actual size.

 

  ∆ ‘MIDNIGHT FLAME’ Streptocarpus

M. SBA 40 x 40 cm (16 x 16 in) Faber-Castell Polychromos and Prismacolor Premier on Fabriano Classico 5. Brenda is strongly attracted to plants that curl and twist and this voluptuous Streptocarpus caught her attention. Its deeply veined leaves curling towards the viewer proved a challenge to record accurately. The deep ruby red, rather delicate flowers gave a rich contrast to the greens of the leaves and the whole plant makes a naturally balanced composition that is pleasing to the eye.

 

 

∆ CUCURBITA FOETIDISSIMA 30 x 25 cm (12 x 10 in) Faber-Castell Polychromos and Prismacolor on Fabriano Artistico. This plant is ubiquitous in southwest USA. The upright leaves are fuzzy on top and sandpapery on the bottom. The gourds make wonderful rattles and other ornamental objects. Libby has co-authored Today’s Botanical a book representing the work of 65 American botanical artists.

 

  ∆ CASCADING CHERRIES 20 x 17 cm (8 x 7 in) SBA UKCPS, RHS GM 2009 Faber-Castell Polychromos and Prismacolor on Fabriano Classico 5. Janie has captured the richness of the wonderful juicy red fruits and the way the sunlight reflects on them, giving them a jewel-like quality.

 

  ∆ SNOWDROPS & CYCLAMEN Galanthus elwesii & Cyclamen coum

20 x 20 cm (8 x 8 in) RHS GM 1999 AND 2001 Derwent Artists and Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer on Bristol board. The image is one from a series illustrating winter flowering bulb partners.

 

  ∆ RHUBARB var. ‘GRANDAD’S FAVOURITE’ Rheum x hybridum 41 x 27 cm (16 x 11 in) RHS GM 1997 AND 2000 Faber-Castell Polychromos and graphite pencil on Fabriano Classico 5. Rhubarb’s edible leaf stalks are considered to be a vegetable rather than a fruit. This plant portrait shows the rhubarb plant with its inflorescence, detailed flower structure and true fruits.

 

  ∆ GOURDS 13 x 11 cm (5 x 4 in) SBA Faber-Castell Polychromos and Prismacolor on Fabriano Classico 5. Rachel developed the composition for these colourful gourds after putting them into a square glass container and rearranging them to achieve a pleasing pattern. She enjoys portraying texture and her work shows a lively sense of colour and design.

 

  ∆ CONKERS 44 x 34 cm (17 x 13 in) SBA, NDD Faber-Castell Polychromos and Prismacolor on Rising Stonehenge paper. Susan finds coloured pencils most sympathetic to her preferred technique of painstakingly building up layer upon layer to achieve brilliant colour and textures. As well as being a gifted artist, Susan is a tutor on the Society of Botanical Artists Distance Learning Diploma course.

 

  ∆ PODRANEA RICASOLIANA 26 x 21 cm (10 x 8 in) SBA Faber-Castell Polychromos on Fabriano Classico 5. While on an art holiday in Andalucia, Spain, Janet saw this plant cascading over walls and balconies and was drawn by its delicate colour and graceful habit, which she has captured, making the flowers and leaves appear to dance across the page.

  CHECKLIST

 

  • FORMAT – Decide what format (landscape, portrait or square) best suits the subject and the aspects of the subject you want to portray. Try to work within a frame.

  • DESIGN – Do some quick sketches within a frame to capture the movement in the plant and to make sure the lines and shapes work together and that your negative shapes are interesting.

  • COMPOSITION – Think about where to place the focal point and check your design to see that everything is balanced within the composition.

  • TONAL VALUES – Work out the values from darkest to lightest. Do a quick tonal study in your sketchbook.

  • COLOUR – Use your colour swatches to match the main colour in your drawing. Work out a range of colours around your nearest colour match; some darker, some lighter.

  • PRACTISE – Practise layering up these colours to make sure they work and chose a grey or complementary colour to add tonal depth to your chosen colours.

  • PHOTOS – If possible take some photos of your plant material from the position you will be drawing the plant. Make sure the lighting comes from the correct direction.

 

• DRAWING – Do an accurate, same-size (unless otherwise noted) clean, single line, outline drawing on your quality paper or on layout paper and then transfer your image onto the quality paper.

  • RESIST – Put in any veins, stamens, hairs or any other resist work either with a wax blender pencil, white, ivory or a very light colour.

  • SHADING – Apply the tonal shading to areas of shadow with the grey or complementary colour you have chosen, varying the pressure from dark to light.

  • HIGHLIGHTS – Before you start applying your colours make sure you have masked off or noted any highlights or areas you need to leave white.

  • LAYERING – Start layering your colours from dark to light. Use an elliptical stroke and vary the pressure. Press more heavily in the darker areas and less in the lighter areas.

  • BURNISH – Burnish either with the lightest colour in your mix or with blender pencils to achieve a smooth finish.

  • EDGES – Make sure all the edges of your drawing are crisp. Use a sharp pointed pencil of the same colour to apply a thin line around the edge and blend in the line carefully. Use a magnifying glass.

  • CLEAN – Clean your paper meticulously and spray with fixative.

  • SIGN, FRAME AND ENJOY!

  STOCKISTS & SOCIETIES

  STOCKISTS UK Jackson’s – tel: 0207 254 0077 www.jacksonart.com Faber-Castell pencils, Denkeshi Skylite battery-operated erasers, Fabriano Artistico paper

  Great Art – tel: 0845 601 5772 www.greatart.co.uk Caran d’Ache and Faber-Castell pencils, Lascaux fixative, Pebeo drawing gum

  Ken Bromley Art Supplies – tel: 01204 381900 www.artsupplies.co.uk Caran d’Ache Luminance pencils, Fabriano paper

  Artifolk – tel: 02392 384000 www.artifolk.co.uk Caran d’Ache Luminance pencils (singles) and Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils

  Paper People – tel: 01271 814300 www.paperpeople.co.uk Fabriano paper, Jakar electric pencil sharpeners, Prismacolor pencils

  London Graphic Centre – tel: 0207 759 4500

www.londongraphics.co.uk Caran d’Ache and Faber-Castell pencils, Tria blender marker pen and refills

  Daylight Company – tel: 020 8964 1200 www.daylightcompany.com Lamps and magnifiers

  Zest-it Art Products www.zest-itartproducts.co.uk Zest-it solvent

  Art Discount – tel: 0845 230 5510 www.artdiscount.co.uk Faber-Castell and Caran d’Ache Luminance pencils

  Discount Art – tel: 0845 241 5646 www.discountart.co.uk Caran d’Ache Luminance and Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils

  STOCKISTS USA Dick Blick Art Materials www.dickblick.com Prismacolor pencils, Fabriano paper, electric erasers, Lyra Splender colorless blender pencils

  Daniel Smith www.danielsmith.com Prismacolor pencils

  Hyatts www.hyatts.com Faber-Castell and Prismacolor pencils, electric erasers, Fabriano paper, Derwent Graphic pencils

  SOCIETIES There are many regional botanical art societies too numerous to list here but check the internet to find one covering your area. Many also run courses and workshops.

  UK Coloured Pencil Society www.ukcps.co.uk

  Society of Botanical Artists www.soc-botanical-artists.org

  American Society of Botanical Artists www.asba-art.org

  Colored Pencil Society of America www.cpsa.org

  COLLECTIONS Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation http://www.huntbotanical.org/

  Royal Horticultural Society – Lindley Library

www.rhs.org.uk/education-learning/libraries-at-rhs/visit-thelibraries/lindley-library-london

  Linnean Society – Library www.linnean.org/research-collections/library

  Natural History Museum Library www.nhm.ac.uk

  The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art www.kew.org/kew-gardens/attractions/shirley-sherwood-gallery

  GARDENS Royal Botanic Gardens Kew www.kew.org

  Royal Horticultural Gardens, Wisley www.rhs.org.uk

  The Chelsea Physic Garden www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk

  Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh www.rbge.org.uk

  Denver Botanic Gardens www.botanicgardens.org

 

The New York Botanical Garden www.nybg.org

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

  Baird, Cecile, Painting Light with Colored North Light Books, 2005

  Borgeson, Bet, Colored Pencil for the Serious Watson-Guptill, 1998

  Borgeson, Bet, The Colored Watson-Guptill, 1983

  Clapp, Anne F., Curatorial Care of Works of Art on Lyons and Burford, 1987

  Edwards, Betty, Drawing On the Right Side of the HarperCollins, 1992

  Edwards, Betty, Drawing on the Artist HarperCollins, 1986

  Edwards, Betty, Color, A course in mastering the art of mixing Tarcher/Penguin, 2004

  Evans, Anne-Marie and Donn Evans, An Approach to Botanical Painting in Hannaford and Evans, 1993

  Gildow, Janie and Barbara Benedetti Newton, Colored Pencil Solution North Light Books, 2000

  Gombrich, E. H., Art and Folio Society, 2000

  Greene, Gary, Creating Radiant Flowers in Colored North Light Books, 1997

  Hickey, Michael and Clive King, The Cambridge Illustrated Glossary of Botanical Cambridge University Press, 2003

  Johnston, Beverley, The Complete Guide to Coloured Pencil David & Charles, 2003

  Martin, Rosie and Meriel Thurstan, Botanical Illustration Course with the Eden Batsford, 2006

  Oxley, Valerie, Botanical The Crowood Press, 2008

  Ruskin, John, The Elements of Dover Publications, 1971

  Seymour, Mary, Draw Flowers & A & C Black, 1995

  Sherwood, Shirley, Contemporary Botanical Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1996

  Sherwood, Shirley, A Passion for Cassell, 2001

  Sherwood, Shirley, A New Flowering: 1000 Years of Botanical Art, Ashmolean Museum, 2005

  Stevens, Margaret, The Art of Botanical HarperCollins, 2004

  Stevens, Margaret, The Botanical HarperCollins, 2007

  Strother, Jane, The Coloured Pencil Artist’s Pocket Batsford, 1993

  Turner, Silvie, Which Estamp, 1991

  West, Keith, How to Draw Herbert Press, 1983

 

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