Here’s a little sketchbook fun with early bulbs…and a not always welcome garden visitor. These early bulbs are so encouraging in late winter when the cloud cover is thick and the rain drizzles over the bare landscape. One of the things I want to do with my sketchbook entries is to experiment with different styles […]
Sketchbook–Winter Twigs
January 23, 2016 by · 7 Comments
On my walks on these dreary wet days of winter, it seems that nature is asleep and I see nothing but bare twigs and dead field grasses. Recently I took a closer look when I began searching for something to sketch for a sketchbook exchange project I am involved in (more about that later). I […]
Early and Stream Violets
November 20, 2015 by · 11 Comments
You might say that a trail of ants led me to these Pacific Northwest native violets and butterfly. Last year I painted the native, Wild Ginger featuring some ants crawling on its roots, which seemed appropriate since Wild Ginger is propagated by ants. I wanted to not only describe the wild ginger’s ‘personality’, or form […]
Simple Steps to Developing a Palette
November 12, 2015 by · 6 Comments
In my last post, Simple Steps to Choosing a Palette, I talked about a method I use to determine the pigments for my paintings. In this post, I’ll give you an example of how I go about finding the right mix to match the mid-tone of the leaf color using the primary colors in the […]
Simple Steps to Choosing a Palette
October 16, 2015 by · 8 Comments
Part of my task as a botanical artist and illustrator is to depict my chosen plant in not only an artful way, but as botanically accurately as possible. This means that the colors in my painting should be as close as possible to the colors in the plant. My goal is to convey the variations […]
This blog is about my journey as a botanical artist--what I am learning, what inspires me and what I am currently drawing or painting. My desire is to continually hone my skills to better express my wonder and gratitude for the beauty of the creation around me in the Pacific Northwest (USA).