Botanical Illustrations in Watercolor

Botanical subjects are perfectly suited to the luminous beauty of watercolor!
In this workshop, you’ll learn how to harness the unique strengths of the medium to create elegant and expressive plant portraits.

Topics include the characteristics of watercolor—such as staining, transparency, granulation, and pigment behavior—and how understanding your paints can elevate your illustrations. You’ll also explore the value of graphite studies and how they support the planning and composition of your artwork.

This three-day workshop welcomes anyone interested in refining their skills in traditional botanical illustration. Through hands-on practice, you’ll develop techniques in composition, working from live specimens, layering and glazing, creating convincing three-dimensional form, and capturing natural curls and overlaps with precision and grace.

Suggested Supply List:

Pencil set for graphite studies – I use a mechanical pencil for simple sketches, but I also like to have a basic set of
at least three pencils for more complete drawings – F, 2B and 4B would be good ones to have. If you are in the
market for pencils, a set of Staedtler Mars Lumograph Art Drawing Pencils (12-Pack) is a good one.
Eraser, pencil sharpener, tortillon and/or stump if you like to use them
Clear plastic ruler
Sketch pad for sketches and rough drafts
Watercolors – I use tube paints exclusively. If you already have a set of paints that you like, please bring it. If you
don’t have watercolors or your set needs some updating, these are colors I use a lot. These are just suggestions – please don’t feel obligated to buy all these colors! (We won’t use a lot of paint in the class, and I’d be happy to
share a dab of mine if you’d like to try one.)

• Alizarin crimson
• Quinacridone rose
• Quinacridone magenta
• Transparent yellow
• New gamboge
• Winsor yellow
• Winsor violet
• Winsor blue green shade or Daniel Smith phthalo blue green shade
• Ultramarine blue
• Mayan dark blue
• Raw umber
• Quinacridone burnt orange
• Payne’s gray
• Neutral tint

Other than a 1 1/2″ wash brush, I exclusively use round brushes ranging in size from 8 to 1. Everybody has their
favorite type of brush, and I really like Rosemary & Co. Snowdrops and Da Vinci Cosmotop Spins. Bring what you
have and buy a few new one if yours are old and crusty.
Other watercolor materials – palette (I like butcher trays, many botanical artists like porcelain palettes/trays)