I recently got a copy of Botanical Illustration: The Next Ten Lessons: Colour and Composition by Valerie C. Price. I will admit that I wasn't paying enough attention when I ordered it and I didn't realise that this is actually the second book in the series – the first being Botanical Illustration: The First Ten Lessons.
I was slightly daunted by this, as I have no experience of botanical illustration whatsoever and I haven't used watercolours since I was a child. I'm definitely a hobbyist illustrator whose work has (so I'm told) a rather "naive" quality to it. Make of that what you will.
But I decided to give this book a go anyway, and I'm glad I did. The start of the book outlines some of the basics of watercolours, including washes, composition and materials such as masking fluid and cartridge paper.
I didn't have masking fluid or cartridge paper unfortunately, but I did have my husband's watercolour paints (so well used there wasn't a white), his Staedtler paintbrushes, my Seawhite of Brighton watercolour paper sketchbook and some of the best pencils my local art shop had to offer. Oh and I also had an all important eraser.
So, with all my materials gathered, I started my exploration of botanical illustration with a pencil sketch.
The book then instructed me to use a light wash to start adding colour to my tulip. I came across the usual problems with watercolour – using too much paint, smudging and blotting, but I managed to navigate this mostly okay (using kitchen towel for the most part).
After several more washes and attempts to add detail with a dry brush, as well as add shading and light with different colour washes, I ended up with this:
I lost some of the definition in the flower because I am so new to the medium and generally not a very experienced artist. I think I would benefit from reading book one in the series to learn more about the basics of this artform.
But I pressed on. I decided to switch to watercolour pencil (I've got the Staedtler Karat Aquarell 60 pencil set) to test out if I could draw a daisy.
I was so involved in my daisy that I forgot to take step by step photos but above you can see how it turned out. I was quite pleased with it!
If you want to try out this Botanical Illustration book, it's available now and on sale for Black Friday at the moment in the UK at Amazon, as are a lot of art supplies (in both the US and UK). I've outlined the best offers below.
I hope you enjoy yourself as much as I did.
