Botanical Illustration from Life: A visual guide to observing, drawing and painting plants

by Isik Guner

Overview

Learn how to draw and paint flowers and plants—and explore the natural world around you!—in this step-by-step guide to botanical drawing and watercolor painting.

In this detailed and accessible botanical drawing guide, award-winning botanical artist, Işık Güner, shares her experiences of looking at wild species from around the world, how she does her research, and how she composes her illustrations from live specimens. In 6 sections, she guides you on your own journey so you can learn about:

• START: Discover different approaches ad techniques to botanical illustration.
• OBSERVE: Search for, observe, select, and preserve plant subjects.
• DRAW: Learn to draw from life, achieve different perspectives, and more!
• PAINT: Get watercolor painting instruction, with insights on color mixing and techniques.
• EXPLORE: Open your eyes to the beauty of a vast range of plant species.
• MASTER: Find your own style, solve problems, and get inspiration from other artists!

Straddling the scientific and art worlds, Isik’s illustrations raise awareness of the valuable knowledge scientists have been researching and discovering for many years—and provide a wonderful inspiration for budding botanical artists.

Observe, draw, paint, explore, and master this wonderful art under Işık's careful guidance. Being inspired by the nature around you is the first step to becoming a botanical artist.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781782218067
Publisher:	Search Press
Publication date:	11/05/2019
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 11.40(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Born 1983 in Ankara, Turkey, Işik Güner originally graduated in Environmental Engineering. However, instead of this she chose an entirely different path and has been working full time as a botanical artist for over 10 years. She is very glad she made this decision, though as the child of a botanist father and growing up surrounded by wild nature, her decision was easy.

Işık's painting of Gunnera Tinctoria won an RHS Gold Medal and the RHS Best Painting in Show in Spring 2014. She has worked on various international botanical projects around the world. She is also a visiting tutor for the Diploma in Botanical Illustration at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh and delivers tuition through workshops in Europe.

Read an Excerpt

Foreward


In the world we live in today, many new plant species are regularly being discovered, but even more are facing the threat of extinction. There are many contributing factors, but one of the main reasons is human activity. The dilemma is that although our lives depend on plant materials from the earth, we choose to live in opposition to nature, and this represents a real threat to wildlife. Although a lot of research has been done, and a great deal of information collected over the centuries, I believe that the main cause of this threat is a lack of awareness that every living thing matters, is interconnected and relies on every other living thing to survive. Botanical illustrations are becoming essential at this time, as they play a vital role in making this information easier to understand. They are visually striking and focus attention on a particular plant, and consequently the information that comes along with it. Visual communication, in the form of painting, is an effective way to share this knowledge.
 
Botanical artists hold a unique status: they can record plants and show them to the world, unlocking science for people outside of that world, enabling them to be seduced by the most beautiful images, drawn and painted by very skilled hands. Botanical artists have an amazing opportunity to form a bridge between the scientific world and the general public. Depicting and simplifying information in the most beautiful way, they can communicate to those who might consider scientific information boring. Illustrations help to raise awareness of the valuable knowledge that scientists have been researching and discovering over many years
 
My own journey began when I was studying environmental engineering at university. The word ‘environmental’ might lead you to think that the two areas are related. However, I assure you that what I do now is something else entirely, and how I ended up as a botanical artist is another story. My studies certainly developed my sense of structure, improved my ability to see things in a three-dimensional way on a flat surface and gave me the discipline to work methodically. These skills have been very useful to me as I have sought to produce successful illustrations
 
In this book, I am going to share with you my experiences of looking at wild species from around the world, as well as how I do my research and how I compose my illustrations from live specimens. I really hope this will help you in your own journey and inspire you to look for some plant samples and pick up your pencils
 
Finding ways to communicate, to draw and paint plants in the wild, is a burning passion for me. Through this book, I have the opportunity to share this with everyone who reads it. It is full of my thoughts on plants in the wild and how to get the best drawings and the most skilfully painted studies of plants, some of which have never been seen before
 
Obviously, it is wonderful if you know a scientist who can help explain the botany of a plant that you are working on. I was so lucky to grow up in a family with a botanist father, and I had the great fortune of being taken out on frequent field trips to unusual places in Turkey and around the world. But if you don’t have a botanist to hand, there are many other ways to do your own research and gather information. Knowledge is more easily acquired in this era
 
If you want to practise botanical illustration, it must become your passion. There should be a gathering momentum, from learning how to make basic drawings and paintings of plants, to enjoying and wanting to describe more plants in your own way. This is the passion that I feel. I need to draw each day. The more I do it, the more infectious it becomes. It is a way of life for me, and a really great way to live a life that is more connected to nature. In this fast-moving world that we live in, it is a joy to be a botanical artist. I love the fact that I am creating a legacy, a collection of artworks that tell a story of plants growing in natural places which, unfortunately, might not be there forever. While plant conservation is a very important issue nowadays, I very much like the idea that knowledge about particular plants will be passed on to future generations through scientific illustrations. Of course there is also lots to be gained from just enjoying drawing and painting nature for its own sake
 
Look around you – nature is just out there! Look closely, deep inside, and see all the magnificent details in the diversity of nature surrounding us. Being in contact with nature can trigger something inside you and make you feel more connected to this incredible earth in which we live. When this happens, simply start to draw nature – drawing is a better way of seeing
 
Işık Güner

Table of Contents

START 10
Communication throughdrawing 12
Plants for life 14Past and present 16
Different approaches 18
Different techniques 21

OBSERVE 24
Learn to see what you’relooking at 26
Observing plants in their habitat 28
Plant selection 32Pressing specimens 34
Searching for plants 36
Preserving plants 41
Positioning plants 42Positioning yourself 47

DRAW 48
Drawing from life 50
Starting to draw 53
How to draw 56
Measured drawing 61
Perspective drawing 66
Aerial perspective 72
Complex subjects 75
Let’s draw plants 78
Composition 80
Ready to paint 84

PAINT 86
Watercolour 88
Starting to paint 90
How to paint 94Colour 98
Mixing colours 100
Colour contrast 103
Colour perspective 104
Texture 107
Sketches 108
Let’s paint 112
Final touches 118

EXPLORE 120
Botanical illustration is allabout details 122
Exploring many different typesof plant 125
Identification of species 128
Roots 131
Stems 134
Buds 140
Leaves 145
Flowers 159
Fruits and seeds 174

MASTER 186
Finding your style 188
Finding solutions 191
Inspiration from nature 192
Inspiration from other artists 196
Akiko Enekido 198
Lizzie Sanders 199
Anne Hayes 200
Constance Sayas 201
Jacqui Pestell 202
Gustavo Surlo 203
Plant list 204
Thank you... 208

Editorial Reviews

Chelsea School of Botanical Art - Helen Ballen Sept 2019
This superb book should be on every botanical artist’s bookshelf. The text is clear and the illustrations wonderful. Isik writes as she speaks.

From the Publisher