Drawing and Painting Botanicals for Artists: How to Create Beautifully Detailed Plant and Flower Illustrations

by Karen Kluglein

Overview

Originally developed in the 18th century as a visual supplement to botanical nomenclature, botanical illustration and art uniquely fuse art and science by documenting the parts, details, and life cycles of plant species. In Drawing and Painting Botanicals for Artists, eminent botanical artist and veteran workshop instructor Karen Kluglein reveals her secrets for rendering leaves, flowers, berries, and branches both accurately and beautifully.

The book begins with a brief history of the art form, followed by guidance on developing observational skills for this genre, key botanical terms and concepts, and the differences among botanical illustration, botanical art, and flower painting. The chapters that follow offer detailed guidance and demonstrations for drawing and painting botanicals in a variety of mediums:

• Drawing. Explore loose gestural drawing, precise measuring and rendering, and working from photographs with graphite, colored pencil, finepoint markers, pen and ink, and silverpoint.
• Painting. Master color mixing, washes, layering, gradations, values, and adding details in watercolor, gouache, and acrylic, plus guidance on adding “personality” to your work and knowing when a painting is done.

Drawing and Painting Botanicals for Artists shows artists at all skill levels how to translate careful observations into stunning works of art.

The For Artists series expertly guides and instructs artists at all skill levels who want to develop their classical drawing and painting skills and create realistic and representational art.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781631598579
Publisher:	Rockport Publishers
Publication date:	06/16/2020
Series:	For Artists Series , #4
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	612,029
Product dimensions:	10.90(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Karen Kluglein began her career as anillustrator after graduating from the School of Visual Arts in 1980, with Dannon, Ragu, Pillsbury, Nabisco, The Atlantic Monthly, IBM, and Calvin Klein among her varied list of clients. After attending an American Society of Botanical Artists exhibit in the 1990s, Karen knew that her experience painting detailed food illustrations (such as berries and herbs) and her style were a great fit for the genre. In addition to teaching in-person workshops at the New York Botanical Garden and on eastern Long Island, and selling original art, prints, and instructional downloads and DVDs on her website, Karen also licenses her work, which can be seen on Celestial Seasonings packaging and on paper goods by Caspari Inc. Karen has won Best in Show and Best Painting in Show at the International Exhibition, and the Dianne Bouchier Award For Excellence in Botanical Art in 2010. She lives on Long Island, in East Hampton, New York. To see more of her work, visit botanical-paintings.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction 8

Learning to See, Learning to Draw 8

Consider the Subject 9

Key Terms 10

1 Drawing

Botanicals

Mediums and Supplies 16

Graphite Pencils 16

Colored Pencils 18

Fine Point Markers 20

Silverpoint 22

Paper 24

Erasers 25

Pencil Sharpeners 25

Essential Drawing Techniques 26

Live Specimen 26

Working from Photographs 27

Loose Gestural Drawing 28

Precise Measuring 30

Values, Shadows, and Highlights 35

Gradations 38

Lifting Graphite 39

Drawing Subjects and Mediums 40

Drawing Leaves 40

Drawing Flowers and Petals 45

Drawing Fruits and Berries 51

Drawing Stems and Branches 54

2 Painting

Botanicals

Mediums and Supplies 64

Watercolors 64

Gouache 70

Paintbrushes 72

Painting Surfaces 73

Essential Painting Techniques 74

Color Mapping 74

Washes 76

Layering 77

Gradations 78

Drybrush in Watercolor 81

Lifting 88

Overlaps 90

Correcting Mistakes and Making Revisions 91

Details and Finishing 96

Adding Personality 106

Painting Subjects 108

Painting Leaves 108

Painting Flowers and Petals 117

Painting Fruits and Berries 128

Painting Stems and Branches 134

Final Thoughts 136

Resources 139

Acknowledgments 140

About the Author 140

Index 141