You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘botanical art’ tag.
by Gilly Shaeffer, posted by Deb Shaw
Gilly Shaeffer, “Camellia,” watercolor on paper, 2015, all rights reserved.
Gilly Shaeffer, long time member of BAGSC, will be holding four Wednesday morning classes in January, 2016 at her home studio in “Botanical Drawing and Watercolor Basics.” This is a great opportunity for beginners and intermediates to perfect their drawing skills and also a preparation for doing botanical watercolor painting. It is perfect for those who like a small group experience with a lot of individualized attention. It will consist of a cumulative series of exercises to improve observational and drawing skills, as well as, preparing students to create three dimensional form through light to dark shading. Those who complete the drawing exercises with Gilly will move on to the study of botanical watercolor painting. The understanding and skills gained through these classes can be applied when doing all types of drawing and painting.
Visit Gilly Shaeffer’s website to see samples of her work and read her “Bio” to learn about her educational background, teaching experiences and accomplishments in botanical art.
Four Wednesdays in January, 2016: January 6, 13, 20, 27
10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Fee:$160
Locations: Gilly’s Home Studio
For address, directions, and answers to any questions, please Gilly’s email address.
by Diane Daly and Deb Shaw
The Opuntia cactus in the courtyard at the entrance to Bowers Museum. Another beautiful Fall day in Southern California. Photo © Deborah Shaw, 2015.
BAGSC members Diane Daly, Deb Shaw, and new BAGSC member Linda Carpenter spent a gorgeous Fall day at the Bowers Museum on November 22, demonstrating botanical art and talking with visitors to the Museum. BAGSC members are demonstrating in conjunction with the Bowers exhibition “The Red that Colored the World,” on display through February 21, 2016.
Cochineal (Dactylopius coccus) is a scale insect that lives on Opuntia cacti. The insect produces carminic acid, from which carmine dye is derived. The females and their nymphs secrete a waxy, white web to protect them from the sun and predators. Photo © Deborah Shaw, 2015.
There is a huge Optuntia (Prickly Pear) growing in the courtyard at the entrance to the Bowers, serendipitously covered with Cochineal. We were lucky to have a large pad that had fallen to the ground, and, in addition to botanical art, we were able to show visitors the Cochineal scale insect, the color, and even some Mealybug Ladybird (ladybug) larvae who were feasting on the Cochineal. It was a whole world on one cactus pad. Visitors to the museum were fascinated (as were we!).
Live Cochineal (under the white on the Opuntia cactus paddle); dried Cochineal; and paint from the crushed insects. Photo by Diane Daly, © 2015, all rights reserved.
Diane Daly teaches at the Bowers Museum Treasures Program, which reaches out to senior centers, community centers, libraries, social service agencies and residential communities, engaging older adults who may be feeling isolated through art. The Thursday program focused on Cochineal as well, complete with demonstrations of crushing the bugs and using them to make paint. The seniors then painted an Aztec design using the paint. They could add lemon juice to some of the paint, which made it a lighter, warmer red.
Deborah Shaw will be teaching a a two-day color mixing class, “What’s Cool (and Warm) about Red” (with paint from the art supply store) on Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13 at Bowers. Registration is through the Bowers website.
Additional BAGSC demonstration days in conjunction with the exhibition will be held in January and February. Come join us and learn about a color that changed the history of the world, that’s still in use today. (You’ll be amazed at how much Cochineal is still used in food, make-up and clothing dyes.) Email Deb to sign up!
by Suzanne Kuuskmae, posted by Deb Shaw
Red Lilies, watercolor on paper, © 2015, Suzanne Kuuskmae, all rights reserved.
Currently I have two botanical paintings out and about. One got into the Palos Verdes Art Center Show and is called “Red Lilies” and the other is in the Torrance Museum South Bay Focus Show and is called: “Camellias Next Door.” I think because no one around here is doing that kind of art, it attracts quite a bit of attention. I also sold two botanical this past few months: “Purple Iris,” and “Morning Glories.”
We are going to have a few openings in the gallery portion of our Destination: Art co-op so it might be that some other botanical artists might be interested in joining us? The cost is $60 a month for a 6 foot space.
Camellia #3, watercolor on paper, © 2015, Suzanne Kuuskmae, all rights reserved.
Our co-op did a Holiday Tree for the Torrance Memorial Hospital which took us all of October and November to put together as we hand-made all the ornaments. One group of ornaments was small 8 x 6 canvases on which we painted some of the old masters but with a Christmas touch, such as: Mona Lisa with a Santa’s hat. They turned out really well as one of our imaginative artists built frames for each one, and then we painted and put ribbon around each. He also cut out Christmas trees that we painted and decorated with shiny gems; a very labor intensive undertaking. Our tree sold right away at the Festival so we were able to make quite a nice sum for the Hospital plus make a name for our art group.
by Gilly Shaeffer, posted by Deb Shaw
Heteromeles arbutifolia, Toyon by Gilly Shaeffer, © 2015, all rights reserved.
BAGSC members are invited to this Art Show and Sale at Gilly Shaeffer’s home, studio and garden this Sunday, November 22nd.
It will go from 9:30 to 5:00 p.m. Gilly’s show is part of the Arroyo Arts Collective Tour which takes place around northeast Los Angeles area every year. Gilly will have many years of her botanical painting work on display. Robert Layport-landscape oil painter, Cecile Decigaran-jewelry designer, Carol Yin and Kylie Ruan- potters will also be showing their work at Gilly’s during this event.
If you would like to buy a ticket to attend other art sites on this tour, you can do so online at http://arroyoartscollective.org. You do not need a ticket to come to Gilly’s—all BAGSC members are welcome!
The show is located at Gilly’s: 825 Elyria Dr., Los Angeles, California 90065
Arillyn Moran-Lawrence, posted by Deb Shaw
“Elegant Syrah,” © 2015, Arillyn Moran-Lawrence. Pen and ink, 13-1/2″ x 19″. All rights reserved.
“Elegant Syrah” is a pen and ink drawing of grapes from a Temecula vineyard. I found this interesting group of grapes on the vine at the Callaway Winery. I liked the way the grapes were embraced by the leaves. I sketched and photographed them and made some color swatches as I hadn’t decided which media I would use.
Francesca Anderson’s pen and ink work has always fascinated me so I decided that I would use pen and ink. I began with stippling on the grapes and had to decide to make each grape unique in some very small way so that I could happily reach the end of my work.
I entered “Elegant Syrah” In the 119th Annual Juried Exhibition of the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club. I worked for 10 years to finally qualify to be a full member of the club and have now been a member of the group for many years.
The Exhibition at the historic landmark National Arts Club in Manhattan”s Gramercy Park is the club’s major event. $8,000.00 in awards are given. A Metropolitan curator also serves on the jury of awards.
A Preview Reception benefits a travel fund for curators from the Metropolitan to research collections across the country.
Catharine Lorillard Wolfe was a philanthropist and art collector who was the only woman in the group of men who founded the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Catharine Lorillard Wolfe was the first woman to be on the board of of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Art Club with her name was established in 1896, to aid women and to counsel and help them exhibit their art. Now the club reflects the members’ professional standing and interests. For more information on the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, please see their website.
The National Arts Club is an historic private club in Gramercy Park, Manhattan. It is a National Historic Landmark.
by Deb Shaw
Icon for the “Weird, Wild & Wonderful” Symposium keynotes, available for free from iTunes U > The Huntington.
The keynote lectures from the “Weird, Wild & Wonderful” Symposium have been made available in audio format by The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens for free, via iTunes U > The Huntington. To listen, go to: https://itunes.apple.com/us/institution/the-huntington/id416672109. This link will take you to the iTunes U where you can hear all of the keynote talks from the symposium unedited, including:
- Jim Folsom’s opening remarks
- Dr. Jodie Holt, “Do you ‘see’ plants? Using Art and Technology to Teach Science”
- Mieko Ishikawa, “Painting the Wonder Plants of Borneo”
- Dr. Phillip Cribb, “The Art of Orchids”
- Dr. Alain Touwaide, “Plants, Artists, Languages: A Sense of Time and Places”
If you are having trouble connecting with the link above, go to The Huntington’s website, scroll down to the bottom of the page to the social media icons on the lower right side, and click on the iTunes U icon (the music notes). While there, take a look around at all of the free lectures offered by The Huntington.
The “Weird, Wild & Wonderful” Symposium was held this summer in conjunction with the southern California showing of Weird, Wild & Wonderful: The New York Botanical Garden Second Triennial Exhibition, Botanical Illustrations of Remarkable Plants, a traveling exhibition curated by the American Society of Botanical Artists.
by Estelle DeRidder, posted by Deb Shaw
Nevin’s Barberry with Bluebird, by Estelle DeRidder, © 2015, all rights reserved.
As an extension of the ‘Flashcard Project’ which was started through a grant from the ASBA to illustrate the plants of the Madrona Marsh in Torrance, California, Estelle DeRidder has illustrated twelve more species, which are now on exhibit.
The exhibit is open to the public until December 3, 2015, with an opening reception on Sunday, November 15 from 1:00 – 3:00pm. Dessert and coffee will be served.
The Madrona Marsh is located at 3201 Plaza Del Amo, Torrance, California 90503, (310-782-3989) and is open Tuesday through Thursday 10:00am – 5:00pm.
Congrats Estelle!
by Alyse Ochniak, posted by Deb Shaw
Jim Folsom lecturing during the “Weird, Wild & Wonderful Symposium.” Photo by Clara Josephs, © 2015, all rights reserved.
More looking forward to the next New York Botanical Garden Triennial, “Out of the Woods”:
Jim Folsom, Marge and Sherm Telleen Director of the Botanical Gardens, will be teaching two workshops about the structure of trees at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, on:
October 24, 2015 (limit 30 students) in the Brody Teaching Lab, from 8:30 am – 12:00 pm, and
January 17, 2016 (limit 20 students) in the Engemann Applied Tech Lab, from 8:30 am – 12:00 pm
Cost is $10.00 each session, payable at the workshop. Reservations are required, however; please RSVP to Alyse Ochniak. Reservations are first come, first served.
Come to one or both! Each session will be a 3-hour demonstration/workshop. Students will use dissection and compound microscopes to examine tree architecture, growth patterns, and structural characteristics using fresh and prepared material (provided by the Gardens). Discussion will include characteristics and terminology used to describe trees, and most useful in identification. Instruction will give particular attention to natural growth patterns and specific details of tree morphology and anatomy that would impact veracity of depiction.
Workshops only require pencil/pen and sketchbooks for taking notes, although artists are welcome to bring whatever materials they would like to use. Attendees are welcome to stay and draw in the Gardens after the class.
For more information about the New York Botanical Garden Triennial “Out of the Woods, Celebrating Trees in Public Places” visit the ASBA website.
The Huntington is located at: 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, California, 91108.
About the instructor:
Jim Folsom, PhD., rides the demographic peak of baby boomers, having been born in southeastern Alabama in 1950. His lifelong love of plants is reflected in a BS in Botany from Auburn University, an MA in Biology from Vanderbilt University, and a PhD in research botany from The University of Texas at Austin. Though his research has centered on the orchid family, with much of the research time spent in Tropical America (including a year in Colombia on a Fulbright Pre-Doctoral Fellowship), Jim’s botanical interests are wide-ranging. As Curator of the Botanical Gardens at The Huntington in San Marino, CA, he dedicates much of his effort to educational programs that increase public interest and understanding of the science, culture, and history of plants and gardens. He lives at The Huntington with his wife, Debra (also a botanist) and children Molly and Jimmy. Jim was recognized as a Friend of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America in 1996, a Member-at-Large of the Garden Club of America in 1998, and presented a Professional Citation by the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta in 1999. The Garden Club of America awarded him their Medal of Honor in 2007.
by Lori Vreeke, posted by Deb Shaw
Hanging the “Zoo in Bloom” BAGSC exhibition at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Photo by Lori Vreeke, © 2015, all rights reserved.
I just wanted to share a few pictures from the Santa Barabara Zoo. The artwork was hung yesterday, and everything looks wonderful!
Please join us on Saturday, October 3 for the opening reception for the exhibition from 10 am – 2 pm. See the posting on the Zoo’s website. The Zoo has offered free entry to our members and families; please wear your BAGSC name badge if you have one, and contact Lori Vreeke for information about free entry.
Hanging the “Zoo in Bloom” BAGSC exhibition at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Photo by Lori Vreeke, © 2015, all rights reserved.
The Zoo is anticipating 600 – 800 members in the morning on Saturday. BAGSC artists will be demonstrating throughout the day, and there will be BAGSC-led activities for kids and families. BAGSC volunteers and demonstrators are welcome!! There are still a few volunteer slots available, and the more volunteers available for BAGSC public activities the merrier. Please contact Lori Vreeke to let her if you would like to volunteer for an hour or so, and please bring any extra paper, colored pencils and pencils to share.
Hanging the “Zoo in Bloom” BAGSC exhibition at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Photo by Lori Vreeke, © 2015, all rights reserved.
Bring a lunch, or enjoy the café right outside the exhibition hall for a beautiful day in a beautiful setting.
The show will hang in the Volentine Gallery in the Zoo’s Discovery Pavilion October 3—January 3. The Santa Barbara Zoo is located at: 500 Ninos Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93103.
(805) 962-5339 main; (805) 962-6310 info line
Looking forward to the exhibit, and hope to see you there!
Hanging the “Zoo in Bloom” BAGSC exhibition at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Photo by Lori Vreeke, © 2015, all rights reserved.
by Deb Shaw
Damselfly, Carnation, Firebug, Caterpillar, Carnelian Cherry, and Centipede; Joris Hoefnagel (Flemish / Hungarian, 1542 – 1600), and Georg Bocskay (Hungarian, died 1575); Vienna, Austria; 1561 – 1562; illumination added 1591 – 1596; Watercolors, gold and silver paint, and ink on parchment; Leaf: 16.6 x 12.4 cm (6 9/16 x 4 7/8 in.); Ms. 20, fol. 68. Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program.
The Getty has a treasure in its collections, prized by botanical artists all over the world: the Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta by Georg Bocskay and Joris Hoefnagel. Commissioned in 1560 by the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I, Georg Bocskay, court scribe, displayed his astonishing calligraphy skills in this small book. Thirty years after he completed the volume, Joris Hoefnagel, the court illuminator to Ferdinand’s successor, the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, painted incredible portraits of flowers, insects, snails, seeds, frogs, snakes and more in the spaces on each page.
ASBA member Denise Walser-Kolar was inspired by Hoefnagel’s work after seeing the modern reproduction, Nature Illuminated: Flora and Fauna from the Court of Emperor Rudolf II in a bookstore. She is working on a 25-painting series, Hoefnagel-Inspired. To see more of her work, visit the article in the Getty Iris, the online magazine by the Getty. To order your own copy of Nature Illuminated, visit the Getty Store.
Hoefnagel-Inspired #4 2014, Denise Walser-Kolar. Watercolor and gouache on calfskin vellum, 4 x 6 in. Courtesy of and © Denise Walser-Kolar.
by Gilly Shaeffer, posted by Deb Shaw
Asuka Hishiki demonstrating during the “Weird, Wild & Wonderful” Symposium at The Huntington, July 2015. Photo by Gilly Shaeffer, © 2015.
During the recent “Weird, Wild & Wonderful” Symposium at The Huntington, I watched Asuka Hishiki as she demonstrated how she would paint a segment of an heirloom tomato skin. Here are my impressions of the way she went about developing this small sample of the tomato skin with paint.
- Asuka says every time she approaches her subject it is new for her.
- Asuka starts sketches on tracing paper.
- She uses a wood pencil in a pencil holder which she sharpens with a box cutter.
- She goes over her pencil lines with a lighter color paint or yellow ochre. So she will have thin lines in watercolor for her drawing.
- At this point she erases any pencil lines.
- She covers the entire form with a Chinese white wash. (The Chinese white that she likes is the Holbein brand.) She says one should stay very light when applying the first layer of this white paint. This Chinese white wash acts as a protection for the paper. Much of it gets taken off during the removal of the masking fluid (to be mentioned later).
- Asuka will add more Chinese white paint on the places where she wants the paint to bleed to create soft color transitions. She also mentions the importance of keeping harmony in the colors used as the form develops.
Asuka Hishiki masking fluid technique. Photo by Gilly Shaeffer, © 2015.
- She mixes three colors together in a small amount to be used to develop the form using the dry brush technique. She uses Interlon brand brush #3/0 for her dry brush work.
- In preparing to use masking fluid to prevent certain areas of the paper from getting painted, she would prime the brush to be used with liquid soap. The soap helps to keep the masking fluid brush in good shape for future use. This brush is used exclusively for masking fluid.
- She will use the masking fluid to hold the places that she does not want to get painted—in this case the place where a leaf would be (which looks like a skinny wiggly line in the photos), where the highlights would be and where imperfections would be found on the tomato skin.
Asuka Hishiki masking fluid technique. Photo by Gilly Shaeffer, © 2015.
- Asuka stipples on the masking fluid with a very skinny brush on the section that she has begun to paint.
- She uses tissue to blot any extra paint from her paper.
- Then she adds a second layer of masking fluid. So, this layer of masking fluid dots will have more tone than the first layer of dots that she applied that prevent any paint from getting through to the paper.
- She always makes sure that the paint and the masking fluid that she has applied are absolutely dry before proceeding.
- She says that you can lift paint more easily when you have first applied a Chinese white wash to the paper.
- She applies a layer of Yellow Ochre wash.
- She continues to develop the form through her dry brush technique. At this point the masking fluid remains on the painted area.
Asuka Hishiki masking fluid technique. Photo by Gilly Shaeffer, © 2015.
- Asuka uses Winsor Newton Series 7 brushes, #5 and #3 for the colored washes.
- She adds a third layer of masking fluid dots.
- With WN Series 7 #5 brush, she puts a colored wash on the section that she had previously dry brushed. This makes any lines from dry brushing disappear.
- Now she lifts the masking fluid dots. When she does this she is also lifting the Chinese white paint that was applied to the paper at the very start. The white of the paper now shows through in the places that had masking fluid on them.
- She decides that she wants to apply another layer (this would be the fourth layer) of masking fluid dots. This will make the dots appear lighter and less visible than the layers applied earlier.
- Next more dry brushing with a deeper color paint. Some stippling is used. Then some more wet strokes (colored washes) to further the development of the form.
- When she removes the fourth layer of masking fluid, it is easy to see the section of the heirloom tomato skin developing on the paper with its highlights, its shiny smooth skin, its roundness, its imperfections and its rich colors of orange, red, and purple.
by Deb Shaw
Focus on Nature XIV (FON XIV) has announced they will open in November, 2016 at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute (RTPI) in Jamestown, New York. It is an exciting collaboration between two institutions dedicated to continuing the tradition of natural history illustration. RTPI is a beautiful facility with exceptional exhibition space.
The entry deadline for FON XIV will be March 16, 2016. They will be posting the on-line entry form on the website (and I will hopefully receive an email alert as well, so I can post it to the BAGSC blog). Please check the FON website often as they are in the process of updating.
BAGSC and ASBA members have been well represented through the years in the FON exhibitions. Visit the FON website to view artwork from past exhibitions and award winners.
Stay tuned!
by Lori Vreeke, posted by Deb Shaw
Front of “Zoo in Bloom” invitation postcard, with artwork by Lori Vreeke.
The Santa Barbara Zoo is advertising the opening reception and exhibition for the “Zoo in Bloom” exhibition. The show opening is October 3, 2015, from 10:00am – 5:00pm on Saturday, October 3, 2015, in the Volentine Family Gallery.
The Volentine Family Gallery is located inside the Discovery Pavilion. Zoo admission rates apply, and drinks and snacks will be available for purchase.
BAGSC members will be demonstrating and answering questions all day. Download the PDF invitation postcard by clicking on this link: ZooArtShowInvitation_2015.
Also happening on October 3rd at the Zoo: Member Morning, from 8 am – 10 am; and ZOOs Line is it Anyway?
The Santa Barbara Zoo is located at:
500 Ninos Drive
Santa Barbara, CA 93103
(805) 962-5339 main
(805) 962-6310 info line
sbzoo.org
posted by Deb Shaw
BAGSC member Rita Hopper has two botanical pieces in the Tustin Art League exhibition at the Tustin Senior Center.
The show is open on weekdays, from 9 am – 4 pm, and will run from September 10 through October 1, 2015. There will be an opening reception on Friday, September 18th from 6 – 8 pm.
The Tustin Senior Center is located at:
200 South “C” Street, Tustin, California 714.573.3340.
The Tustin Art League consists of visual artists and is a program of the Tustin Area Council for Fine Arts (TACFA). The organization’s mission is to provide a venue that contributes to the growth of each member, and to enhance the visual arts within the community to enrich and energize citizens of all ages.
Congrats Rita!
by Deb Shaw
Gilly Shaeffer, Strelitzia nicolai, watercolor on paper © 2015, all rights reserved.
The Santa Barbara Zoo will be hosting an opening reception for the “Zoo in Bloom” exhibition, in conjunction with the gala celebrating Santa Barbara Zoo Members’ Day. The celebration runs from 9:00am – 5:00pm on Saturday, October 3, 2015.
BAGSC artists will be demonstrating throughout the day in the gardens and will staff an information table to answer any questions about our exhibit and about BAGSC and ASBA.
You do not need to be in the exhibition to volunteer — the more BAGSC members the merrier! Please let Lori Vreeke know when you would like to volunteer and what you would like to do.
Sign up for as many time slots as you would like. Want to carpool to Santa Barbara? Call or email Lori to let her know and to find out who else is coming up from your area.
The Santa Barbara Zoo is located at:
500 Ninos Drive
Santa Barbara, CA 93103
(805) 962-5339 main
(805) 962-6310 info line
zooinfo@sbzoo.org
BAGSC News 