Event information
Botanical illustration can be all about the flamboyance of a brightly coloured bloom or fruit, but nothing comes to life without the addition of leaves. On this course, we will concentrate on leaves alone, because they are so beautiful when studied and recorded in detail. Depending on the size of your chosen leaves, it will be possible to complete two, three or even four. You will then be equipped to complete the remaining ones in your own time. Before the class it would be a good idea to look at lots of leaves, so the ones you choose are all different. Look at the shades of green so they’re not all the same; a dried or dead leaf from last autumn would be a good addition. Choose a selection; serrate, palmate, undulate, reniform, ovate, undulate – the list goes on. There are many, but a variety will make for a more interesting study (plate). There will be lots of leaves available in the Botanic Garden but please bring some of your own if you would like to include them.
Suitable for beginners and intermediate level
Janie Pirie is one of the UK’s leading coloured pencil artists and studied fine art at Northampton & Colchester Schools of Art. After graduating in Fine Art she has illustrating children’s books, women’s magazines and commissioned portraits, before moving her interest to drawing and illustrating plants. This work has earned her two RHS Gold Medals together with Certificates of Botanical Merit from the Society of Botanical Artists, of which she is a member.
