Lauded by artists and gardeners and tracked by plant hunters, the lily has long fascinated for its duality of purity and sexuality. From the Madonna Lily to the exotic Tiger Lily, the ‘herring lily’ to Lilium regale, the latter imported to our shores long after the demise of Henrietta Maria, Rose and Lily Queen. We will explore the lily in paintings, proverbs and poetry, literature and gardens, and will cast our nets wide to include both the aristocratic ‘liliums’ and the more ‘commonly named’ water lilies and day lilies, not to mention lily of the valley
Each week we will explore different ways of drawing using a variety of techniques and prompts. Karin will introduce the class to a wide range of artistic approaches and examples to guide us in developing our own unique visual language. The structured course will lead us from observational drawings of botanical specimens to more imaginative ways of representing plants and nature. Drawing through observation is a great way to develop your creativity and mindfulness.
September in the Garden usually means an abundance of Asteraceae – otherwise known as the Daisy Family. These include bright yellow black centred Rudbeckias, tall lemon yellow Helianthus, russet coloured Heleniums and bright pink Echinaceas. Blue and purple Asters bring a cooler touch to the palette. On this two day course you will create a beautiful portrait of these late summer blooms. Reinhild will help you to choose and arrange the stems on the page, creating a colourful and exciting composition.
Join RHS medal-winning garden designer Paul Herrington, for advice on how to deal effectively with small gardens which have their own practical challenges such as a lack of privacy, heavy shade, poor soil and visually dominant fences or walls. Over three separate half-day sessions Paul will guide you so that you come away with clear ideas of how your garden can look. Paul has designed and created many private, public and health-care gardens over the past 30 years. He has also organised therapeutic horticulture projects for people with physical and psychological health issues.
Join artist tutor Nabil Ali for this fascinating online lecture course explaining how paint and ink can be made using plants and additional organic ingredients. The paint making processes are inspired by historical key technical manuscripts and classical sources using forgotten craftsmens’ ideas and techniques.
The eighteenth-century landscape garden is frequently hailed as being Britain’s greatest contribution to European culture. Its seductively simple formula, made famous by Capability Brown, combined elegance with economic viability, and triumphed over the fashion for French formalism. Its genesis, however, was far from serene.
Right plant, right place… we’ve all heard that before right? But what does it mean and how can we achieve it in our own gardens? Join Paul Herrington for an informal, relaxed morning session. You’ll go away with a greater understanding and appreciation of micro-climates, soil types, plant choices and planting styles. And have a clear framework how to apply all of this to your garden borders whatever their size, and wherever they may be. NB this is a core component of my longer garden design courses.
Garlic bulbs are generally overlooked by botanical artists because they are not very interesting. Pale, hardly any colour and relatively uninteresting. THINK AGAIN! They are beautiful. The colouring is delicate, pretty and subtle. The shading has to be carefully worked to show the shape of the cloves beneath the fine, papery skin. Then, that papery skin, when dried out, cracks and peels, adding so much extra interest to the illustration. Fine ridges have to be shown, together with delicate gradations of colour. Then add green shoots emerging f
Travelling back in time you will discover that the borders of the tropical region have been dynamic throughout the history of life on Earth with clues that have allowed us to understand the extent of the tropical belt, with a focus on the fossil record.
The creativity of the artist’s hands and the marks and traces they leave is part of the narrative of the Fitzwilliam’s The Human Touch exhibition.
