Botany for the Artist

October is Craft Month at DK Canada and for a limited time they are offering a special deals for fans who love to create something new with their hands.  Whether looking for a long-term hobby or hoping to while away an afternoon, you will find the resources you need with this wide selection of books for kids and adults. From reference books that show the best lighting for a photograph to how to knit a scarf – these books will answer every question and encourage your creative side!

I have been offered some titles to review in order to present them to my readers.    The second title that I have selected for this special promotion is Botany for the Artist.

Botany for the artist 

About the Book

Following the success of Anatomy for the Artist and Sketch Book for the Artist, Botany for the Artist teaches readers in step-by-step illustrations and expert narrative instruction how to master the art of drawing plants. Page after page of beautiful, detailed photographs complement Sarah's illustrations; drawing classes provide a wealth of practical how-to advice; and pages from Sarah's own sketchbooks as well as inspirational master classes reveal how other artists—from 17th century masters to contemporary botanical illustrators—have portrayed plants throughout the years.

My Thoughts

I love to learn new things and with two grand-mothers who painted my husband thinks that I should learn to draw and paint.   So far, we hadn’t had the time or financial possibilities for me to be guided with a teacher to develop this skill but I am not loosing hope.   Since drawing is a craft and I like seeing drawings of plants whenever I can, I opted to review the Botany for the Artist.

This book will allow any artist to grasp a better understanding of the structure of plants when drawing them.  It contains numerous illustrations on flowers, trees, and other plants.   It will inspire any artist or artist wannabe like me into taking more time to observe and draw the plants that surrounds us.

Fabulous photographs also complement this book along with the numerous illustrations of roots, stems, leaves, flowers and fruits.  The classes included in this book will also guide you through the skills that you will need to capture the plants successfully and realistically.    Doing the lessons in this book will allow you to discover how botanical artists from the exploration days were able to portray the plants over the centuries.

Let’s explore the table of contents for a minute:

• The Art of Botany: Images from the past, drawn from life, the printed truth, private passions, expanding worlds, personal drawing books, voyages of discovery, zen composition, meditations.
• Drawings Plants: Working with plants, materials, mixing colors, preparatory drawings, creating a drawing, sources of inspirations
• Diversity: Plant classification, algae, fungi, lichens, mosses and liverworts, ferns and horsetails, conifers, flowering plants, monocots, eudicots.
• Roots: How roots work, spreading roots, no need for soil, Drawing Class: Hawthorn.
• Stems: Strong stems, stem buds, Study: Wild Stems, Drawing Class: Pine Tree, Study: Trees in the landscape, Drawing Class: Composition, Study: Folded fritillary, runners, climbers, wetland plants, underground story, Drawing Class: Kohlrabi, modified stems, skin surfaces.
• Leaves: Simple leaves, compound leaves, leaf veins, leaf arrangements, Study: Pine needles, Drawing Class: Leaves in perspective, pitchers, heterophylly, bracts, Study: Fern crosiers, Drawing class: Autumn leaves.
• Flowers: Anatomy of a flower, inside a flower, pollination, Study: Cross sections, Study: Opening buds, symmetry in flowers, Drawing Class: Aristolochia, flower forms, Study: Tulips, branching, cymes, racemes, Study: Wild flowers, flower heads, Study: Hippeastrum, Spikes, catkins, and spathes, capitula, capitula variations,  Drawing Class: Windflower.
• Fruit, Cones, and Seeds: Dispersal, capsules, Drawing Class: Conkers, pods, Study: Herbarium fruits,  achenes, Study: Banksias, smalldry fruits, winged fruits, fleshy fruits, Drawing Class: Watermelon, fruit diversity, Study: Cones, Drawing Class: Pine cone, germination.

Going through the pages of this book, I can see that the author has taken the time to present a step-by-step process on how to draw various plants or parts of a plant.   Though it could be tempting to simply jump at a specific area in the book, I strongly suggest that you take your time to read and follow the instructions in the book because you wouldn’t want to miss some important lessons.  I particularly love the fact that included in the book are photos as well as images of plant drawings done through the years as explorers were discovering the world around them.

My maternal grand-mother has painted some fabulous vines and grapes as well as plums in a tree when she was 16 years old on roller blinds (keep in mind that was in the early 1900s).  These paintings are not displayed in my dining room and you can see that at some places the age of the painting is showing with cracks.   My husband think I could be able to repair them but before I think I will take advantage of this marvelous book and learn much about drawing and painting plants.   I seriously need to build my confidence before embarking on the possible restoration of my grand-mother’s paintings.

This book could also be used as part of a drawing lesson in your homeschool.  It’s a fabulous book to learn more about drawing plants and will provide clear instructions in developing this skill.

DK Canada is currently offering a 30% off on numerous titles in their Craft Boutique.  You don’t have any drawing skills?  No problem, you can find books on how to brew your beer, knitting, photography, sewing, handmade gifts, flower arranging, wood working, drawing, painting, books for kids for craft ideas or drawing, and much more.

Simply click on the image below to get directly on the Craft Boutique of DK Canada.

Botany for the Artist is available for purchase at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca and amazon.com.

  

Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for sending me the above mentioned titles for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.