Trade Secrets – tips from Botanical Artists

One of the great benefits of being in a Botanical Art Society is being able to share ideas and tips on everything from painting techniques to keeping those plants looking fresher for longer. We asked some of our members to send us their favourite botanical art tips.   Read on, there is definitely something here for everyone!

Are you struggling to arrange your plants for painting and can’t afford a laboratory-type stand and clamp? Try this ingenious idea from artist Sarah Morrish

Specimen stand- Sarah Morrish

Specimen stand- Sarah Morrish

 

I have used a piece of scrap plywood, or alternatively a piece of stiff cardboard will do, and painted it white.  It slots into a piece of wood at the base that has had a slit sawn/cut out of it.  Strips of Velcro self-adhesive tape have been stuck at intervals across the board.  My local florist charges 15c each for old plastic tubes with a stretchy lid, and then I stick some Velcro around them.  These can then be filled with water and hung at any angle to hold your plant specimen.  It’s especially good for trailing plants.

Dianne Sutherland (SBA): I draw all my component parts of a composition separately onto pieces of tracing paper and then move them around on a sheet of white paper to decide on the best arrangement. You can also flip the tracings over if need be.  I take a few photos of the various arrangements to decide on the best option.  Always work in odd numbers.                ( www.diannesutherland.com and http://diannesutherland.blogspot.ie/ )

tracing example- Dianne Sutherland (SBA)

tracing example- Dianne Sutherland (SBA)

Pulsatilla, Dianne Sutherland (SBA)

Pulsatilla, Dianne Sutherland (SBA)

 

Frances Wortley: To keep small plant pieces fresh, place them in a plastic bag and fill the bag with air by blowing into it, tie it tightly and place in the fridge. The air in the bag keeps the plastic off the plant acting as a sort of cushion. A plant will keep fresh a couple of days this way.

If a flower like a rose has wilted and drooped at the neck, lay the whole stem in water for a while, making sure it is all immersed-   it should recover perfectly.

 

Sammy & Lucy, honeysuckle loveheart- Jarnie Godwin

Sammy & Lucy, honeysuckle loveheart- Jarnie Godwin

 

Jarnie Godwin (dipSBA dist) :  If you are doing a busy card design or a composition with lots of the same flower or leaves, trace just a few and use these in different ways and directions to give a full appearance. The honeysuckle heart painting is a good example of where I have used repeat tracings of leaves and buds. Using repeats really helps if you have to do an odd shaped composition or a specified size.  (thanks KRD for giving me that tip!)

I was also given a good tip about shadow tones (thank you JJ) – use the colours in your existing project palette to get a realistic and complementary look. My ‘Alternative Alliums’ vegetable study demonstrates the shadow tone tip, particularly on the paler parts of the leek.

Alternative Alliums- example of shadow tone -Jarnie Godwin (dipSBA)

Alternative Alliums- example of shadow tone –  Jarnie Godwin

To keep plants fresh, I keep them in the fridge. I’ve just got hold of a big polystyrene box with a lid, the type that fruit and veg get transported in. Put a freezer block from a picnic set in it and it’s great to pop your plants in.    ( http://jarnieg.blogspot.ie/ )

Elizabeth Prendergast:  A teaspoonful of brown sugar at the bottom of a vase keeps your flowers fresher for longer- it really does work!

Keep your light source constant, especially if you have to move into another room or have to use an electric light!     ( http://elizabethprendergast.wordpress.com/ )

Shevaun Doherty : Use double-sided sellotape to keep your leaves/petals flat for botanical illustration. (Thank you BS for that tip!)

Breassia arania verde pulled apart and measured up

Breassia arania verde pulled apart and measured up

 

A leaf rubbing using a soft pencil and cheap paper is a great way of observing the venation and shape of a leaf.

When disaster happens and that splodge of paint does not want to lift, try using a Magic Eraser. Cut it into a wedge shape, dampen it slightly and gently stroke the stain… it really works!! (JML Doktor Power Magic Eraser is available at Homebase and other hardware stores)

Magic Eraser- works for watercolours too!

Magic Eraser- works for watercolours too!

 

Doreen Hamilton:   Small pieces of plant, leaves and flowers can be scanned directly onto a scanner with the lid open, and then printed out onto A4 paper.  It’s very useful if you think the specimen is going to die or droop                              ( http://ayearinanangleseywildflowermeadow.blogspot.ie/ )

Sarah Morrish:  When I’m out and about and know that I may want to collect some small plant specimens, I always take a plastic container with me.  The best type are Chinese takeaway containers as they are quite slim and compact.  I lay several layers of kitchen roll paper in the bottom of the container and then run water over it, letting the excess drain away, and then cover with the lid.  I then place my botanical specimen in the box and it normally keeps really well until I get home and then I place it in the fridge, where it can often live for a few weeks!  If I have cool bag with me when I am out, then I often place the container in there.                 *Sarah’s website is http://www.natures-details.com  and the blog is http://www.thenaturalyear.blogspot.com

Liriodendron tulipifera, tulip tree leaf painted using granulating pigments- Claire Ward (SBA)

Liriodendron tulipifera, tulip tree leaf painted using granulating pigments- Claire Ward (SBA)

 

Claire Ward (SBA) Opaque colours and granulating paints like Daniel Smith’s hematite are great for textures in the last layers, especially for autumn leaves, fungi and lichen twigs. I have plenty of earth colours and browns like burnt umber and sepia but it’s great to mix your own too, for example winsor violet and quinacridone  gold make a beautiful golden brown. This leaf is from a beautiful specimen tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera. It was painted with some granulating Daniel Smiths watercolours which are superb for this type of botanical. My favourite autumn colours are PY53(new gamboge by W&N), PY110 (M.Graham) and PO49 (quin deep gold).The pigments PO48 and PO49 are hard to get hold of now so if you can get them, do!  Quinacridone golds are now usually made with a mix of PY150 and other pigments. Beware of staining colours like some of the quinacridones and pthalos if you want to lift paint for veins etc.  ( http://www.claireward.net/  and http://www.drawntopaintnature.blogspot.ie/ )

Lorraine Adams (dipSBA):  Take a photo of your subject in black and white (or change it to grayscale on the computer) so you can see the tonal variations. I often take a photo or scan in black and white/grayscale of my painting at different stages, so I can see if I am achieving the tonal variations correctly.

Always use two pots of water, one for adding water to mixes and blending, and the other for rinsing out your brush.

Holly leaf studies in greyscale - Lorraine Adams

Holly leaf studies in greyscale – Lorraine Adams

 

Mary McInerney: I was given this tip recently about putting your plant in the fridge.  Stand the plant in a tall container filled at the base with small stones, the stones seem to keep the water fresh.  Place the container in a large plastic bag that goes up and around the plant, leaving the top opened.  This seems to prevent the leaves from frost damage and keeps the leaves crisp.

Jane Stark: Fed up with constantly having to sharpen my pencil whilst doing line drawings, I recently invested in a 0.3mm Pentel mechanical pencil from www.pencils4artists.co.uk   It works beautifully.  I bought HB but they come in a whole range of grades from 4H to B

Pentel-GraphGear-1000

Pentel-GraphGear-1000

 

Many thanks to all the artists who graciously took the time to share their tips and images here.

If you have any tips that you also want to share, we would love to hear from you!   Please feel free to add it to the comments below, or email it directly to us. We hope  to make Botanical Art Tips a regular feature of the blog.

Comments on the blog are not published immediately as they need approval first, so please be patient!

 

15 replies
  1. Jess
    Jess says:

    This is SUCH a brilliant post! So many insightful things that I had never heard about before. Thank you for all your suggestions and for making this informative blog post. I love the idea of two vases of water Lorraine – I had never thought of that before and it totally makes sense now I think of it! All the different types of storage for fresh plant material is really interesting, especially the brown sugar one – again, not heard of that. Lovely to see you all working together so effectively. Wish I was part of this amazing team.

    Reply
  2. Doreen Hamilton
    Doreen Hamilton says:

    Just thought of another 2
    1)Unsure which side of the paper is the right side . Run both the paper across your bottom lip .You will fell the difference as lips are far more sensitive
    2) Overworked paper or damage. With eraser rather than scrap painting or paper ,tip of a hottish iron smoothes paper again .sounds drastic but when weighed up against scrapping something that has taken hours , worth the chance has saved me a few times

    Reply
    • Frances Wortley
      Frances Wortley says:

      You can also smooth it by wrapping a piece of paper towel round you thumb nail and rubbing hard with the back of the nail, also if you have an agate burnishing tool or similar it’s not so hard on the thumb nail.

      Reply
      • Shevaun Doherty
        Shevaun Doherty says:

        Thanks for your tips, Frances! I’ll be picking your brains no doubt for the next blogpost on botanical art tips.

        Reply
    • Shevaun Doherty
      Shevaun Doherty says:

      Wonderful tips Doreen. Thanks. I think you can also use the back of a clean dry teaspoon heated by putting it in hot water, but I haven’t tried it. I have an agate burnisher which works a treat. As you say, you’ve little to lose at that stage!

      Reply
  3. Yanny Petters
    Yanny Petters says:

    Artists tips, great idea!
    When you’ve got to transfer a tracing or drawing to good paper, use a 2B pencil side on to cover a separate piece of thin tracing paper with graphite. Then, and this is the important bit, get a bit of scrap paper and rub over the graphite to distribute it evenly. When you go to transfer your drawing first lay it on your paper without the graphite paper. When you are satisfied with the position tape the drawing in place by its top edge. Then carefully lay the graphite paper underneath avoiding sliding it over the good paper. This way you will avoid graphite smudges on your good paper. Use a ‘bridge’ to stop your hand putting pressure on the drawing as you transfer it. Always check the pressure of the drawing you’re doing is giving you a clear but very faint outline. Micro pencil is good for this like the one Jane writes about. Always lift upwards so graphite can’t get smudged.

    Reply
    • Shevaun Doherty
      Shevaun Doherty says:

      Thanks Yanny! that’s a good tip. I always painstakingly draw it all out on the reverse, so this would save a lot of time,

      Reply
    • Marie
      Marie says:

      Nothing beats the old light box as far as I’m concerned! Saves hours and is clean and useful for other craft projects too. Can be used in conjunction with thin graph paper for transferring things proportionally. Only cost me £40 online.

      Reply
  4. Anne Carlaw
    Anne Carlaw says:

    Lovely to see you Mary and thanks for letting me know about this great website.
    When paper damaged use a piece of white silk fabric to buff it up.works beautifully.
    You can also do the same ( carefully)on your finished painting to make it smooth.
    Kindest regards
    Anne

    Reply

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