Botanical Illustration from Life
by
Işik Güner
Observe, draw, paint, explore and master the art of botanical illustration.
Award-winning botanical artist Isik Guner shares her passion for drawing and painting living plants from around the world. Her work is both artistically accomplished and scientifically accurate, and will inspire you to master the skills you need to produce your own botanical illustrations from life.
- Discover how to select, preserve and position your specimens.
- Develop your understanding of perspective and composition.
- Learn the techniques of drawing and watercolour painting.
With the help of Ekin Ozbicer’s striking photography and numerous illustrations by Isik and other renowned botanical artists, this visually stunning book bridges the gap between science and art and will inspire artists, illustrators, botanists and plant lovers in equal measure.
Book ContentsForeword 8
START 10
Communication through drawing 12
Plants for life 14
Past and present 16
Different approaches 18
Different techniques 21
OBSERVE 24
Learn to see what you’re looking at 26
Observing plants in their habitat 28
Plant selection 32
Pressing specimens 34
Searching for plants 36
Preserving plants 41
Positioning plants 42
Positioning yourself 47
DRAW 48
Drawing from life 50
Starting to draw 53
How to draw 56
Measured drawing 61
Perspective drawing 66
Aerial perspective 72
Complex subjects 75
Let’s draw plants 78
Composition 80
Ready to paint 84
PAINT 86
Watercolour 88
Starting to paint 90
How to paint 94
Colour 98
Mixing colours 100
Colour contrast 103
Colour perspective 104
Texture 107
Sketches 108
Let’s paint 112
Final touches 118
EXPLORE 120
Botanical illustration is all about details 122
Exploring many different types of plant 125
Identification of species 128
Roots 131
Stems 134
Buds 140
Leaves 145
Flowers 159
Fruits and seeds 174
MASTER 186
Finding your style 188
Finding solutions 191
Inspiration from nature 192
Inspiration from other artists 196
Akiko Enekido 198
Lizzie Sanders 199
Anne Hayes 200
Constance Sayas 201
Jacqui Pestell 202
Gustavo Surlo 203
Plant list 204
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