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Repeated by popular demand from February.

BOTANICAL ART CONVERSATIONS

An interactive online day with five leading botanical artists

25TH MAY 2024  2 - 7pm BST 

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Elaine Searle, Sarah Morrish, Ann Swan, Lucy T Smith and Laura Silburn join together online to showcase their work, lead mini workshops and give advice on botanical artwork.

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The day will be divided into three types of session:

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TUTORS' SHOWCASE

Each tutor will show examples of their work or favourite projects to date (this is the only session that will be recorded).

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MINI-WORKSHOPS

Be part of a small group, as tutors demonstrate and lead a discussion around a subject of their choice. You will be able to attend three of the five 40 minute workshops on offer. Questions and interaction will be encouraged. See topic details

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PICTURE CLINIC

Get feedback from tutors on a piece of artwork: What works well? What could be improved? The exact nature of this session will be confirmed nearer the time, depending on how many attendees submit artwork. If time doesn't allow to cover every picture, you will learn from advice given to others.

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In the breaks between sessions, there will be rolling SLIDESHOW of work by attendees. Join in supporting one another by sharing your work, whatever your standard. 

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PLEASE READ MORE BEFORE BOOKING

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£75

Mini-workshop topics
MINI-WORKSHOPS TOPICS
You will be able to attend three of the following 40 minute workshops.
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DEPTH IN DETAIL

ELAINE SEARLE

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Achieving a convincing illusion of 3D can heighten realism and create impact in your botanical art. Elaine with show you how to use selective detail and modified colour to help create depth.

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Elaine Searle is an internationally known artist and tutor of over 18 years, recognised for her watercolour paintings of plants, fruit and vegetables. She has awards for her work and teaches regularly, both online and around the world.

WEBSITE

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USING A DIP PEN FOR BOTANICAL ART

SARAH MORRISH

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Dip-pens can be a challenging tool to use.  Sarah will guide you in what to look for in a nib and holder, and how to get the most from it during the drawing process.

 

Sarah Morrish combines science and art in producing paintings and illustrations that immerse you in many aspects of the natural world and its processes.  She specialises in pen and ink illustration and is author of the popular 'Natural History Illustration in Pen and Ink'.

WEBSITE

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ATTRACTING AN AUDIENCE INTO YOUR PICTURE SPACE

ANN SWAN

 

Composition is the ‘art’ part of botanical art, but so often we dive into our plant portraits without giving much thought to the complete picture space or its ‘wall appeal’. Ann discusses ways of creating eye-catching, balanced, contemporary compositions and how to avoid distracting pitfalls. 

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Ann Swan is one of the UK’s leading botanical artists and tutors working in pencil and coloured pencil; well known for her detailed, vibrant and strong contemporary style. Awarded four RHS Gold medals for her work, she is author of ‘Botanical Painting with Coloured Pencils'

WEBSITE

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SKETCHBOOK STUDY STAGES

LUCY T SMITH

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For botanical artists and illustrators, the sketchbook is essential tool for exploring plant material and making preparatory studies.  Learn how to approach your investigations with clear aims and goals, examining and recording plant material in a logical and informative way.

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Lucy Smith works freelance for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew producing botanical illustrations in both pen and ink and watercolour. Her illustrations have been published in many scientific journals worldwide and she has won many awards. Her book 'Botanical Sketchbooks' will be published in 2024.

WEBSITE

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PAINTING TEXTURES: FORM IN MINIATURE

LAURA SILBURN

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Textures such as bumps, pits and grooves on plants have evolved for all sorts of reasons and it is important to convey them in our paintings. It can be really helpful to start by thinking of the detail in an enlarged way. Join Laura as she shows you how to do this. 

 

Laura Silburn's work ranges from botanical documentation for archives and florilegia to artistic studies of plants exploring our relationship to them. She teaches regularly in Devon and Cornwall as well as abroad and has three RHS Gold medals amongst other awards.

WEBSITE

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BOTANICAL ART CONVERSATIONS BOOKING FORM

PLEASE READ MORE BEFORE BOOKING

MINI-WORKSHOPS

OR choose three preferences

MINI-WORKSHOPS 40 minute workshops in which tutors demonstrate their topic then encourage discussion and questions.​ Groups will be kept small to facilitate this. ​​ Whilst we will aim to give you all your choices of workshops, this may not be possible for everybody. Once workshops are full we may need to assign you to different sessions. All the tutors are experienced, with a wealth of knowledge, so I'm sure all of the sessions will be worthwhile.  If you don’t have a preference or can’t decide, we will assign workshops to you. (This option would actually be easier for us!) The tutors will do a short demonstration, followed by a chance to ask questions around the topic. The groups will be kept small deliberately to facilitate conversation, so please take advantage of this. We’d love you to be actively involved.

SLIDESHOW AND PICTURE CLINIC 
I would like to submit a picture for the:

In your booking confirmation email, you will be guided through how to do this.

SLIDESHOW  We’d love to have a rolling slideshow of attendees work on display during the breaks. This is a great way of supporting each other, whatever level you are working at. PICTURE CLINIC This is your chance to get some basic tips and advice on your artwork from the tutors. Feedback will be given in smallish groups, as we can all learn from each other’s work, so you need to be comfortable with this.  The pictures for the clinic can be the same as submitted for the slideshow or different. However, there is no obligation to submit work if you don't want to. If there are lots of submissions, there may not be time to give feedback on all the paintings.  Equally, if not enough images are submitted, the content of this session will be reconsidered. The final format of this session will be decided once we know how many pictures have been sent for feedback.  You will need to send 300dpi images by 11th May at the latest. In your booking confirmation email, you will be guided through how to do this.

How would you describe yourself? (This will help us when organising Picture Clinic groups).

PRICE £75

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REFUNDS If you need to cancel your booking, you will get a full refund if you do so before 25th April. After this, you will only receive a 50% refund, with no refund available if you cancel after 18th May, unless you can find someone to fill your space.

Thank you for your booking!

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