Whilst in Gloucester I had been asked to do a second one-day workshop with different members. I felt it was as successful as the first day and here are the results for you to see. You will notice that in fact two of the students came for a second day and continued with their pictures.
Watch this space for the results of the ‘Fruit & Veg; strawberries & cream’ workshop happening this Friday and Saturday in Bosham.
What a lovely group of botanical artists – so welcoming.
I was invited to have a one- day workshop with the Gloucestershire Society of Botanical Illustration (GSBI), using pen and ink. I of course said yes as I had heard that the group are very active with a love for botanical art and illustration.
Apparently, as soon as I agreed to this and it was announced in the group, all the places were filled with an additional waiting list. Further discussions and a second workshopday was agreed. That will be tomorrow.
Normally I do this workshop over two-three days as time is also spent on composition and drawing. This one was purely to teach technique although in reality further advice in the field of botanical art is always given.
I know from feedback I get that people reading my blogs are always interested in the workshop results. Here are today’s group. Rather good don’t you think?
Wasn’t the weather horrid on Friday and Sunday – non-stop rain. But we still had a very good workshop; or at least that is what it have been told by those taking part.
Roses are scary subjects. Or at least people think they are. Normally we have loads of roses in the garden even though June is normally the main time for them. But following that very warm and dry spell whilst we were away in Norway, it seems that this year it really took its toll. Still we did have some simple roses and some a little more complicated. One that really caused a headache was a stunningly beautiful one ‘Deep Secret’. It’s perfume is very heady and it is a luscious deep, deep red. Although it was a full rose, it was the difficulty in matching the colour.
Reds can be difficult at the best of times, but as this rose unfolded, the different hues that emerged was incredible. One minute you think you have got it and the next it’s changed! But that is botanical art for you. I think at some point I will have to try it myself, rather than rely on students to struggle with the colour. But my projects are another matter.
Interestingly enough, one of the students arrived having never painted before and wanted to have a go. She started with watercolour, but as there was a mixture of watercolour and coloured pencil artists there, she got to see the effects of Both. On the second day, the student wanted to try CP and eventually got hooked by that medium.
But I expect it’s the pictures you want to see.
The next workshop is 21-22 August, Fruit & Veg: Strawberries & Cream workshop. We paint the fruit and veg and eat the strawberries and cream! There are a couple of places left, so obviously first come; first served. Get in touch.
2015’s botanical art course in Norway came to an end on Sunday after breakfast, although our last supper was when we sadly said our goodbyes.
The week had been just right. Lovely students, good food and perfect weather. We had long bright, sunny and warm days. The nights were just a little too bright and sunny for some, but I think that most quickly got used to this. The temperature was just perfect, a mid twenty. We were also hugely lucky in that it meant we could do what we wanted, when we wanted, without having to worry about the weather.
I’m writing this on my iPad aided by my daughter’s cat. It’s funny but it seems that Norwegian cats have the same instinct as British ones – to sit on what you are trying to do! They must have the correct amount of attention.
Åsgårdstrand Hotel, which is just 15 minutes north of where I am now – Tønsberg, also on the Banks of the Oslo Fjord- did us proud this year too. We had a lovely room with a view overlooking the fjord, so that we had a first class view of the activity on the water. Sailing boats coming and going and even the big ferries taking their travellers to local and foreign destinations. I’m afraid that there is one sad point though – we didn’t do the refreshment breaks justice! Healthy and unhealthy snacks, the choice was ours. The trouble was that when we were working – we were working.
However, although everyone was there to learn and practice their botanical art, they were also there to have a holiday and relax. I think there was success In that too.
I had managed to get a variety of plants from up in the mountains and also from garden centres. However, I think that everyone was really impressed with the variety of wild flowers everywhere. They are fantastic.
This is some of the work done:
Our last meal together was a huge success thanks to Elizabeth, one of the students, and the hotel. We met in our glad rags in the separate room which Elizabeth had organised for us, and we were really well behaved for five minutes.
Served beautifully by Victoria
The enjoyment was immense!
Thank you to everyone and roll on next year.
I did ask this student if once she had finished her Iris picture started at the workshop a couple of weeks ago, if I could put it in the blog. Today she sent me a photo of the finished Iris – and some comments.
I am going to be a bit naughty and include some of her comments as it is so applicable to most of us as we go through various stages in learning. Luckily in botanical art, we never stop learning and there will always be the next hill to climb. However, having got to the brow of one of the hills, is a pleasing moment.
This is what she wrote:
Finished! (Well- I could go on!). I don’t know what it was about your last workshop, but something seemed to click, and I suddenly ‘got it’, if you can understand what I mean. I no longer feel a little stressed and nervous about putting paint down, but excited and much more confident. I think this is the best thing I’ve done so far. I would love some criticism.
This is the picture and I love it. It obviously helps to pull those poor plants to pieces occasionally! Well done!
I haven’t been very good at keeping up with my blogging as there has been so much going on this month. We came back from our weekend away, back into the thick of things and preparation for the three-day workshop that has just happened.
A few weeks ago I held a workshop for Fieldbreaks at Goodnestone Park in Kent. That was a great success (according to the students) and it was time to do the same thing here in Bosham. Irises is really the thing at the moment. Unfortunately they are so short lived. Stately and elegant in their glorious drapery; some with beards, some without; some very slim and sylph-like, others plump and very ‘Reuben-ish’. If you remember, he liked to paint women with something to them – buxom and a bit more.
We had something of everything here. The simplest in appearance were the ones you get in the supermarkets – we had a lot of them! Others brought beautiful bearded Irises and some, very beautiful slim yellow irises or blue irises with highly patterned falls (the name of one of the petals). Common for all was the way God has assembled them for us.
So that we would have a better idea of how an Iris really looks and how it is assembled, we actually took a few of them to pieces and there was a queue for the three microscopes. Initially, no-one on the workshop was interested in botanical illustration. After they had looked through the microscopes I actually saw some of them drawing what they had seen! It is exciting.
We were a little late in starting to paint the irises as a fair amount of time went into examining them and drawing them ready to paint. In fact unusually, no-one started painting until the next day. But it seems that the knowledge of what they were doing (i.e. careful observation of the plant), actually seemed to help them both in the drawing of their subjects and painting them.
The sun actually shone on the second day – but it did cast some strong shadows for some of these photos.
Work in Watercolour and Coloured pencil on the second day.
And the paintings at the end of the three days. All took Irises home with them to complete their work.
So what now? Tomorrow, all day, I will be demonstrating Coloured pencil in botanical art at the Society of Floral Painters Exhibition at the Oxmarket in Chichester. The exhibition is open until Sunday midday, when it will be taken down. Do try and take the opportunity to go there to have a look.
I will be having my penultimate botanical weekly art class for this school year, on Wednesday, and Thursday we will be setting up for the Stansted Garden Show due to happen from Friday until Sunday. There will be a lot to see there and I will be continuing my demonstration in coloured pencil. I understand that the weather is to improve for the occasion. I hope to see you.
The SBA botanical art exhibition in Palmengarten, Frankfurt, has almost left my to-do list for this year! Our SBA member Sue Henon and Palmengarten have already started having meetings about the next exhibition in 2016, but I will now have nearly a year free to decide about any involvement I might or might not have.
The pictures that came back are nearly all out of the house and there is only one last collection due. The house almost looks empty – so much so, that I can now see all the dust that quickly collected when so many people were in and out of the house collecting pictures. We will have exactly six days to clear up before our Christmas guests arrive!
As so many people were coming and going, I decided it was best to leave the Acanthus work in the house so that I could do a little of it whilst waiting for people to arrive. This is where I have got to with the picture. It is taking its time.
More importantly for me – and hopefully for a few of you out there, I now have all the details for the next Botanical Art workshop holiday in Norway. By clicking on the image below you will be linked to my website to download further information including the booking forms.
On Monday and Tuesday this week I lead a workshop at Goodnestone Park Gardens in Kent. I have a couple of workshops there per year for Fieldbreaks.
The subject was Hedgerow produce and most of the students were using coloured pencil. One of them had neither used coloured pencil nor watercolour previously, so this was an experience. She did very well, although it felt a bit scary for her.
They are very good at Goodnestone and allow us to pick what we want from the gardens to use as botanical subjects. Some of the subjects we can find there can be quite exciting. But funnily enough, at a workshop I often find that other than new students who have not yet grasped that the ‘prettiest’ is not always the easiest to do, people generally choose very simple subjects. I think that this is because they are more intent on improving technique or learning something new to add to their repertoire of techniques.
Here are the results. I am very pleased with them and I am sure you will think them very good too.
This morning I had an ordinary weekly class and since then I have been working on the pen & ink Bears Britches.
I have only done a small portion of it so far and this is only establishing the flowers and fruits. Once I have established all the elements in the picture I will create tone and then…….. But you will have to wait for that.
We painted the vegetables and ate the strawberries and cream!
I was very disappointed for two students who at the last minute were unable to come to the workshop because of personal difficulties. We did think of them often during these two days.
Quite early on during the workshop I felt that the students would have some results that they would be proud of. Having picked suitable subjects from the garden, as usual we spent time on the preparatory work; the composition and drawing. Having said that, one of the subjects we knew would fade very quickly and therefore it was important to get down the first layers of colour fast. This time most people used coloured pencil and only one person used watercolour. It is exciting using different media in the same workshop as each student sees how each affects the final work; although less than one would imagine.
You want pictures, so here they are.
Today – at the end of the workshop. They promised to finish the pictures that still had work to do on them.
After just two days work, aren’t these amazing?
The next workshop is entitled ‘ Hedgerow produce – those colours!’ Tuesday 2 September until Thursday 4 September. As usual it is between 10:00 – 16:00 each day with lunch included. I do have spaces on the workshop, so get in touch as soon as possible.
GAYNOR'S FLORA 