Seventeen days before RHS botanical art exhibition set up.

March 24, 2014April 3, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

I set to work again as soon as we got home from church today. Although there is plenty of light in the shed I don’t know if it rains or shines. But I do know that on going up to the house for tea refills etc. it was very cold today.

This is a small glimpse of my working environment at the moment – concentrated computering; but with the odd intrusion.

It is not what I enjoy the most. I much prefer coloured pencil painting. But it is one step nearer getting the pictures finished for exhibition at the RHS. Don’t forget the date at the RHS Lindley Hall in London, 11 – 12 April, but with the awards given on the 10th. I hope people are either praying or keeping their fingers crossed for me.

A couple of days ago I showed the blossom for the Malus Evereste. These are the crab apples.

I first saw them during a workshop about three years ago, when a student brought them along to paint. I was very taken with their stripey look, but also that a few of them had an extra ‘lumpy’ skirt on them. They reminded me of a ‘cottage loaf’.

Botanical art demonstration in coloured pencil for the SFP

March 23, 2014April 3, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

I tried to prepare for today’s demonstration yesterday evening! I had some interesting assistance.

I decided to show how to do a couple of Magnolia x soulangeana blooms and prepared the outline drawing for today.

Today I had a lovely relaxing day with my husband as we drove to a little village just outside Salisbury where the Society of Floral Painters meeting was being held. A lot of people had turned up both to get advice about their own botanical art work and to watch the demos.

Coloured pencil work is fairly time consuming, so I didn’t get too far with painting the Magnolia, but I enjoyed the time showing the various techniques and answering all the questions fired at me. People there were obviously very interested and it was a very useful exercise – also for me. It is amazing how much one learns oneself when teaching!

After the demo my husband treated me to a delicious lunch. What a lovely break for a few hours from the crab apple series. I did return to it when we eventually got home again.
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Another Botanical picture ready for the RHS exhibition

March 21, 2014April 3, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

I seem to be spending every free minute on the Photoshop colour matching of the Crab apple botanical art series. But tomorrow I will be doing something else.

The Society of Floral Painters has asked me to do a coloured pencil demonstration at one of their meetings that is open to members and artists hoping to attain full membership in the society. It will be at Pitton Village Hall near. Salisbury, tomorrow between 10:00 – 14:00.

As the Magnolia x soulangeana is still in full flower, I have prepared a drawing to demonstrate this. It will be good to take my head away from the computer for a day.

Would you like to see part of the next picture finished? It is blossom on the Malus Evereste. Note how it differs from Malus Red Jade. The flower is slightly smaller than for the Red Jade, doesn’t have the stripey red on the petals and seems to have regular wrinkles along each petal. Although the Malus Red Jade apple is very small, the flowers are not so small.

It is amazing how different each Malus sort is.

RHS exhibition results 3 weeks today!

March 20, 2014April 3, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

In three weeks time, on April 10 about midday I will know if my six botanical art paintings in coloured pencil have passed muster and if they have won a medal.

I’m still hard at working up the colours in Photoshop and In between teaching classes, workshops or marking botanical art assignments for the London Art College. The days are long, but it sounds as though it is going to get colder again and the weeds in the garden might grow slowly for a short while.

The Magnolia is in full and splendid bloom; several weeks early according to pictures taken other years. Each of the crabapple trees have started sprouting. I now have seven different ones.

Would you like another glimpse from the Malus. Red Jade picture? This time it’s the apples. The full picture with dissections is quite interesting, but you will have to come to the RHS exhibition to see it.

Glimpse from a finished crabapple painting

March 18, 2014April 3, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

I am on the last steps towards finishing the RHS crabapple paintings. Except for additional research for the Malus Red Jade information labelling, I have finished the actual painting and colour matching for prints. I will give you a glimpse at the end of this blog.

Unfortunately I won’t get much work done on the next painting tomorrow as I am teaching my weekly class in the morning. But as much time as possible is now spent on these botanical paintings.

Three weeks until the RHS botanical art exhibition

March 16, 2014April 3, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

How am I doing? Will I be finished in time?

These of course are the questions I am asking myself and I imagine are the same questions for those who follow the blog.

Preparing for the RHS botanical art show which will happen in London 11 – 12 April, with preview on the evening of the 10th, has taken three years. The work is almost finished. Believe it or not.

I have finished painting each of the six pictures. I have only painted the necessary six and I haven’t painted a 7th as a reserve in case one wasn’t up to scratch ( I was advised to do this – in case). The frames are made and all that remains is working up the digital images for printing plus writing the information to hang with the pictures.

Matching the colours exactly is a hugely time consuming exercise. I prefer to do this myself unless the picture is too big for the equipment I have. As having the correct colours to reflect my subject is important for my painting, I am a perfectionist in matching the colours in Photoshop.

The last bit of work will be to research further the six Malus plants I have painted and write some information about each of them.

Three weeks is not long. The sun is shining, the garden and gardening await and May this year will be very busy with exhibitions. But, the RHS exhibition is the most important having taken three years to prepare.

Breath!

From Sketch to drawing – Learn to draw botanical images.

March 5, 2014April 4, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

This is the title of the next workshop in Bosham, Nr Chichester.

I still have some places on the workshop Tuesday 25 – Thursday 27 March. Would you like to join us?

In every workshop I run, I always set off time to compose and sketch out the picture that is to be painted. As often as not people are reluctant to spend time on the drawing, thinking that it will sort itself out when the paint or coloured pencil goes on. It won’t! your final picture will only be as good as the drawing you use as a ‘master’.

Now you have the opportunity to learn the tricks of drawing your botanical subject easily. Remember that awkward leaf that sticks directly towards you? How difficult do you find drawing it? Just follow the tips I will give you, and reduce the problems you have in the future.

What about drawing a load of petals round a centre part – do they meet when you get round to the other side? Again, find out how to do this. Or a daffodil; getting the trumpet right?

Here are some sketches from my sketchbook and a couple of final drawings done with graphite.

If you want to join us, go onto my website and contact me via the contact form. Its on http://www.gaynorsflora.com

Oriental poppy seed-head sketch & colour matching

Daffodils from sketchbook

Stinking iris from Sketchbook. sketch & colour matching.

Final Euonymus leaf in graphite on Bristol board

Hellebores workshop success

March 3, 2014April 4, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

We had a really enjoyable three- day botanical art workshop from Friday until Sunday. There may have been periods of dark clouds and rain outside, but inside we had plenty of colourful Hellebores and a lot of laughter. You will see shortly if the laughter was of detriment to the painting.

These are a couple of comments I have had already:

“Thank you a three lovely days, I had a great time and managed to paint something, progress indeed”

“Such a lovely 3 days ”

Hellebores are really beautiful flowers. A gardener once told me that they are very promiscuous. Often different coloured Hellebores are planted next to each other in a flower bed and are readily fertilised by each other. However, we still have a variety of different colours from white to very dark red/blue/black.

In the garden, Hellebores are often only seen standing statuesquely but with their heads hanging. In the workshop we had them floating in bowls of water with their lovely centres smiling up at us.

This is some of the work created at the workshop. Would you have liked to join us? The next workshop is at the end of this month. Either check it out on my website http://www.gaynorsflora.com, or wait for the next blog.

Next Botanical Art workshop – Hellebores

February 6, 2014April 4, 2015 | Gaynor's Flora

The next workshop is February 28th – March 2nd. That is Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The topic suggestion is Hellebores.

Many will have seen Hellebores and snowdrops
poking their heads up in the garden already – as long as their gardens are not underwater.

I feel so sorry for all those people who are struggling in the UK, because of the wind and rain. I am so grateful to have been spared and can only imagine what they are going through.

Back to Hellebores and the botanical art workshop. I have one or two places available on the workshop and it is suitable for those who want to start painting botanically, to those who are already fairly well accomplished. You can use watercolour, coloured pencil or graphite and as the class is kept deliberately small I will be able to give individual attention to everyone.

The workshop is held in the beautiful village of Bosham, near Chichester on the South coast of England. Beautiful even now!

Can I tempt you with one or two pictures from my garden this week?

Do get in touch via this blog or my website http://www.gaynorsflora.com if you want to take part in the workshop or make any comments.

GAYNOR'S FLORA

Botanical art, illustration, artist, illustrator, teacher, workshops, classes

Botanical art