My point about the all-important point

My point about the all-important point

I teach three mediums: graphite; coloured pencil; and watercolour. While they have their obvious differences in technique application and material content, they have one essential aspect in common—the point. In all three of these mediums you simply cannot produce...
How to price a botanical painting?

How to price a botanical painting?

How to price a painting has always posed difficulties for botanical artists. Unfortunately, there is no magic formula. In fact, just like botanical art itself, pricing botanical art is a combination of art and science. I had to wrestle with this issue again recently...
Unplug and paint

Unplug and paint

I recently received an email from a friend and fellow botanical artist in which she said that she had become so distressed and disgusted at the political news currently on the airwaves, that she’d decided that painting was to be her sanctuary. She called it “unplug...
Every painting has a story to tell

Every painting has a story to tell

Recently, in the process of painting the walls of our dining room, living room, and my studio, we had to take down and then rehang the many paintings we’ve collected over the years—most of them botanical art originals. In handling them, it dawned on me that every one...
Don’t fall in love with a fugitive

Don’t fall in love with a fugitive

Fugitive watercolour pigments (those are the ones that can change colour or even fade away completely) can be very seductive. Some are easy to fall in love with. Take Opera Rose, for example. It came up on a social media post this past week and since discussion on...
Copying. When is close too close?

Copying. When is close too close?

Today I was scrolling through botanical art posts on Instagram when I felt the kind of spine-tingling sensation described by people who believe they’ve seen a ghost. I was looking at a painting of a white phalaenopsis orchid that appeared to be one I’d completed about...