Drawing from a live specimen infuses truth into a botanical piece. To know me is to know that this is not news. I have always strongly believed in drawing from a live specimen. You will find me emphasizing this throughout my workshops and e-booklets. It will also be evident from a visit to my portfolio website. This is why I was thrilled by one passage in particular in Diana Beresford-Kroeger’s book, To Speak for the Trees.
As a young woman in Ireland, she painted plants. She would take her watercolour paints and a jam jar of water and venture out into the countryside . . .
“I always started with the plant itself. I would examine it first with my artist’s eye, searching out and noting the crucial and unique features that would infuse its truth into a botanical drawing.”
You must treat yourself to this book or its audio version.