Dreams

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. 

Live the life you have imagined." 

~Henry David Thoreau

Five years ago I read something that changed the course of my life. 

It was an interview given by Margaret Stevens, former President of the Society of Botanical Artists, to Katherine Tyrrell for her excellent Making a Mark blog. In the interview, they discussed the SBA Distance learning Diploma Course that Margaret was running. You can read the full interview here 

I remember feeling very excited reading about this course. I have always painted but never had any formal training. Inspired by a visit to the Shirley Sherwood Gallery, I had been dreaming of taking up botanical art, but didn’t know how to begin. As I was living in Egypt at the time, this really seemed like the perfect solution- a botanical art course from the comfort of my own home.

To apply for the course, you need to submit a sample of your work. They do state that this is not a course for beginners, so I really wasn't  sure if my work would be good enough to be accepted. 

However nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Encouraged by a friend, I sent off my application form, daring at my own audacity to dream so big. 

A clementine (Citrus ×clementina) done before the SBA course

Clementine studies done during the course. I had started to learn about disappearing edges here.

A recent study of a calamondin fruit (× Citrofortunella microcarpa)

Fortunately my application was successful, and I took to my studies like a duck to water. I loved doing the course. The feedback from the tutors was informative and insightful, and very quickly I could see improvements in my work. I cringe now when I look back at my submission efforts, but sometimes it’s good to look back and realise how far you have progressed.

The SBA DLDC course taught me to me methodical, observant and patient. These are preparatory studies for one of the assignments (mixed flowers)

Studies of red and yellow dates (Phoenix dactylifera) done before the course

Red dates (Phoenix dactylifera) 2013  It's quite gratifying to see the improvement!

I finished the course in 2012 with a distinction, a wealth of botanical knowledge and best of all, a circle of friends who shared my passion for art and the natural world.

I could have stopped there, but still I dreamed. The SBA have been both encouraging and supportive to me, and I really wanted to become a full member. It isn’t easy to do. Getting a distinction meant that I needed to submit six paintings to become an associate member, and then a further five the following year.

Starting out, this seemed like an impossible ambition, but this week, my dreams came true.

I flew to London and was presented with my Society of  Botanical Artists Certificate of Membership!

Hooray!

 It was fantastic to meet my fellow students who also became full members, Janet Pope and Sarah Wood. Both of these women are wonderful artists who have already begun to win prizes for their work, so I felt really honoured to be standing beside them.

The new members (photograph by Angeline de Meester )

I stood for a moment looking around the room at all the amazing artists who had come to London for the AGM- artists whose work I have long admired, artists whose names are now as familiar to me as the colours in my paintbox, artists whose work fills me with both inspiration and awe… they are all SBA members. I dared to dream, and it came true.

If you are interested in studying botanical art, the SBA Distance Learning Diploma Course might be the right course for you. Applications close on September 30th 2014, so application forms and a sample of work must be received by the Course Director by then. You can read more about the course here-

http://www.soc-botanical-artists.org/C12%20prospectus%20and%20application%20form%20(1).pdf

"Four steps to achievement: 

Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue persistently."

~William Arthur Ward

Daffodil Days

Golden daffodils are always the first to appear each year, heralding the start of spring and the promise of warmer brighter days.

 William Wordsworth's beautiful poem comes to mind whenever I see them.

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 

Feeling quite cheerful myself, I decided to paint daffodils in this month’s Nature Trail sketchbook. This sketchbook belongs to Julie Douglas, a remarkably talented artist living in Belfast. Julie teaches art, or rather, she inspires her students to paint. Her sketchbook is certainly a reflection of her personality… it’s bold, it’s fun and it dares you to step out of your comfort zone!

Daffodils would certainly make a statement, but they were also going to be a challenge, not least because they are yellow. Yes, I know that I’ve grumbled about greens before, but yellow is a tricky pigment too. How do you depict subtle hue changes and the delicate nuances of light and shade, when you can’t mix in another colour? Yellow mixed with any other colour is just not yellow.

A old sketchbook study proved really useful in terms of colour and technique. The top flower on the right was done mixing yellows with shade colours, the one beneath was done using shade first, followed by a wash of yellow

The answer is layering. You need to paint the underlying shade tone first and very lightly build up the form of the flower in soft greys. I found that my daffodils had two shades of grey- one leaning to green (cerulean+ cobalt violet+ perylene green) and the other leaning to purple (cerulean+ cobalt violet + light red). Once you have established the form of the flower, you can then paint over with a washes of yellow.

I began with some very quick loose sketches on cheap A4 paper just to get the feel of the plant. I did lots and lots of these quick sketches and most were not as neat as this one!!

Once I have drawn out my flower, I paint over the pencil lines with a thin line of the paint and then erase the pencil lines.

I used lemon yellow, winsor lemon and winsor yellow as my cooler yellows, whilst cadmium yellow, winsor yellow deep and winsor orange provided the warmer tones of the corona.

The result is a page of happy daffodils. I think it’s a bit looser than my normal style but I quite like that.

And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.

(William Wordsworth)

Draw In

I’ve another reason to be smiling this week. I’ve been invited to take part in a Symposium to celebrate the value of Drawing, which will take place in the Belfast School of Art Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st  August.

 This event will bring together some incredibly talented artists, PJ Lynch, Colleen Barry, Paul Foxton, Julie Douglas, Peter Cooper, Matt Weigle, Ian McAllister and Katherine Tyrrell, all of whom are passionate about art. 

"The aim is to celebrate excellence in drawing. You will view some amazing drawings, paintings, sketch books and work in progress by the invited artists and learn how to improve your own skills in a friendly, inclusive environment. Drawing is relevant and contemporary, even in this world of technology. Drawing is a powerful tool towards personal well being, far beyond the delicious act of mark-making itself. Drawing is not a luxury, it is a necessity."

There will be workshops, talks, demonstrations, and lots of creative and inspiring ideas being shared. As well as the weekend workshops, there will be workshops running the week before and also the week after. 

You can read more about the event on Katherine Tyrrell’s excellent blog Making a Mark.

Please take time to check out the Draw In website too- it's wonderful!

Plans, promises and paintings 2014

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning." Albert Einstein

Normally I’m not one for making New Year Resolutions as they usually involve the half-hearted renouncement of chocolate and mince pies, and earnest vows to become fitter. Usually these good intentions are forgotten by the end of January . 

So this year, I have decided instead to make a List of Plans and Promises relating to my artwork which I hope will be easier to keep!

       SBA Membership- Top of my wish list is to become a full member of the Society of Botanical Artists.   

  I’m already half way there but it’s been a long hard journey. First step was to complete 27 months of course work, which earned me a Diploma with distinction. Then, last year I had to have six paintings accepted into the annual exhibition to become an Associate member. Now I face the final challenge of having five more paintings accepted into the SBA annual exhibition at Westminster.  I’ve one more to paint and then it’s fingers crossed. If I don’t get accepted, then I’ll be doing five more next year!

A lovely gift to keep me busy throughout the year.

·      Vellum- I am really enjoying painting on vellum. It imbues such a softness to watercolours and is quite thrilling to work on. My very kind parents gifted me with a lovely fat parcel from Wiliam Cowley with a selection of vellums to play with. Although the kelmscott is considered the crème de la crème  for botanical artists, I really like the look of the natural calfskin with it’s honey colour and natural flaws. Yes, working on different vellums is definitely on the list!

A sketchbook page from last spring- I'm looking forward to doing more studies like this in 2014

    Sketchbook – I am really excited about a project which I hope will kick off in the next few weeks… a Sketchbook Exchange which involves some very talented and inspiring friends. We have all ordered our dinky little sketchbooks from Stillman and Birn and the plan is to paint and post these sketchbooks to each other throughout the year. I am looking forward to trying out new ideas and getting creative! 

The Gilder's Tools

    Gold-  Ah, the glitter of gold always catches my eye! I love illuminated manuscripts and old books, and inspired by my recent trip to the Chester Beatty Library, have decided that this year I am going to try to combine contemporary botanicals with gold and silver leaf, perhaps on vellum. Fortunately my mother is a gilder and so I have a very handy supply of materials (and an enthusiastic mum) on hand.

Off it goes!

       Travel-  This year already is promising to be a great one for travelling. One of my paintings is soon off to Spain for a very exciting exhibition (more later!) and hopefully I will be going to visit it there.  Then there is the SBA exhibition in London in May. Shortly after that I’ll be heading back to Egypt for the summer where I plan to do lots of painting.

Nothing beats painting by the pool!

·        RHS work- Last year my work was deemed "of an acceptable standard" by the RHS, and so I hope to start work on a series of paintings of dates (Phoenix dactylifera) this summer. I love the light in Egypt and am spoilt for choice with all the beautiful date trees that grow there.

Painting dates in Egypt,2013

·        Tie up loose ends- I think every artist has a few unfinished pieces in their studio and I’m no exception. I started this barn owl last year as a present for my brother. It’s almost done, so I’ve no excuse!

 

Ben's barn owl, 2013

          Explore composition- I was really inspired by Thorntons’ The Temple of Flora and loved how the artists painted backgrounds to complement the portrait of the plant. Each painting told the story of the plant- the where, when and how it grows in it’s habitat. It’s definitely something that I feel could be explored more thoroughly. One of the sites that I have have bookmarked is KatherineTyrrell’s Making A Mark Resource page on Composition. There is a lot there to read and take in, but it’s worth reading carefully.

Perhaps a painting of spring bulbs could have a wintry background such as this? 2013

·        And finally, I want to keep blogging, at least until the end of the year. It’s been very helpful to me to verbalise my thoughts and plans. I usually have far too many ideas and don’t always write them down, so this is a great way to get myself organised. Let’s hope that I’ve more willpower than I do with chocolate!

 Happy New Year everybody!!

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it.”       -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe