“The Mystery and History of Black, White, and Gray
(with a few other colors thrown in)”
In Part II of our color exploration, we’ll cover blacks, whites and grays. We’ll talk about different mediums and techniques, and their application to botanical art. Learn how these most basic of pigments have been made throughout history, and how our modern pigments differ from one another. (What is the difference between Chinese White, Zinc White and Titanium White? And then there’s Ivory Black, Lamp Black, Mars Black and so many more!) We’ll discuss our applications of the renaissance techniques of chiaroscuro, sfumato, and grisaille, and the power of tonal value.
(Deborah Shaw Bio)
Deborah (Deb) Shaw has a degree in fine art from Pomona College, The Claremont Colleges, and while there had the good fortune to study botany and native California flora.
She is the principal of dbShaw Studios, an award-winning, multi-disciplinary design company, specializing in fine art, illustration, scientific illustration, print, data visualization, and web design.
Ms. Shaw is an active member of the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA), the Botanical Artists Guild of Southern California, Northern California Society of Botanical Artists, the Southwest Society of Botanical Artists, and the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators and soon-to-be member of the Great River Chapter.
She has taught botanical art at The J. Paul Getty Museum and Virginia Robinson Gardens, among other US and international venues. She taught illustration, digital design and information design at the University of California, Irvine, Extension where she was the recipient of the “Distinguished Instructor” award.
Deborah’s work has been displayed internationally in juried and non-juried exhibitions; is in the permanent collection at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation; is part of the Botanical Collections at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens; and is in private collections. She has received numerous awards for art, illustration, and design.
She is the recipient of the 2020 ASBA James White Service Award for Dedication to Botanical Art and is a contributor to the ASBA publication, "Botanical Art Techniques: A Comprehensive Guide to Watercolor, Graphite, Colored Pencil, Vellum, Pen and Ink, Egg Tempera, Oils, Printmaking, and More,” by ASBA, Carol Woodin, and Robin Jess. (https://www.workman.com/products/botanical-art-techniques).
In 2022, Deborah was honored to have two artworks accepted into the Grootbos Florilegium Project, a contemporary florilegium of the Cape fynbos, detailing the botanical wonders of the South African Cape Floral Kingdom and their pollinators. (https://www.grootbos.com/en/florilegium).
Her favorite media include graphite, carbon dust, watercolor, colored pencil, pen and ink, scratchboard, as well as other digital graphic, drawing and painting apps.