Class Listings

New England Flora 2023

Find a natural habitat or open space close to your home and draw it throughout the growing season to create a record of both the environment and individual plants. With the guidance of Lauren Meier, draw and identify flowers, ferns, shrubs, grasses and trees in your habitat to expand your botanical art and illustration skills through the close study of natural plant communities and seasonal changes. Between meetings, work independently to create accurate illustrations of your habitat. The final product will be a field sketchbook and finished drawing or painting illustrating each season. Optional suggested text: Newcomb's Wildflower Guide by Lawrence Newcomb. For intermediate or advanced artists.

Bring your botanical and natural history drawings to life in color! Students learn color theory, explore watercolor, colored pencil on paper, board, film, toned paper, and are invited to include digital media. This class helps students develop advanced compositions and info-graphics. Students complete three portfolio pieces and prepare for internships/independent studies, if desired. Professional practices, handouts, tutorials, live video conferencing and email are included. Open to students having completed Sessions I and II, or by permission.

Build your drawing skills using graphite. Learn how to begin and take your botanical and natural science work from sketch to an accurate, full-value rendering in a virtual classroom setting. We cover observation, perspective, proportion, rendering textures, scientific conventions, lighting, and transferring drawings. All drawings are from life. Students also become comfortable with computer and technical skills for proper scanning, uploading and preparing artwork, as well as video conferencing and creating files. Students are introduced to pen and ink, and to professional and business practices. Fee covers all assignments, tutorials, handouts, video conferencing and emailing. Beginning and intermediate students are encouraged to apply.

Personal, sentimental or random objects can hold unexpected meaning and beauty in illustrated collections and combinations. Using botanical specimens and other found objects, learn about selecting, composing, transferring and drawing multiple subjects together. This course emphasizes drawing from direct observation to give you confidence and new skills with colored and watercolor pencils, sparking fresh ideas for creating meaningful compositions with multiple objects.

This course is an elective in the Botanical Illustration program. The course fee does not include materials. Drawing experience recommended. Join us for five weeks of class meeting Mondays from 1-4pm MST.

About the Instructor:

A lifelong painter, naturalist and native Texan, Clair Gaston has been painting and drawing and teaching for 20 years. She holds a BFA and MFA in painting and drawing. Her interest focusses on natural subject matter, oil painting and botanical illustration. Visit her website at www.clairgaston.com

Take your sketchbook outdoors and reconnect with plants in their natural environment. In this course, students are encouraged to shed old habits and try new techniques as they travel through the variety of gardens and habitats in their home areas. Through a combination of guided exercises and free experimentation, students discover new ways of seeing plants, new problem-solving skills, and a refreshing way of thinking about layout and color. Several media are used, from ballpoint pen to watercolor to colored pencil. No prerequisite. 

Note: This class involves homework assignments. The amount of time students need to spend on homework varies and usually ranges from five to fifteen hours per week. The class counts towards the Certificate in Botanical Illustration course offered at NCBG

This program will be offered online via Zoom. Classes will be recorded.

A meeting link and password will be sent a few days before the program.

Read more about the class here: https://ncbg.unc.edu/learn

Visit instructor's website: www.dorotahaberlehigh.com

Join Helen Byers in this relaxed, intensive workshop at historic, scenic Ghost Ranch in Northern New Mexico to refine your drawing skills with a focus on autumn leaves. Fall is the most spectacular time to be here! We will gather leaves native to the high desert—including cottonwood, oak, aspen, & more—& draw them in layers of colored pencil & watercolor to achieve accurate colors, tones, textures, & details. All levels welcome.

Our work space will be Longhouse, a rustic structure based on a Native American design, with skylights, 2 side walls that raise up (weather permitting), electricity, & heat. Mornings will be spent in the classroom. Afternoons will offer free time to continue working, explore the Ranch or nearby sites (such as Ojo Caliente Hot Springs or the nearby Georgia O'Keeffe house), or take a tour or horseback ride. Evenings will include guided nature walks with Helen (who is a local resident & has taught here often).

Email Helen directly for more information and to register. The registration fee bundles tuition, 5 nights' lodging, & all meals from dinner, Oct 1 to breakfast, Oct 6. Lodging options include historic cottage rooms with private or shared bath, or dormitory-style rooms with communal bath.

Visit helenbyers.com to see slideshows of Helen's previous workshops and students' work.

It is the season for gourds, and they are wonderful and fun subjects to render. Using colored pencil or graphite, or both, portray these fall beauties realistically on paper. It is a good exercise in light on form, while learning to capture their waxy nature or warty texture.

Please bring a specimen to class.

This course makes use of the techniques and information covered in the Beginning Colored Pencil class. Students will continue developing skills in drawing in colored pencils with attention to form, texture and detail. Using live botanical specimens, students will apply their drawing skills to create botanical portraits of seasonal plants such as twigs, leaves, petals, flowers, pods, and fruit. We will develop personal and expressive aesthetic while maintaining scientific accuracy.

This program will be offered online via Zoom.

A meeting link and password will be sent a few days before the program. Classes will be recorded and the recording available for a week after each session.

See more information about the instructor Dorota Haber-Lehigh here www.dorotahaberlehigh.com

Or email her with questions at dorotabotanical@gmail.com

Our native trees, shrubs, and vines that keep their berries into winter provide food for wildlife and winter interest in the garden. We will have a closer look at the species common to the North East. Instructor will provide a variety of specimens to choose from, or bring your own.

The goal is to create a small botanical illustration that can be used for printing Holiday greeting cards or gift tags.

6 nights and 5 days of tuition in a class of just 6 students. For details, please visit www.podart.space.

6 nights and 5 days of tuition in a class of just 6 students. Led by Sarah Simblet from the John Ruskin School of Fine Art, students will spend the week drawing trees and plants. For more details, please visit www.podart.space

Learn my approach to painting on vellum during this five-day workshop at the beautiful Clos Mirabel in the south of France. We will begin by doing some exercises on small bits of vellum to learn technique and to get a feel for painting on this surface. Then, we will explore the grounds of Clos Mirabel to choose painting subjects. Apples, pears, plums, figs, kiwis, and berries will be at their peak this time of the year. You might also choose to do a Hoefnagel-Inspired painting of the treasures you find in the gardens.

​This class is designed for students new to vellum (learn how to successfully paint on vellum) as well as for more experienced vellum painters (learn new tricks and techniques). The workshop combines demonstrations, discussion of materials and techniques, hands-on time for developing skills, and lots of individual attention and feedback. Handouts with step-by-step instructions will be provided.

Experienced vellum painters can use this as a studio class to work on anything they like.

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