About
“ I love my job. I love being surrounded by gorgeous countryside and wild flowers. Each day brings a new species to draw and learn about ”
Lizzie Harper is a free-lance natural history and botanical illustrator with a keen love of nature.
Her scientific training as a zoologist helps complement her illustrations.
Please get in touch to Commission Work
She works in watercolour, pencil, and pen. With over 25 years experience as a free-lance illustrator, she has a broad range of clients.
Publishers, environmental charities, postage stamp designers, packaging firms, design companies, and private individuals have all commissioned her illustrations.
“ Lizzie was great to work with! She was enthusiastic and efficient with excellent attention to detail. ”
Recent books illustrated include “A Life on Our Planet” by David Attenborough, “The Hidden Universe” by Alex Antonelli, and “30 Animals that made us Smarter” by Patrick Ayree.
Her tree illustrations feature in “The Treeline” by Ben Rawlence and “The Living Wisdom of Trees” by Fred Hageneder
She’s illustrated The Hedgerow Handbook, The Garden Forager, The Tree Forager, and Foraging with Kids by Adele Nozedar.
Her work is in HarperCollins Flower Guide by Streeter, and The Bumper Book of Nature by Stephen Moss.
Her illustrations appear in National geographic and BBC Countryfile Magazine.
Lizzie’s work pops up on information boards and nature reserves around the country.
For more information on her work, visit her
“ I've used Lizzie's wildlife illustrations in my work for many years. The quality of her illustrations is always superb. ”
Shop
This is the Chinese bramble Rubus tricolor, completed for The Field Studies Council . It appears on the Urban plants of Scotland fold our chart, on sale through FSCs website.
I loved illustrating the textured leaves and shiny berries.
#botanicalart #botanicalillustration #rubus #bramble #blackberry #chinesebramble #rubustricolor
New blog on wildflower families out:
https://lizzieharper.co.uk/2025/06/wildflower-families-plantaginaceae/
Flowers in this family shown in this post are (in order): Lousewort Pedicularis sylvatica, Greater plantain Plantago major, Spiked speedwell Veronica spicata, Ivy leaved toadflax Cymbalaria muralis, Foxglove Digitaria purpurea, Bucks horn plantain Plantago maritima, and Wood speedwell Veronica montana,
This one is on the varied (& recently re-jigged) plantain family, plantaginaceae.
With my botanical illustrations, it discusses common features of flowers as diverse as foxgloves, speedwell, & plantains. One of a series I`m doing on common UK wildflower families.
#wildflowers #botany #botanicalillustration #botanicalart #plantain #Plantaginaceae
I`ve just published a film which is all about the shapes and terminology of leaves, along with links to free handouts:
https://youtu.be/dUSbwYRWpKk
it was suggested by one of my Youtube subscribers - thankyou!
I hope it`ll be a helpful introduction to leaves for people interested in botanical illustration. It covers lots of things to think about when looking at and drawing plant leaves. I don’t draw or paint in this film.
Information includes what type of plant the leaf belongs to, if it’s a compound or a simple leaf, leaf structure, leaf shape, leaf margin variety, how leaves attach to a plant stem, leaf arrangement, and touches on cool things like stipules and tendrils.
There are several free downloadable resources to accompany this film, available from my website:
ttps://lizzieharper.co.uk/leaves-an-overview-for-botanical-illustrators/
I am not a botanist, so although I hope there aren’t many mistakes, apologies if you stumble across any!
#botanicalillustration #botanicalart #botany
This is a series of photos of the illustration of the Meadow cranesbill in a meadow, done for a seed packet design.
I love the blue purples of this flower, it`s one of my favourite meadow wildflowers, so it was a joy to work on.
The photos show the thumbnail sketch, then how I paint the sky and background, before finally adding the flowers.
#meadow #cranesbill #geraniumpratense ##wildflowers #geranium #botanialillustration #packagingdesign #BotanicalArt
Very lucky to have just been named one of the top 10 Botanical art blogs by @feedspotdotcom
https://bloggers.feedspot.com/botanical_art_blogs/
I`m delighted, and I love the company I share on this list!
#botanialillustration #botanicalart #sciart
https://lizzieharper.co.uk/2025/05/medicinal-plants-of-montserrat-illustrations-vs-reality/
Here`s my latest blog, about comparing illustrations done from reference to the plants growing wild in real life. It`s a nerve-wracking business!
Have a read to see how I got on and to compare my illustrations with photos of the plants themselves, taken when I was in Montserrat.
#botanicalillustration #caribbeanplants #montserrat
Evolution of an illustration of Corn marigolds in a meadow, for Roselyn seeds.
You can see how I build up tonality and colour, adding the darkest shadows at the end of the process.
This was fun to work on, although I`d`ve loved to get my hands on some marigolds in flower - not sure where my closest patch is, shamefully.
#packagingdesign ##botanicalillustration #marigolds
Just back from teaching a leaf painting workshop at Cambridge University Botanic Garden . Thought I`d share this whitsle stop guide to leaf botany with you all...
#botanicalart #botany #sciart #leaves
Exhibitions
Lizzie has recently shown in Exhibitions at the following venues:
Herford Art Week 2019
Association of British Botanical Artists show 2018
Shepherd’s Parlour, Hay on Wye 2018
Booth’s Bookshop, Hay on Wye 2018
Hereford Art Week 2017
Obsidian Gallery, Oxfordshire 2017
Hunt Institute of Botanical Studies, Pittsburgh 2015
Teaching Workshops
“ Lizzie was a wonderful tutor. Dynamic, encouraging, and friendly. ”
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about inspiration, how Lizzie started out, and illustrations vs photographs often come up.
Click here for Frequently Asked Questions (and answers)
Lizzie loves nothing more than spending a day immersed in the beautiful landscape round her home in Wales; where she investigates slugs and mosses, and does sketchbook studies of the wild flowers she finds.
She works from her garden studio in Hay on Wye where she lives very happily with a long-suffering husband and two lively children.
