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. ”
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This week`s blog talks about the illustrations I`ve done for colouring-in books over the years:
https://lizzieharper.co.uk/.../illustrating-colouring-in.../
I love producing line drawings in pen, and on reflection it seems there are lots of projects that have needed them.
From humming birds to snowflakes, butterflies to puffballs, any plant or animal can be a good subject for colouring-in.
#penandink #linedrawing #botanicalillustration #sciart #coloring
This is the Great green bush cricket Tettigonia viridissima, in watercolour.
I`ve seen these insects in the wild, but although large they`re amazingly well camouflaged.
I loved painting the the network of wing veins, and the sweep of the antennae. I only realised they had a thin scarlet line on their thorax and wing when I came to illustrate them.
Drawing up something like a bush cricket requires a lot of reference, they`re built like robots and you need to have plenty of angles so you can understand how the plates and parts interlock and work together.
#greatgreenbushcricket #tettigoniidae #insectart #sciart #naturalscienceillustration
New blog out, it`s on Ginseng. I illustrated this crop plant, and a few others, for The Crop Trust, then decided I wanted to know more about it:
https://lizzieharper.co.uk/2026/03/crop-trust-illustration-ginseng/
#ginseng #botanicalart #botanicalillustration #byhand #sciart naturalscienceillustration
Just been sent a lovely book on landscape painting, with step by step projects published by @quartobooksuk.
Its called "Painting landscapes: Connect to calm through the beauty of watercolour", by @inga.buive
They`ve also sent me an exciting set of brushes to try, made by @fuumuuibrushes_official
I`m yet to try the brushes or one of Inga`s projects, but am looking forward to doing both, not least because I`m rubbish at landscape painting, and need all the advice and posh equipment I can get!
If youre tempted to try the brushes yourself, Fuumuui have offered a 20% off code for my lovely followers: INGA20.
Hope to update this once Ive had the chance to try the brushes.
Ah, the perks of being an illustrator. Freebies! I love it. Thanks Quarto!
Just been sent a lovely book on landscape painting, with step by step projects published by @quartobooksuk.
Its called "Painting landscapes: Connect to calm through the beauty of watercolour", by @inga.buive
They`ve also sent me an exciting set of brushes to try, made by @fuumuuibrushes_official
I`m yet to try the brushes or one of Inga`s projects, but am looking forward to doing both, not least because I`m rubbish at landscape painting, and need all the advice and posh equipment I can get!
If youre tempted to try the brushes yourself, Fuumuui have offered a 20% off code for my lovely followers: INGA20.
Hope to update this once Ive had the chance to try the brushes.
Ah, the perks of being an illustrator. Freebies! I love it. Thanks Quarto!
This is the Polka dot wasp moth Syntomeida epilais, also known as the Oleander moth.
Mates are attracted when the female emits vibrations which are carried through the stems of the plants she sits on.
The yellow caterpillars with their (harmless) long black setae feed voraciously on Oleander and Desert rose. This species is found across the Caribbean and South America.
The illustration was completed for the National Trust of Montserrat, & UKOTCF. It`s used in a colouring book, in a section about patterns in nature.
#polkadotwaspmoth #syntomeida #oleandermoth #sciart #naturalhistoryillustration naturalscienceillustration paintingnature
I illustrated this pair of Antillean crested hummingbirds Orthorhyncus cristatus for Montserrat National Trust and UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum
They`ve been used in a lovely educational booklet called "Montserrat`s Biodiversity Rainbow", which has an accompanying black and white version for colouring-in.
They`re also on a handout about vertebrae pollinators on the island.
I love seeing my work in context, and I`m really pleased with this project.
Trying to capture the glittery plumage of these beautiful little birds was a challenge, it`s all about trying to get a sharp contrast between the highlights and shadows.
Sometimes I enjoy putting a gentle narrative into my illustrations, in this case it amused me to make sure that the female was utterly oblivious to the male`s exuberant display.
#hummingbird #montserrat #naturalhistoryillustration #sciart #naturalscienceillustration
Here`s another of the illustrations I did of Montserrat wildlife. This is the Green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas.
The pattern of the shell is tough to try and capture. Lots of layers of paint, and treating each scute individually.
We saw two of these beauties when we were snorkelling on our visit to Montserrat last year, they looked so elegant as they swam away into the gloom.
#turtle #seaturtle #naturalscienceillustration #sciart #montserrat
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.
