Blogs - Lizzie Harper

Here are the blogs I’ve written over the years. Subjects range from step by step painting tutorials, to botanical anatomy, to current projects.

They appear in the order they’ve been written. However, if you scroll down the page you’ll find they have also been organised into categories to make browsing a little more focused.

There are even some guest blogs in amongst. I hope you enjoy them, and do please feel free to leave a comment.

Watercolour paints: Inside my paint box

Posted on 1st December 202322nd January 2024 in Illustration Equipment

Watercolour paint choice is very personal, and everyone will have their own favourite colours. I have recently been giving the matter more thought as I try to simplify equipment lists for students, and thought I’d share my paint box with you. My paint box in use I also made a guide to the colours I […] Read more

Lizzie harper botanical illustration of sunflower

Flower shapes: Symbolism & Cultural significance

Posted on 25th March 2024 in Uncategorised

Flower Shapes: Symbolism and Cultural Significance guest blog by Nina James Summer Flower shapes matter, culturally as well as botanically. According to the 2016 Generations of Flowers Study 60% of Americans believe a gift of flowers has a special meaning. This is unlike any other gift. Many associate different colours with different meanings. Red roses […] Read more

Paul Reubens Artist level Youlan series Watercolour box: Review

Posted on 17th March 202412th April 2024 in Illustration Equipment

Paul Rubens artist level YouLan series of solid watercolours is a set of 24 paints in half pans aimed at both amateur and professional artists. I sometimes get asked to trial products by art material manufacturers, so I was pleased to have the chance to give these paints a try. In exchange for my free […] Read more

Spotted fish

Posted on 15th March 2024 in Patterns in nature

Spotted fish is another of my blogs on patterns in nature. You can find them all here or click for an overview of pattern in nature, more on stripes, leaf variegation, spots on plants and fugus, and a step by step of a variegated geranium leaf. How spots are formed According to Study.coms post on […] Read more

deocration, natural history for decoration,

Trees: Scots pine Pinus sylvestris

Posted on 9th February 202422nd March 2024 in Trees

Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris Scots pine is one of a series of blogs I’m writing on common British trees. You can also see blogs on the Elder, the Yew, the Ash, the Oak, the Holly, the Sycamore, the Rowan, the Hawthorn, the Birch, the Lime, and the Beech. The Scots pine is one of only […] Read more

Researching a wildflower

Posted on 12th January 202413th January 2024 in Botany: Telling species apart

Researching a wildflower involves gathering information on the anatomy, distinguishing characteristics, family, and appearance of a plant. The first stage is to know about the plant you are illustrating. Feel free to use the English name, but do all research using the Latin or scientific name. This avoids confusion as some plants are called different […] Read more

leaf, leaves, leaf shape, compound leaves, simple leaves, botany, botany terms,

Trees: Small-leaved lime or Linden

Posted on 17th November 202317th November 2023 in Trees

Small-leaved lime Tilia cordata and other Lime or Linden trees This is one of a series of blogs I’m writing on common British trees. You can also see blogs on the Elder, the Yew, the Ash, the Oak, the Holly, the Sycamore, the Rowan, the Hawthorn, the Birch and the Beech. There are 10 […] Read more

Potatoes

Posted on 6th October 2023 in Current projects and news

Potatoes are ubiquitous vegetables, a staple in the west since their introduction from South America in 1590. They’re bought in shops, planted in gardens, made into crisps and fries; but as well as being a vital food crop, they’re also rather beautiful plants. Varieties of Potato There are hundreds of different potato cultivars. Some bear […] Read more

Patterns in Nature: A quick overview

Posted on 8th September 20239th October 2023 in Patterns in nature

Introducing patterns One of the things in nature which is worth taking a really close look at is pattern. Spots, stripes and splotches decorate loads of living things; from beetles to reef fish, snakes to zebras, orchids to sunflower seeds. Peacock Pavo pair with male tail on display They have always amazed and delighted me, […] Read more

Variegation: Patterns on leaves

Posted on 8th September 202331st October 2023 in Patterns in nature

What is Variegation? Many of the patterns you see on plant leaves, especially on garden and house plants, are caused by variegation. Variegated leaves have areas of paler yellow or white on them, and vary widely form species to species, and between individual plants. Some variegated leaves even have dark red or scarlet areas. So […] Read more

Striped Patterns in Nature

Posted on 8th September 202315th December 2023 in Patterns in nature

Stripes Stripes are seen across the animal and plant kingdoms. Although the first stiped animals you think of may be zebra and tigers, there are lots of striped beetles, snakes, birds, and loads of stripy fish. Stripes for Camouflague Stripes are a brilliant way of providing camouflage. They break up the edges of an organism, […] Read more

Sand hill Screwmoss: An illustration challenge

Posted on 8th September 2023 in Current projects and news

Sand hill Screwmoss Syntrichia ruraliformis ruraliformis is one of the species completed for a recent commission. There were thirteen species of plant I had to illustrate which were growing on Braunton Burrows sand dunes, and the one that occupied me most was certainly this lovely moss. For an overview of the other species illustrated, please […] Read more

Great Burnet Step by Step

Posted on 25th August 2023 in Botanical Illustration step by step

Recently, I’ve illustrated the Great Burnet, Sanguisorba officinalis for an interpretation board, to be cited on Jubilee Pasture, in Bugthorpe, Yorkshire. This blog is a step by step explanation of the process. For step by steps of other botanical subjects, please click here, and visit my Youtube channel for real-time films of me illustrating plants […] Read more

Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus natural history illustration by Lizzie Harper

Common Grass species identification: Some easy shortcuts

Posted on 14th July 202322nd September 2023 in Botany: Telling species apart

As you may have noticed, I’m rather obsessed with grasses, and have blogged on them often. From an introduction, to learning about them, to celebrating their beauty , discussing the ecological significance of Maram grass (guest blog), and more recently, to telling them from Rushes and sedges And, of course, I do botanical illustrations of […] Read more

Wildflowers of Braunton Burrows

Posted on 15th June 202311th August 2023 in Current projects and news

A recent commission involved illustrating 30 species for Braunton Burrows, a very beautiful sand dune system in North Devon’s AONB. The main challenges were the timing of the job, during winter when none of the flowers were in bloom, and their unfamiliarity to me. However, I really enjoyed illustrating such a pretty and diverse selection […] Read more

Comparing Synthetic Watercolour Brushes – Part 5 (the final episode!)

Posted on 13th June 202328th July 2023 in Illustration Equipment, Testing Synthetic Watercolour brushes

This is the fifth and final of my blogs and linked films, looking for a synthetic watercolour brush to replace the sable ones made by Winsor & Newton. My Winsor & Newton series 7 number 1 size is the brush I always use. Today I’m reviewing the Escoda Prado Tame synthetic,Escoda Perla White Toray synthetic, […] Read more

Comparing Synthetic Watercolour Brushes – Part 4

Posted on 8th May 202323rd June 2023 in Illustration Equipment, Testing Synthetic Watercolour brushes

Comparing Synthetic Watercolour Brushes – Part 4 is the fourth of my blogs and linked films, questing for a synthetic watercolour brush to replace the sable ones made by Winsor & Newton. My Winsor & Newton series 7 number 1 size is my go-to brush, and has been for years. Today I’m reviewing Bille Showell’s […] Read more

Orchid Botanical Illustration Step by step

Posted on 5th May 202315th June 2023 in Botanical Illustration step by step, Current projects and news

Orchids have always been a bit of a mystery to me, so when I was confronted by the Early Marsh Orchid, Dactylorhiza incarnata ssp coccinea my heart did not leap. It’s one of 13 plants I’m illustrating for a wildflower identification guide to the Braunton Burrows sand dunes system which will be published by FSC Publications. […] Read more

Comparing Synthetic watercolour brushes Part 3

Posted on 1st May 20239th June 2023 in Illustration Equipment, Testing Synthetic Watercolour brushes

This is the third of my blogs (and films, the one specific to this blog is here) trying to find a good synthetic alternative to my beloved Winsor & Newton sable series 7 watercolour brushes. This time I’m trying out the Princeton Neptune round (Series 4570), Jackson’s Icon synthetic Quill S777 10/0, Escoda Versatil round, […] Read more

Mosquito life cycle – illustrating the Anopholes mosquito

Posted on 21st April 20238th May 2023 in Current projects and news, Uncategorised

Introducing the African Malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae The mosquito is one of the most loathed of all insects, partly because of the itchy bites they cause, but also because of their deadly role as vectors for disease, especially malaria. In 2021, according the the WHO World malaria report, there were 247 million cases and 619,000 […] Read more

Illustrating the Cannock Chase Berry Vaccinium intermedium

Posted on 8th April 2023 in Botany: Telling species apart

Cannock Chase Berry Vaccinium x intermedium is a really tricky subject to illustrate, because it’s not not only really rare, but also a hybrid. However, it needed illustrating for an identification chart being produced by FSC and Cannock Chase. Cannock chase berry: Parent species Hybrids are, according to Collins dictionary, “A hybrid is an animal or […] Read more

The Bad Garden

Posted on 14th February 20235th May 2023 in Current projects and news, Uncategorised

The non eco-garden is a companion blog to my earlier one, explaining and extolling the virtues of a garden that encourages wildlife and wild flowers. Eco or Wildlife gardens are also excellent for soil health, and have good wider ecological implications for the environment. This blog examines the flip side; things we may unintentionally do, […] Read more

Good Garden: A wildlife Haven

Posted on 14th February 202324th March 2023 in Current projects and news

Illustrating a wildlife garden is always a challenge, but something I embrace. Not only is it an opportunity to show, visually, good practice; it also gives me the chance to learn new hints and tips on how to make my own garden more friendly to wildlife. The twist on this commission is that this good […] Read more

Carbon Cycle: A Complicated Illustration

Posted on 14th February 20239th March 2023 in Biological terminology: Definitions, Current projects and news

When I was asked to “illustrate the Carbon cycle” for a brochure on gardening and carbon use, by Riksforbundet Svensk Tradgard I wasn’t too perturbed. Easy enough. Four little words. How wrong I was! Overview of the Carbon Cycle Reduced to its simplest form, the Carbon cycle describes the flow of Carbon, and the gas […] Read more

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