blue Archives - Lizzie Harper

Garden Lupin Sketchbook study

Posted on 14th August 20204th August 2020 in Botanical Illustration step by step, Botany: Telling species apart, Current projects and news, Illustration techniques

The Garden Lupin, Lupinus polyphyllus, is one of the invasive plants I was recently asked to illustrate for FOR Sweden. This blog talks you through the steps involved in creating a finished botanical illustration of this flower. There seems to be an enormous amount of confusion over the English name of this plant: Blue bonnet […] Read more

comparison of flower and painting of the periwinkle

Step by Step Periwinkle flower botanical illustration

Posted on 17th May 201917th May 2019 in Botanical Illustration step by step

I’ve always loved periwinkle flowers, Vinca major. The blue is such a delicate shade, and I relish the juxtaposition between the dark, glossy leaves and the powdery blue petals. I thought I’d do a quick step by step on how to go about mixing the colours, and illustrating this flower, not least because blue flowers […] Read more

Illustrating the Amazing Blue Butterfly

Posted on 5th August 20141st December 2018 in Showcase of themed natural history illustrations

Scientific illustration involves learning about your subjects, as well as illustrating them. I’ve always been amazed by blue butterflies (family Lycaenidae). I love their vivid hues and their fascinating life-cycles. Their interactions with ants amaze me. Blue butterflies Most of the information in this blog comes from the website of Butterfly Conservation. This charity is concerned with recording […] Read more