botanical art Archives - Lizzie Harper

Unearthing the Enigma: Japanese Knotweed’s Unstoppable March

Posted on 5th July 202410th July 2024 in Showcase of themed natural history illustrations, Uncategorised

Unearthing the Enigma: Japanese Knotweed’s unstoppable march is a guest blog written by Matt from Japanese Knotweed Removal Specialists, JKWS For more on Japanese knotweed, including blogs discussing my illustrations of the plant, a step by step sketchbook study, and comparing it to other knotweeds, please check out my earlier blogs. You could also buy an […] 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

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

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

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

Fungal treats at Cusop Churchyard

Posted on 3rd February 2023 in Current projects and news

Fungal subjects always make my heart sing, so I was really pleased when three turned up in a recent species list I’ve been working on for Cusop Churchyard. Not only were these three species new to me, but one is considered extremely rare! British earthstar Geastrum britannicum The British earthstar is one of a family […] Read more

Bird’s-foot Trefoil: An Excellent Plant

Posted on 4th January 2023 in Botany: Telling species apart, Current projects and news

Bird’s-foot Trefoil: Where to find it? This blog is in praise of a small, common wildflower which grows in grasslands. It spreads across the ground, and is low growing (rarely higher than 20cm). It favours sandy soils, but is tough and grows in a wide selection of substrates, and is able to grow in […] Read more

Natural History Illustration and Life Long Learning: The Field Studies Council

Posted on 19th October 2022 in Current projects and news, Scientific Illustrator out and about

Natural History Illustration and Life-long learning: Field Studies Council Courses is my blog all about how much I love the FSC courses I attend. And no, they’ve not paid me to wax lyrical, honest! I draw and paint a wide range of different species for publishers, charities, packaging, ad companies, and design agencies. I am […] Read more

Flowers of Montserrat: Botanical illustration

Posted on 7th October 2022 in Current projects and news

Montserrat is an island in the Carribbean, part of the Leeward isles and the Lesser Antilles chain. So when I was asked to illustrate some of the flowers that grow there I wished fervently that the client would send me out to do research on the ground. Alas, it was not to be. Realistically, there […] Read more

Illustrating Yellow flowers: Five approaches

Posted on 9th September 2022 in Illustration techniques

Botanical illustrations of yellow flowers can be really challenging. As you try to add depth to the darker areas of the flower, you run the risk of making the petals look green, or orange. Here are a few techniques to try which should help mitigate this. Yellow Flowers 1: Pen and ink An easy way […] Read more

Botanical illustration from the Breckncockshire Flora

Monocot and Eudicot variety: Illustrations

Posted on 27th July 202224th December 2022 in Botany: Telling species apart

Monocots and Eudicots are enormous groups, making up over 80% of plants on earth. During a recent job, illustrating the Brecknockshire flora, I was commissioned to create two illustrations highlighting the most interesting, beautiful, and most locally important members of these groups. Moncots vs Eudicots There are several main differences between these two enormous groups. […] Read more

Sedges, Grasses and Rushes: Telling the families apart

Posted on 1st July 2022 in Botany: Telling species apart

I recently went on another excellent FSC course, this time on identifying grasses (other grass courses by FSC available here). One of the first things to do is to figure out what makes a grass a grass, and not some other plant. In most cases, it’s sedges and rushes that can lead to confusion, so […] Read more

Botanical illustration from the Brecknockshire Flora

Trees: Yew

Posted on 11th May 202220th May 2022 in Trees

Trees: Yew is another blog inspired by my illustrations for The Tree Forager by Adele Nozedar, published by Watkins. The book has inspired me to think about some of my favourite trees. The Yew tree Taxus baccata is the seventh in this series, along side the Sycamore, Ash, Hawthorn, Rowan, Elder and the Oak. The Yew […] Read more

The Hidden Universe: Pen and Ink Illustrations

Posted on 22nd April 2022 in Current projects and news

The Hidden Universe by Alexandre Antonelli is a short and powerful book. I was asked to provide pen and ink illustrations, and had the absolute luxury of reading the whole book before lifting a pencil. This may not sound unusual to you, but in all the years I’ve been illustrating books, it’s only the fourth […] Read more

Paintbrushes: Exploring synthetics Part 2

Posted on 29th March 20228th May 2023 in Illustration Equipment, Testing Synthetic Watercolour brushes

This blog is a follow up to one I wrote a while ago on Paintbrushes, and accompanies the series I’ve done on art equipment. There’s an accompanying Youtube film showing me trialling these four synthetic brushes. In my last blog (and accompanying Youtube film review of brushes ), I ended up recommending Rosemary and Co. […] Read more