The fruits and berries that needed illustrating were the Dewberry Rubus caesius, the Elderberry Sambucus nigra, the Wild strawberry Fragaria vesca, the Jersey bramble Rubus caesarius, Sloes Prunus spinosa, and Black bryony Dioscorea communis.

All the botanical illustrations in this blog are copyright Jersey Post (www.Jerseystamps.com) 2017, and must not be reproduced without their express permission.

Sloes artwork for one of the stamps                                copyright Jersey Post (www.Jerseystamps.com) 2017

This commission gave me the chance to wander the countryside around Hay-on-Wye, gathering specimens to paint; luckily the job came in during the autumn months!

Desk whilst illustrating the Dewberry stamp artwork

I also illustrated a First Day cover (an illustration for the corner of the First Day Cover envelope); this was a sprig of Hawthorn berries Crataegus monogyna.

Hawthorn berries; botanical illustration for the First Day Cover of Jersey Post’s stamp issue-copyright Jersey Post (www.Jerseystamps.com) 2017

Here’s a detail of some of the wonderfully prolific and vibrant red berries this sprig of Hawthorn carried.

Detail of Hawthorn berries                                              copyright Jersey Post (www.Jerseystamps.com) 2017

Illustrating Black Bryony

One of the plants I painted was the Black bryony.  You often see the startling orange berries of this plant in hedgerows.  It was important to show the variation in berry colour; green through yellow to an orange red.  I also had a lot of fun with the tendrils that this plant grows.  I love using these to help when composing an illustration.

As always, painting the leaves began with a layer of tiny paint marks, building up and marking the areas of dark.

Painting the first layer of green on a Black bryony leaf copyright Jersey Post (www.Jerseystamps.com) 2017

Next, I put a yellower and more dilute mix of green over the entire leaf.  I use Winsor and Newton paints, and a Winsor and Newton series 7 paintbrush.

Brighter green wet wash applied to the leaf.  Copyright Jersey Post (www.Jerseystamps.com) 2017

The angled stems and tendrils get plotted in next.  As always I leave the fun berries to the end.

Painting in stems and tendrils of Black bryony                   copyright Jersey Post (www.Jerseystamps.com) 2017

The berries needed to look bright and smooth, so I spent a long time building up the colour with endless tiny brush strokes in orange and red, following the shape of the fruit.

Final illustration of Black bryony                                      copyright Jersey Post (www.Jerseystamps.com) 2017

Illustrating the Elderberry

Another lovely plant was the Elderberry. I love the crimson of the stems of this plant, especially in contrast to the shiny black berries.  Getting the shine right on each berry was a challenge.

Paining each Elderberry                                                  copyright Jersey Post (www.Jerseystamps.com) 2017

It was a tricky plant to arrange in the format of a postage stamp, and required the positioning of the leaflets behind the berries, always a difficult task.

Elderberry artwork                                                         copyright Jersey Post (www.Jerseystamps.com) 2017

Presenting the illustrations in context

Another part of the commission is to illustrate the Presentation pack, the shiny decorated sleeve in which newly issued postage stamps can be delivered.  This features Rowan berries Sorbus aucuparia, Sloe Prunus spinosa, Bramble Rubus fruticosus, and Goji berries Lycium barbarum; all of which grow wild in Jersey.

Presentation pack with Rowan, Goji, Sloe and Bramble      copyright Jersey Post (www.Jerseystamps.com) 2017

One of the things I like to do mid way through a job such as this, is create a mock up of the stamps to ensure they look alright as a series, and to be certain the text and images work well together.  Here is the rough of the stamp layout, an aid to the commissioners when they look at these detailed roughs and decide what feedback is required.

Layout of stamps at Colour rough stage                           Copyright Jersey Post (www.Jerseystamps.com) 2017

The published stamps, first day cover, and presentation pack arrived in the post just this week.  To say I am delighted with how they look once the designers have produced the issue is an understatemant, they’ve done a fabulous job with my paintings!

This job was a joy, I really love working with Jersey Post, they give interesting subjects, long lead times, and treat their artists really well – what more could an illustrator ask for?

The post Botanical Illustrations of Fruit for Jersey Post appeared first on Lizzie Harper.

It’s autumn, and although I’m fortunate enough to be able to find (slightly battered) elder leaves, and a few berries still hanging on, there’s no elder blossom anywhere.  This is why I keep my sketchbooks, from the notes taken back in 2010 I can readily reconstuct the form and colour of a froth of elder flowers.

Materials

I use mechanical pencils like the Pentel P205, which hold their sharp tips beautifully well, and draw the pencil rough onto Fabriano hotpress watercolour paper. As both flowers and berries are edible, both need to be included.  They don’t appear simultaneously, so a careful positioning of two separate branches bearing flower and fruit makes this clear.

To paint, I predominantly use winsor & newton watercolours, and a series 7 winsor & newton brush, they cost a lot but they’re the only brushes that actually do the job consistently well.

Rough Pencil illustration of the Edler Sambuccus nigra

Pencil rough of the elder and starting to paint

I wait for feedback from the client on the pencil rough, and in this case there aren’t any changes required.  Before painitng, I go and gather some more live specimens to work from – always so much easier than working from printed reference, or even my sketchbooks.

The photo below shows my desk as I start to work on the “colouring in”; since the areas to be painted are comparatively small as a ratio of the whole paper, I seldom bother to stretch the paper for these botanicals.

The cup of tea is as important as every other part of the set up, probably more so!

Plotting the elder leaves

I plot in the darkest areas of the elder leaf using a mix of terre verte, yellow ochre, a lot of cadmium yellow pale, and a pthalo green.

As I paint, I constantly refer to the leaves; and often get cramp from holding one leaf in the same position for long stretches of time.

Next, I pop a wash on top of the dark areas; a watery version of the first mix.  This helps smooth the leaves and make the shadows less stark.  The lightest areas remain bright, the white of the paper.

I put an even paler wash, heavy with yellow ochre, ontop of these leaves, and then work into the darks again.

Painting the elder flower

Next up is the flower.  The approach to this froth of blossoms is just to draw the perimeter of each flower in a yellow-green, on top of the pencil line.  Cadmium yellow light and sap green, in a very pale and watery mix do the job nicely.

Finishing off the leaves

I return to the leaves, picking out the sharp points of the leaf margins and the darkest shadows is key here; I use sap green mixed with yellow ochre, a touch of blue, and some purple.

Then comes a unifying wet wash of yellow ochre and a touch of sap green; I keep this very liquid and cover all areas of the leaves.  Once again, I re-visit the leaf margins, veins, and darkest shadows; sharpening and tweaking the areas of darkest darks.

Painting the berries

Onto the berries which are a gorgeous mix of purples, browns and reds.  Plotting in the darks first, I use purple, pthalo blue and vandyke brown.  The mix is quite dy, and when I pop a wash on top (making sure I leave the white of the paper as shine) I add some alizarin crimson to the mix.  The stems of the berries are a joy to paint, all flushed with pink.  I painted the stems before the berries because they were so tasty to examine and record.

Another moment or two on the darkest shadows, mixes of blue and purple, and the illustration is complete.

Below is my desk at the end of the day – leaves, paint, brushes and reference materials all over the shop.  The painting’s complete, the tea cup is empty.  Once I’ve made another cuppa, I’ll return and have a long hard look at the illustration before considering it done.  And then I tidy my desk, ready for the next day’s botanical illustration.

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