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    botanical illustration of mountain ash by Lizzie harper

    Trees: Rowan

    Posted on in Trees
    Trees: Rowan is another blog inspired by my illustrations for “The Tree Forager” by Adele Nozedar, published by Watkins.  It’s inspired me to have a look at some of my favourite trees.  The Rowan is another in this series, along side the Sycamore, Ash, Hawthorn, and the Oak. Rowan Sorbus aucuparia is a small tree, […] Read more

    Illustrating Bracken and Ferns

    Posted on in botanical terms, Illustration techniques, Showcase of themed natural history illustrations
    Illustrating bracken and ferns may seem to be a really difficult job.  However, the challenge lies in the drawing, not in adding the colour. I recently completed an illustration of Bracken Pteridium aquilinum for a forthcoming Field Studies Council Guide to the flora of Woodlands.  I thought this was the perfect chance to explain the […] Read more
    fraximus, ash, compound leaves,

    Trees: Ash

    Posted on in Trees
    Trees: Ash This is the third in my series on common trees, and this time it’s the Ash tree under the spotlight. The Ash Fraxinus excelsior is one of our commonest trees, and is steeped in folklore.  It’s easy to identify, and the timber is extraordinarily strong and versatile Identification: Tree shape Ash trees have […] Read more
    Sycamore leaf

    Trees: Sycamore

    Posted on in Trees
    Trees: Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus is a maple, and is Europe’s largest maple species.  It’s easy to recognise, is common, and has some interesting folklore. Identification: Tree shape The tree grows to 35m and has a domed outline, with dense foliage.  Trees often have heavy lower branches.  It’s a deciduous species, and grows fast in a […] Read more

    Trees: English Oak

    Posted on in Trees
    I’ve been working on illustrations for “The Tree Forager” by Adele Nozedar, due to be published in August 2021.  It’s inspired me to have a look at a few of my favourite trees.  The English oak is the first in the series. The English oak Quercus robur truly is an iconic tree.  English Oak is […] Read more
    Lupin

    Garden Lupin Sketchbook study

    Posted on 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

    Sketchbook illustrations of Invasive Plants

    Posted on in Current projects and news
    I’ve recently completed work on a series of sketchbook illustrations of invasive plants.  The client is FOR Sweden, and the botanical illustrations will be used on a big poster at a horticulture conference. Project overview There are eleven plants in total, and each species needed certain aspects illustrating.  In all cases I need to supply […] Read more
    halophytes Coastal seaside plant flowers

    Halophytes: Salt Tolerant Plants

    Posted on in Biological terminology: Definitions, botanical terms
    Halophytes: Salt Tolerant Plants Halophytes are plants that tolerate or thrive in salty conditions.  I recently finished the illustrations for a chart of seaside flowers, and got to wondering how these plants can survive in these hostile habitats?  Another job, illustrating stamps for a Seaside flowers issue, added to my interest. This blog had me […] Read more
    illustrating butterflies

    Illustrating Butterflies Workshop

    Posted on in Painting workshops
    Illustrating butterflies is wonderful, but has its challenges.  I recently taught a two day workshop to Northamptonshire Botanical Artists’ Society which focused exclusively on painting these gorgeous insects. Introduction to Butterflies We began with handouts and an introduction to the variety of insect life.  Touching on complete and incomplete life cycles, we also learnt their […] Read more

    Invasive & Japanese Knotweeds: Telling species apart

    Posted on in Botany: Telling species apart
    Invasive and Japanese knotweeds are incredibly successful plants.  Originally from Japan, China and Taiwan, they escaped from ornamental gardens, and have become established across the UK.  They’re especially common in urban and brown-field habitats, and love railway embankments and the damp soils of water ways.  One of the most difficult aspects of controlling them is […] Read more

    Botanical Illustration: Comparing HP Watercolour Papers 3

    Posted on in Illustration Equipment, Illustration techniques
    Introduction to the watercolour paper quest This is the third of three reviews of Watercolour Hot Press papers for botanical illustration.  This time, I find the holy grail…a replacement!  Please check out the first and  second in this series for more tests and results. As a natural history illustrator and someone who does plenty of botanical illustration, […] Read more
    hot press stonehenge

    Botanical Illustration: Comparing HP Watercolour Papers 2

    Posted on in Illustration Equipment, Illustration techniques
    This is the second of three reviews of watercolour Hot Press papers for botanical illustration.  Please check out the first and third in this series for more tests and results! As a botanical illustrator, having a good hot press watercolour paper to work on is really important.  Unfortunately, recently the paper I used to use, Fabriano […] Read more
    leaves

    Botanical Illustration: Step by step painting of leaves

    Posted on in Botanical Illustration step by step, Illustration techniques
    I recently taught a workshop of botanical illustration of leaves.  I broke down the process of painting a leaf into incremental steps.  these were shown on a demonstration painting of a blackberry leaf. Demonstration illustration showing different steps involved in painting a blackberry leaf.  There’s also a breakdown of the colours used to mix the greens […] Read more
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    Lizzie Harper