flower painting Archives

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trees: Elder

Posted on 18th March 2022 in Trees

Trees: Elder 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 Elder Sambucus nigra is the sixth in this series, along side the Sycamore, Ash, Hawthorn, Rowan and the Oak. The Elder Sambucus nigra […] Read more

The Treeline – Book Illustrations

Posted on 4th February 20224th February 2022 in Current projects and news, Showcase of themed natural history illustrations

The Treeline: The last forest and the future of life on earth by Ben Rawlence is an exploration of the arboreal forests than encircle the globe. These are already being massively altered and changed by the climate emergency. It has just been published, in January 2022. I was lucky enough to be asked to do […] Read more

Heath Star Moss Sketchbook study

Posted on 7th January 2022 in botanical terms, Current projects and news

Heath star moss is one of three invasive species I’ve just illustrated for FOR in Sweden. In this case, the moss is an unwelcome invasive in Iceland, where it outcompetes other mosses and affects the delicate balance of existing ecosystems. Sketchbook pages FOR have commissioned several sets of invasive species over the years, and favour […] Read more

Habit sketch of Cow parsley: step by step

Posted on 26th November 202126th November 2021 in Botanical Illustration step by step

Habit sketches are an important aspect of doing botanical illustrations. They need to show an entire plant, and suggest how it grows within its environment. This one of the Cow parsley, Anthriscus sylvatica, was recently done for FOR in Sweden. It accompanied a large sheet of sketches of the same plant. To learn more about […] Read more

Cow Parsley: All about an Umbellifer

Posted on 12th November 20211st July 2024 in Botany: Telling species apart, Current projects and news

Cow parsley Anthriscus sylvestris was on the list of plants I recently illustrated for FOR Sweden. These plants are invasive in Scandinavia, and particularly troublesome in Iceland. Sketchbook studies All the botanical illustrations I do for FOR are in a sketchbook format. I love working this way; it gives me the opportunity to include tons […] Read more

Blueberry: step by step Pen and Ink illustration

Posted on 15th October 2021 in Botanical Illustration step by step

I recently completed a blueberry illustration for a packaging job, and thought it’d be the perfect opportunity to give a quick explanation of how I illustrate shiny dark fruit in pen and ink. Drawing blueberries Coming up with the initial drawing was tricky. it had to fit the layout of the product’s box, and the […] Read more

Trees: Ash

Posted on 2nd April 20212nd April 2021 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

Trees: Sycamore

Posted on 22nd January 202122nd January 2021 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 8th January 2021 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

Comparing Periwinkle Species

Posted on 27th November 202027th November 2020 in Botany: Telling species apart

Periwinkle species feature on the list of a recent job of invasive plants I’ve completed for FOR Sweden. I’m very fond of these plants; that warm, mauve blue coupled with the glossy green leaves makes for a pretty garden plant. It was a pleasure to spend time comparing the Lesser periwinkle, Vinca minor (a problematic […] Read more

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

Sketchbook illustrations of Invasive Plants

Posted on 3rd July 2020 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 6th March 202029th September 2022 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

Coastal Flowers: Illustrating a Flower Guide

Posted on 21st February 202016th March 2022 in Current projects and news

I’ve recently completed a series of thirty three botanical illustrations of coastal flowers for Field Studies Council Publications. What I love about these jobs is the enormous amount you learn about species you may never have noticed before. In this blog, I’m going to showcase a few of these lovely plants, and what seaside habitats […] Read more