food for free Archives - Lizzie Harper

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

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

Foraging with Kids at Hay Festival

Posted on 28th August 2019 in Painting workshops

Foraging with Kids Workshop at Hay Festival: Setting up Back in May, Adele Nozedar and I ran a workshop at Hay Festival. We aimed the workshop at children and their parents, and included foraging and drawing activities. We were also there to promote out book, Foraging with kids, and had a lovely banner that […] Read more

Foraging with Kids Illustrations

Posted on 29th November 201814th January 2019 in Current projects and news

Foraging with Kids has recently hit the bookshops. It’s written by Adele Nozedar, and illustrated by yours truly. It’s a project I’m proud to have collaborated on. Foraging with Kids Illustrations All the botanical illustrations were in pen and ink. The art directors and I agreed that simple line drawings would work well. These would be clear […] Read more

Illustrate and forage: Eat what you paint!

Posted on 20th May 201619th December 2018 in Scientific Illustrator out and about

Recently I took an edible plants identification chart I’d done the natural history illustrations for on a walk, to test it out with friends. I’ve written blogs on foraging before as it’s something I do a fair amount of, but this “road test” of one of my i.d. charts was a first. FSC Guide to Edible Plants On a forage for […] Read more

Illustrations for Foraging for Edible Plants Chart

Posted on 8th April 201618th December 2018 in Current projects and news

I’ve recently been working on natural history illustrations for The Field Studies Councils publications department. They appear on a fold out chart of edible British plants which has only just come out. I’m delighted with the result. They’ve used my illustrations beautifully, and the way the information is included is innovative and clear. Finding reference Despite it being November […] Read more

Foraging with Adele Nozedar

Posted on 2nd October 201517th June 2022 in Scientific Illustrator out and about

Despite supplying botanical illustrations for the natural history foraging classic “Hedgerow Handbook” by Adele Nozedar, and doing events together (such as at the National Botanic Gardens of Wales) I’d never had the chance to go foraging with her…until Monday. Cover of “The Hedgerow Handbook” by Adele Nozedar (illustrated by me) A beautiful sunny autumn afternon saw a large group […] Read more

Botanical illustration of hawthorn berries y Lizzie with her paintbox

Step by step Botanical illustration of Hawthorn berries

Posted on 1st January 201317th October 2018 in Botanical Illustration step by step

In this blog I’ve broken down the steps involved in painting the berries of the Hawthorn Craetegus monogyna. This approach works just as well for any red shiny berry, although you’ll need to take care with what hue of red you mix. The real secret to getting these berries looking properly shiny is to ensure you […] Read more