The Process of Illustration
Lizzie works traditionally, by hand.
After researching the species she’s illustrating, she gathers reference (preferably specimens not images)
Working from a variety of sources, and being sure to emphasise species-specific traits, she draws up her illustration in pencil
Once the client approves this, she’ll complete the illustration in tonal pencil, pen and ink, pen and ink with watercolour wash, or full watercolour
Botanical Illustrations in Watercolour
Lizzie starts by plotting in her dark areas, then blends to lighter colours.
Finally, she picks out her darkest shadows with a deep mix of purple and blue
For more detailed information, check out her step by step blogs
Botanical Illustrations in Pen and Ink
Lizzie begins by drawing in pen and ink outlines
Next, she plots in the darkest areas with patches of solid ink
Finally, she blends these sharply distinct areas with endless stippled dots
If required, she’ll apply a top wash of watercolour
For more detailed information, check out her step by step blogs
Animal Illustrations in Watercolour
Working with specimens from her freezer whenever possible, Lizzie carefully colour matches paint to fur or feathers
Using lots of tiny strokes to add texture, she plots in her darkest shadows
With paler, diluted tints she blends these to lighter colours.
A top wash unifies the illustration and adds vibrancy
Lastly, she plots in the darkest shadows with a deep mix of blue and purple
For more detailed information, check out her step by step blogs
Animal Illustrations in Pen & Ink
First, Lizzie draws in the outlines
She next blocks in the darkest shadows with solid ink
Stippling, she tries to create an easy visual transition between dark areas and the white page
A top wash of colour can be added once the ink is dry
The process is very similar to her botanical pen and ink work
Watercolour Landscape Illustrations
Working from a client list, Lizzie collects species info and visual reference for all the plants and animals involved
Pencil roughs help position each species in the landscape
A more detailed pencil version is sent to the client, with annotations
Once approved, Lizzie “colours in” from distant landscape to foreground
She completes all the plants first
Finally, she will add the “jigsaw pieces” of the animals
For more on this process, check out the following blogs:
Illustrating a Coastal Hay Meadow
Illustrating a Water Meadow Landscape
To see Lizzie’s work as she completes it, follow her on Instagram
She often posts photos of her works in progress in her “Stories” and has links to her blogs, many of which are step by step explanations
This is a recent illustration of the Common European frog, Rana temporaria
The colour varies a lot between individuals, from yellows to browns to greener shades.
The dark patch behind the eyes and striped leg markings are a good identifying feature, but (as the name suggests) the majority of UK frogs are this species.
Frogspawn is laid between December and April (depending on the weather) and a female can lay up to 4000 eggs each season.
Illustrations of amphibians are tricky as my usual technique of layering tiny brush strokes to build up depth and texture doesn`t work on smooth amphibian skin, so it`s always an excellent challenge.
#frog #commonfrog #rana #ranatemporia #naturalhistoryillustration #sciart
Apple blossom season. I`m meant to be drawing up 15 plants found in the Caribbean, but the apple blossom distracts me every year.
And every year I don`t quite manage to catch its fresh colour and delicate structure.
Anyone else have one plant that you HAVE to stop and draw every year, when it blooms?
#spring #springtime #blossom #appleblossom #malusdomesticus #botanialillustration #botanicalart #apple
This unobtrusive little plant is Bastard-toadflax Thesium humifusum.
It flowers in June and July, but is unlikely to be noticed when not in flower as it sprawls hidden amongst the grass on chalky turf sites. It has tiny leaves, sometimes less than 1cm long by 1mm wide. The flowers are also very small, about half a cm across.
It`s an indicator of high-quality habitat, and likes well-grazed habitats, which are increasingly rare.
Like lots of grassland species (Yellow-rattle, Eyebright, Lousewort, Bartsia, and Cow-wheat) this plant is hemi-parasitic, meaning it adds to its` energy supplies by taking nutrients from the grasses is grows with.
This illustration will appear on the FSC Publishing fold-out guide to the flora of Cranbourne chase, a high quality chalkland turf site, which will be published later this year.
#botanicalillustration #botanicalart #bastardtoadflax #chalkland #wildflowersuk #thesiumhumifusum
I`ve just made a film and blog reviewing Paul Reuben`s "YouLan Artist Watercolour set" which they gave me to try.
I was impressed; they`re good quality and reasonably priced.
To see my honest, unbiased review; watch me painting an Early gentian in real time; and access a limited time 10% discount code; please take a look:
https://youtu.be/OjDVVFmbWbU
and read the accompanying blog:
https://lizzieharper.co.uk/2024/03/paul-reubens-artist-level-youlan-series-watercolour-box-review/
#artequipment #review #paulreubens #watercolour #watercolorpainting #paintbox #botanicalillustration #botanicalart #gentian #paulreubens
@paulrubensart
This is the Juniper Juniper Juniperus communis, one of a recent set of wildflower illustrations completed for The Field Studies Council
It`ll be used on one of their fold out identification guides, this time a guide to the flora of Cranbourne chase. It`s an area of chalkland, a habitat I`m not very familiar with, so many of the plants on the species list were new to me.
The juniper was not, I`ve painted it several times before because there`s something so appealing about the blue-black berries and their leaves. These have a distinctive white stipe on the top half and surprisingly sharp points.
Juniper is useful not only in cooking, but (as I`m sure you all know) is has also been used to flavour gin for centuries.
#wildflowers #juniper #juniperuscommunis #botanicalillustration #botanicalart #identification #floral #gin
Field fleawort, Tephroseris integrifolia, an asteraceae yellow flower with furry leaves in a basal rosette.
I add the furry hairs ontop of the watercolour with white gouache and a tiny brush.
This is one of a series of wildflowers recently completed for a Field Studies Council guide to an area of Chalk land plants, so it`s a challenge as I`m much less familiar with these species.
#botanialillustration #botanicalart #wildflowers #fleawort #tephroseris
This is the Early gentian, Gentianella amarella subspc. uglinosa
It`s another plant that`s been reclassified recently, and is ever so similar to the Autumn gentian, but flowers early in the year.
The main I.d. feature is that the top internode makes up 40%+ of the entire plant height, and the mouth of the corolla has a fringe of white "hairs".
As its nor in season it was tricky to decide on what shade of purple to work with - the ref suggested a mauve rather than a violet hue.
#gentian #wildflowers #earlygentian #gentianella #flowers #flowerpainting #flowerart #chalkflowers #botanicalillustration #botanicalart
This is the Chalk stream water-crowfoot Ranunculus penicillatus subsp.pseudofluitans.
It`s one of a series of plants illustrated for an identification guide to Braunton Burrows, being produced by FSC publications.
How to tell this one from other water-crowfoot species? Complicated.
They`ve all been renamed recently by the BSBI, so the latest is that our subsp: has no emergent leaves. Sepals not or only slightly reflexed. Leaves all made of linear segments, divided 6 to 8 times. The one bit I couldn`t quite fit on this illustration was the detail of internode in relation to leaf length - it`s needed to see if you`re looking at R. pencilliatus subsp. pencillatus or subsp.pseudofluitans.
I love a botanical challenge and this was one - from the botany separating species to showing the plant above and below water to being sure each leaf segment was 6 - 8 x divided. Flower painting. So relaxing.
#crowfoot #watercrowfoot #botanicalart #botanicalillustration #wildflowers #aquaticplants
Sketchbooks
Most of Lizzie’s work is done direct to order
However, when she gets the chance she loves sketching for pleasure
Below are some pages from her sketchbooks
