Botanical Illustration: The Art of Science, The Science of Art

The natural diversity of plants and the adaptations they possess is awe-inspiring and has been the subject of botanical illustration for thousands of years. In this course students will develop fundamental artistic techniques for capturing plant forms using a variety of artistic methods (graphite, charcoal, silver point, ink, watercolor) and a diversity of living plant specimens. Students will learn how to represent the broad scale of botanical diversity, from the shapes of trees via field-based journaling to the cells of mosses via microscopy-to-paper transcription. Students will develop a practice of close observation that challenges their assumptions of how they see the natural world, will master faithful transformation of 3D natural forms to 2D, and will be challenged to apply plant anatomical knowledge and form-function relationships to develop scientifically accurate, publication-quality illustrations in a feedback-rich studio environment.