The Botanical Art Diaries
The Botanical Art Diaries is an archive of my most popular blog posts, including entries documenting my experiences completing the Society of Botanical Artists Distance Learning Diploma.
Take a look back through insights, reflections, and milestones, and see how my botanical art practice has evolved over time.
How to Paint White Flowers: 5 Essential Tips
Painting white flowers are notoriously tricky, and I am often asked about the best way to go about it… Here are my 5 top tips to make it that little bit easier…
Floral Design Commission
In 2016 I had a wonderful opportunity to create the branding for a new florist opening in West Sussex. Becky contacted me having read my blog, and I was so excited to have my first ever commercial commission…
So you want to start watercolour painting?
A lot of people ask me, ‘I’d love to start watercolours, but I have no idea where to start!’, or they go out and buy a sketchbook and a watercolour set, but give up too soon. I hope this post will inspire you to not only start, but keep going…
Diploma Portfolio - Mixed Floral
I knew before starting this piece that I wanted to give the impression of looking through a meadow into the flowers, rather than a traditional bunch of flowers…
Assignment 10
Assignment 10 was entitled ‘Working from Photographs’. We were supposed to take our own photographs, and create a design in the form of a greetings card or poster…
Assignment 9
For this assignment we were asked to find a location we liked, any natural habitat, and study, record and illustrate the species that were present…
Assignment 8
I was really excited about this assignment. Botanical illustration, what the course is all about… When you sign up for a 27 month course, life is bound to throw changes and challenges your way during that time…
Assignment 7
Assignment 7 involved painting a vegetable. I wanted to paint something a bit obscure and interesting… In the end, I settled for something really simple. Onions…
Assignment 6
Assignment 6 of the Society of Botanical Artist’s Distance Learning Diploma involved painting a fruit of our choosing…
Assignment 5
I loved this assignment. I feel like I have improved since the last assignment, and each element (the drawing, planning composition, painting) all came much more naturally…
Assignment 4
Assignment 4 was a fun assignment, the first opportunity to use a lot of colour after the first two graphite assignments and then all the greens in Assignment 3…
SBA Diploma Assignment 3: Watercolour Techniques and Leaves
I was really excited for Assignment 3, but for various reasons (including finishing my 4th year at University, moving house and county, and welcoming into the world 7 jackapoo puppies) I only had 2 weeks to paint, rather than 2 months…
SBA Diploma Assignment 2: Monochrome Continuous Tone Study
I really struggled with what to draw for my second assignment… If I sit at home and try and decide from scratch what my next subject will be I get absolutely nowhere. I need to be in a garden, or in a nursery, or just in nature to get inspiration…
SBA Diploma Assignment 1: Line, Stippling & Tonal Study
This afternoon I went to the post office and dropped off my first assignment of the Society of Botanical Artists Distance Learning Diploma. For Assignment 1 there are 3 components: a simple line drawing, a stippled drawing, and a full tonal pencil piece…
Society of Botanical Artists
I feel like I have a lot of news to share and catch up on. I’ve been accepted onto the Society of Botanical Artists Distance Learning Diploma: a big decision for me that has led me to take a year out of my medical studies…