These days my creative work is divided between Botanical Portraits and the Botanical Journal.Drawing portraits of plants is mostly about beauty and art. Using old masters techniques and translating them into what I think I can call already my own handwriting, I try to capture the essence, the graceful movement, the perfection I see in … Continue reading Between Art and Science
"I used to lie down on the grass and draw the blades as they grew, until every square foot of meadow, or mossy bank, became a possession of me." - John Ruskin. I`m happy to announce that my Patreon page is on.Part teaching, part sharing. Art is the love of my life, a consuming obsession, … Continue reading Patreon page is on
Parnassia palustris, called the Grass of Parnassus by Dioscorides is actually not a grass, but a dicot, member of Celastraceae family, the one in which the recently drawn spindle (Euonymus) is also included. The 10-20 cm stem spring from a cluster of smooth heart-shaped leaves and beautifies bogs and alpine areas with its delicate white … Continue reading Sketching Flowers – 23. Parnassia palustris
Boxwood can be easily overlooked, we are so used to it as common edge or topiary plant, that we maybe ignore it for a botanical study, but it's quite interesting and beautiful, especially the fruits. The box has many similarities with to the spurges (they were part of Euphorbia's family at some point)and the fruits … Continue reading New Tutorial – How to sketch Box fruits
In today's video I will show you how I sketch the coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata). The plants from Rudbeckia genus have a daisy like inflorescence, with yellow-orange ray florets circling conspicuous green, brown or black, cone of many small disc florets. Here are some of the Rudbeckia species I came across: 1. Rudbeckia hirta 2. Rudbeckia … Continue reading Botanical Journal – Sketching a coneflower
Last week's drawing tutorials were dedicated to the drawing of hazelnuts. Using the specimens collected over the years, I made three studies from life, starting from the simplest, a single Corylus avellana fruit, the common hazelnut. In the second video I practiced some quick gestural drawings, looking at the different postures of the fruit. Finally … Continue reading Drawing Tutorials – Hazelnuts
I've got many messages from you to continue the series started in June, therefore, among other topics, every month we will study at least one flower: morphology to better understand the structure of the flower and a drawing using the classical method. I imagine that this series will at some point turn into a book … Continue reading Sketching Flowers – 21. Phalaenopsis orchid
I was looking for a flower whose color would make the transition from green to blue and which could have been more suitable than the jade vine? The plant is native to Philippines and it's grown in gardens all over the world. The color, which we find impressive due to its rarity in the plant … Continue reading Daily Sketches – 20. Strongylodon macrobotrys (Jade Vine)
Today tutorial is on drawing Passiflora capsularis, a small, vanilla scented passion flower that grows in tropical areas. Passiflora is a pentamorous flower, having parts arranged in groups of five: 5 petals, 5 alternating sepals which in most species looks the same as the petals, differing only by a hook at the tip (awn). On … Continue reading Daily Sketches – 19. Passiflora
Today's tutorial was a request from one of my lovely Patrons, the sketching of a Peony flower. In this video you will learn how to estimate proportions between the center ( carpels, stamens and anthers) and the rest of the flower and how to use construction line and geometrical shapes to draw the petals. Here … Continue reading Daily Sketches – 18. Paeonia
Today's sketch is of Molucella laevis, also called Bells of Ireland. The plant has nothing to do with Ireland, except the striking green color, being original from Turkey, Syria and Asia. Inflorescences are arranged in whorls of 6-8 around the stem and they are composed of a large cup-shaped calyx and a white or purple-pink, … Continue reading Daily Sketches – 17. Molucella laevis
Today I sketched the inflorescence of Spathiphyllum. Aroid species produce blooms consisting of one modified leaf called spathe (sometimes of bright colour, like in Anthurium) and a spike-like structure called spadix along the length of which are hundreds of tiny flowers. Spathiphyllum have "perfect flowers" which bear both male and female organs. The diamond-shaped structure … Continue reading Daily Sketches – June 30 Flowers – 16. Spathiphyllum
