Wildflower Watercolor Workshop

What to Expect:
Learn watercolor technique while discovering the delicate wildflowers that inhabit our urban environment during the spring. Through layering subtle watercolor washes and close observation we will create botanical watercolor paintings from live specimens. This intimate process reveals details and qualities in plants that we often consider weeds. Botanical illustration started out of a necessity to document medicinal plants and their uses. We will look to this long history to learn about fascinating hidden powers possessed by our plant specimens, both as ascribed by folklore and current medicinal practice. Many wildflowers that can be found in an urban environment are considered weeds, however deepening our knowledge can alter our perception of them.

Topics covered:
Mixing colors for organic subjects with watercolors. Watercolor layering techniques. Watercolor effects specific to your subject, individual consultation. Selected topics from the history of botanical illustration. Feedback on your finished work.

Artist-instructor: Mira O'Brien