"inside the South Shore Art Center... A weekly botanical art class... Led by... botanical artist Sarah Roche, the all-female class is a mixture of beginners and seasoned botanical artists. ... Many of the women were attracted to the class because of its interesting subject, a few of them are avid gardeners... "... A botanical illustrator must actually be an artist with one foot planted firmly in science," says Roche. "If you can produce a drawing or painting that, besides accurate is also beautiful, you may have created a work of art, but not all illustration is art, some may show every tiny detail, but still be dry and dull."
The beginning of each project begins with the examination of the plant specimen... In front of each student is a small potted plant to serve as her muse... They study it. They turn it. They draw it. They match nature's colors to watercolors. "You have to imagine you are the first person painting a plant, so it's important to be really accurate," says Roche... She has taught the botanical art class for 10 years at the Art Center, but has taught adults the craft of botanical art for 23 years. Roche is the founding director of the New England Society of Botanical Artists, which is affiliated with the larger American Society of Botanical Artists. Many of the students who have taken the class for several years have joined the New England Society of Botanical Artists. The laid back yet focused class covers the basics from accurately sketching the plant, to mixing watercolors to truly represent real life specimen to precisely re-creating a two-dimensional painting of a three-dimensional object. ... Muriel Long, a third year student... bought a wine-colored lady slipper orchid... when the blossom had yet to open. She began her work with the leaves, banking on the flower opening by the time she was ready to begin painting the top half of the flower. But she had no such luck, the stubborn orchid stayed shut. She called the flower shop where she had purchased the plant to ask what she could do to help the plant along, but they couldn't help her. Eventually, she bought a similarly colored orchid to finish her painting. Then, in order to create an accurate portrayal of the plant Long has to adjust the coloring and pattern of the leaves to more closely reflect the second plant." URL : http://www.wickedlocal.com/cohasset/fun/entertainment/arts/x1907846110 photo : [caption : "Muriel Long... examine[s] the lady slipper orchid she's painting."] http://www.wickedlocal.com/content/sites/cohasset/flower/0/g258258e3cc14d57cc4fe12fa5b80434f8720a3c9064ba6.jpg ************* Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
