Showing 1–12 of 19 results
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How to Draw Flowers & Trees in Simple Steps
Artist/Author: John-Naylor, Denis, Janet Whittle, Penny Brown (Authors)$41.00 Add to cartWhatever their skill level, artists will love the easy approach to flower and tree drawing in this extremely good value book. It contains a wonderful selection of flowers and trees and each drawing begins with amazingly simple shapes that can then be built up to create beautiful finished pictures. Helpful two colour instruction guarantees good results and the simplicity of the teaching method makes the learning process fun and effective. Observation is an important part of the drawing process, and How to Draw Flowers & Trees is a wonderful resource for anyone wanting to understand the structure of flowers and trees, and all those who are keen to develop their confidence and techniques. Artists will discover much to excite and inspire them with this inspirational guide.
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Botanical Drawing: A Step-by-Step Guide to Drawing Flowers, Vegetables, Fruit and Other Plant Life
Artist/Author: Brown, Penny$39.00 Add to cartBotanical Drawing provides a thorough and expert guide to the subject of botanical drawing, through detailed text, examples of the authors own studies, short exercises and larger projects. Penny Brown produces traditional botanical drawings primarily rendered in pencil.
The book touches on the history of botanical drawing, the rules and practicalities, and includes an accessible, basic study of botany for the absolute beginner. From creating an initial line drawing to adding tone and then creating more complex compositions, Botanical Drawing is a detailed study of the practice for anyone wishing to explore the subject in great depth, led by an expert artist.
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Joseph Banks’ Florilegium: Botanical Treasures from Cook’s First Voyage
Artist/Author: Gooding, Mel, David J Mabberley (Authors)$120.00 Add to cartJoseph Banks accompanied Captain Cook on his first voyage round the world from 1768 to 1771. A gifted and wealthy young naturalist, Banks collected exotic flora from Madeira, Brazil, Tierra del Fuego, the Society Islands, New Zealand, Australia and Java, bringing back over 1300 species that had never been seen or studied by Europeans. On his return, Banks commissioned over 700 superlative engravings between 1772 and 1784. Known collectively as Banks’ Florilegium, they are some of the most precise and exquisite examples of botanical illustration ever created.
The Florilegium was never published in Banks’ lifetime, and it was not until 1990 that a complete set in colour was issued in a boxed edition (limited to 100 copies) under the direction of the British Museum (Natural History). It is from these prints that the present selection is made, directed by David Mabberley, who has provided expert botanical commentaries, with additional texts by art historian Mel Gooding, setting the works in context as a perfect conjunction of nature, science and art. An afterword by Joseph Studholme describes the history of the modern printing.
Winner of the 2017 ABC James A. Duke Excellence in Botanical Literature Award
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Beginner’s Guide to Botanical Flower Painting
Artist/Author: Lakin, Michael$37.00 Add to cartClean, fresh and precise botanical artwork is within your grasp, with Mick Lakin’s clear and simple approach. This complete guide to the crisp, precise finish of botanical painting marries traditional technique with contemporary style and includes sections on colour, drawing, continuous tone, composition and dissection. Michael Lakin makes botanical art approachable with simple exercises and a variety of step-by-step instructional approaches, making this a fantastic guide for aspirational beginners.
Michael Lakin was born and bred in South Derbyshire, UK. His early learning was basic but he always excelled in art. After leaving school he moved into engineering, becoming a manager, before he left to start his own business. Michael kept up art as a hobby and began to teach classes in Botanical Art to adults at Derby WAEA. Since then he has exhibited in London and other parts of the UK. He has a purpose-built studio next to his rural home, where he teaches and gives demonstrations throughout the year.
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The Florilegium: The Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney: Celebrating 200 Years
Artist/Author: Morris, Colleen, Louisa Murray, Brett Summerell (Preface By), Shirley Sherwood(Foreword By), Beverly Allen (Introduction By)$49.00 Add to cartA quality production with full-page illustrations of 87 historically significant plants in Sydney’s three botanical gardens. 64 leading botanical artists contributed to this wonderful collection. The majority are Australian with 23 international artists also contributing. Almost all of the artists are represented in the major public and private collections around the world and have been awarded medals. The artists donated their work to the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust to create this contemporary florilegium. A florilegium is a collection of paintings of plants from a particular garden or place. The paintings have been exhibited at the Museum of Sydney in 2016 and in 2018, the exhibition travelled to the Shirley Sherwood Gallery in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: a measure of its quality. 87 plants were chosen for their botanical and historical significance. Most have been painted life size, and then reduced by about half for reproduction in the book. The variety of contemporary styles represent individual artistic responses to the plants, while always retaining botanical accuracy. The foreword is by Dr Shirley Sherwood OBE, the foremost collector of botanical art; with an introductory essay by Beverly Allen, and historic overview by Colleen Morris is followed by text for each plant’s fascinating historic and cultural significance and a botanic description by Louisa Murray. Artist biographies are included. The book is an attractive contemporary design, printed on quality matt art paper (low gloss), allowing accurate reproduction of the colours. Careful quality control through the production process has ensured this. Text is on the left-hand page of each spread, with the artwork generally on the right, sometimes spreading over both pages.
All profits from sales of the book will go towards conservation of books and artwork held at the Gardens. The artists have donated their work to the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust.
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Into the Orchid House: In Search of Beauty
Artist/Author: Breeden, Stanley, Kaisa Breeden and Bruce Gray$45.00 Add to cartHigh on the hills of the Atherton Tablelands in far north Queensland stands a glasshouse built by orchid expert Bruce Gray. Whether from the cloud forests of South America, the Himalayan Mountains of India, the mangroves of the Philippines, the rocky outcrops of Madagascar or the dense rainforests of New Guinea, tropical species thrive here.
Award-winning photographers Stanley and Kaisa Breeden capture the plants in rich, detailed images. Specialising in macro photography using natural light, the Breedens produce masterful floral portraits, exquisite in detail and colour. Step into the orchid house to discover this extraordinary and diverse world.
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Marianne North: The Kew Collection
Artist/Author: RBG Kew$80.00 Add to cartMarianne North was a remarkable Victorian traveller and painter, who traversed the globe recording the world’s flora with her paintbrush and writing her experiences in her journal.
In 1879 she offered her painting collection numbering over 800 to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and at her own expense built a gallery to house them. Marianne stayed closely involved with the project, painting beautiful decorative motifs on the interior door panels and surrounds.
For the first time, this unique and stunning book brings together all of Marianne North’s Kew collection. The paintings are arranged geographically as they appear in the Gallery, and Marianne’s original titles are included alongside each painting.
With an introduction by Christopher Mills, former Head of Kew’s Library, Art and Archives. This is a beautiful gift souvenir in celebration of a stunning body of work.
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Plant: Exploring the Botanical World
Artist/Author: Phaidon Editors$80.00 Add to cartThe ultimate gift for gardeners and art-lovers, featuring 300 of the most beautiful and pioneering botanical images ever.
Following in the footsteps of the international bestseller Map: Exploring the World, this fresh and visually stunning survey celebrates the extraordinary beauty and diversity of plants. It combines photographs and cutting-edge micrograph scans with watercolours, drawings, and prints to bring this universally popular and captivating subject vividly to life. Carefully selected by an international panel of experts and arranged in a uniquely structured sequence to highlight thought-provoking contrasts and similarities, this stunning compilation of botanically themed images includes iconic work by celebrated artists, photographers, scientists, and botanical illustrators, as well as rare and previously unpublished images.
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Botanical Drawing Uusing Graphite and Coloured Pencils
Artist/Author: Vize, Sue.$55.00 Add to cartDrawing with graphite and coloured pencils enables the artist to capture every detail of a plant, and to enjoy, study and celebrate their wonderful forms. Whether the illustration is a striking monotone or vibrant with colour, pencils give you absolute precision. The book, written and illustrated by an award-winning botanical artist, introduces and explains the drawing skills behind the art. Each chapter concentrates on a different aspect of the plant, working upwards from the root system to include the stem, leaves, flowers and fruit. Fungi have also been included due to their close association with plants. With tips and advice throughout, the techniques are supported by step-by-step projects, clear exercises and over 300 colour illustrations.
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Botanical Sketchbooks
Artist/Author: Bynum, Helen and William F. Bynum.$60.00 Add to cartWhile highly finished drawings and paintings feature in histories of botanical art, the preparatory sketches, first impressions and creative thoughts behind them are rarely seen and have often remained hidden and locked away. Botanical Sketchbooks brings these personal and vividly spontaneous records gloriously back into the light. In a series of biographical portraits organized thematically into four sections, the book illuminates a range of intriguing characters, from many different countries and cultures, including Germany, France, Italy, America, Australia, Japan and China. Sketchbooks proper are joined by notebooks, journals, albums, loose pieces of paper, works on vellum, manuscripts, letters, herbarium sheets and marginalia – even one drawing on the back of an envelope. Turning the pages of this book will be an invitation to relive extraordinary experiences, imagine lost worlds, and be immersed in the endeavours, observations and motivations of the makers of such beautiful and enchanting art.
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The Kew Book of Botanical Illustration
Artist/Author: King, Christabel.$52.00 Add to cartKew is eminent worldwide in botanical science and the study and preservation of plant species, and Christabel King has been doing illustrations for them for 40 years and is their foremost botanical artist. Here she explains both scientific botanical illustration and the looser botanical art, and covers materials, collecting and preserving plant specimens, drawing and painting techniques, magnification, using dividers, drawing from life, composition, light and shade and transferring drawings. She goes on to discuss painting leaves, flowers, cacti and succulents, wildflowers, trees and plates for Curtis’s Botanical magazine. A chapter on travel drawings gives a flavour of the author’s passion and worldwide experience. There is a helpful section on suitable subjects for beginners and a glossary of terms. The text is highly illustrated throughout with beautiful paintings.
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Brush with Gondwana
Artist/Author: Gooding, Janda.$40.00 Add to cartSeven leading botanical artists are brought together in this beautifully illustrated book. Author Janda Gooding shares the stories behind each artist’s illustrations and reveals a rich and diverse record of Western Australia’s unique flora, fauna and fungi. Illustrations by Margaret Pieroni, Katrina Syme, Philippa Nikulinsky, Pat Dundas, Rica Erickson, Ellen Hickman and Penny Leech.
