Botanical Art

There are orchid flowers in every color of the rainbow, and each requires a tailored approach depending on the color, texture, pattern and form.

Length: 3 days
Dates: Wed. & Thurs., March 19 & 20 and Thurs., March 27, 2025
Time: 9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. ET 

Susan T. Fisher teaches you how to mix the colors you want, not the ones you end up with through trial and error. Learn an easy system for combining colors consistently
to achieve the broadest possible spectrum for any “wet” medium including watercolor, gouache, oils, acrylics, etc. Suitable for artists at all levels. Color mixing watercolor sheets provided. 

Length: 5 days
Dates:  Mon. – Fri., March 31; April 1-4, 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m ET 

Join Romanian botanical artist and Yale University Fulbright scholar Irina Neacsu in exploring the beauty of spring bulb flowers. 

Through guided instruction, you'll learn how to quickly capture flower forms with graphite and watercolor, document details effectively, and experiment with combining traditional watercolor techniques with dry brush methods.

Length: 3 days
Dates:  Tuesday - Thursday, April 8-10, 2025
Time: 9:30 am – 3:30 pm ET 

Flat lay is a popular photography technique where objects are arranged on a flat surface and photographed from above. Working with real seasonal flowers and foliage, you’ll arrange and design your own flat lay on a whiteboard, exploring elements of design and considering color, shape, and texture. You’ll then learn how to best photograph your flat lay, experimenting with natural and artificial light. Open to all levels. 

Length: 1 day
Dates:  Tuesday - Thursday, April 8-10, 2025
Time: 10 am – 12 pm ET 

In this color-focused class with botanical artist, Tara Connaughton, we’ll explore the fresh hues of spring blooms through studies of emerging flowers and bulbs. Our focus will be on observation, drawing, and developing a color palette for our chosen subjects. We’ll learn methods to build a color plan for our paintings, and how to approach color mixing in a simple but accurate way.

Length: 2 days
Dates:  Tuesday, April 15 & Thursday, April 17, 2025
Time: 10 am – 2 pm ET 

No previous drawing experience necessary
Learn about the form and structure of plants through close observation and drawing exercises intended to enhance your ability to draw plants accurately. Alongside artist and landscape architect, Lauren Meier, we will cover the science of plant morphology and learn how to look closely at the visible features through in-class lectures and weekly drawing exercises. The goal of this class is to have fun and use drawing as a tool to better see and understand plants.

Length: 5 days
Dates:  Thursdays: May 1, 15, 22, 29; June 5, 2025 (no class on May 8)
Time: 9:30 am – 1:30 pm ET 

Celebrate the spring and capture the vibrancy of these cheerful harbingers of sunny days to come. In this course with Sarah Roche, we will be taking advantage of the displays of pansies in the Garden at Elm Bank as we explore the potential of wet washes and dry brush detail to portray the beauty of these plucky spring flowers. Note: This course may be taken at the Foundations (104) or Techniques (204) level.

Length: 4 days
Dates:  Tuesdays: May 6, 13, 20, 27, 2025 
Time: 10 am – 1 pm ET 

Trout Lilies are a small beloved spring ephemeral plant seen across New England blooming in early spring before the trees above them leaf out. In this class with returning botanical artist, Betsy Rogers-Knox, we’ll depict a cluster of blooming flowers with a Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly (Phoebis sennae). We’ll begin with a line drawing and tonal to identify correct value placement and depth, followed by watercolor to depict accurate color balance and vitality.

Length: 3 days
Dates: Wednesday, May 7 - Friday, May 9, 2025 
Time: 10 am - 4 pm & Friday 10 am - 1 pm ET 

Introduction series for botanical art beginners!
If you have an interest in plants and a yearning to record what you see on paper, then this class is for you. Explore the world of botanical art over three full days in this course designed especially for you—the beginner. Gain experience through structured exercises, projects, and demonstrations, exposing you to the basic techniques and methods of botanical drawing and watercolor painting.

Length: 3 days
Dates: Monday, June 2 - 4, 2025 
Time: 9:30 am - 3:30 pm ET 

Join this Beatrix Potter-inspired class, previous drawing and watercolor experience is helpful, but all levels are welcome! Students will be encouraged to sketch ’botanicals and beyond’ (bugs, birds, birdhouses, nests, bunnies, chipmunks, etc.) and to use techniques and materials similar to that of this beloved illustrator. Students will be provided with paint dots of watercolor paint and ink similar to those Beatrix used.

Length: 3 days
Dates: June 12, 17 & 19, 2025
6/12 & 6/19 at the Garden at Elm Bank
6/17 Virtual via Zoom
Time: 10 am - 2 pm ET 

Pierre-Joseph Redouté was one of the most talented botanical artists ever known. His mastery of both flowers and foliage was extraordinary. Using his paintings as inspiration, you will study his compositions and color choices to explore the potential of watercolor washes, glazes, and dry brush, learning about these essential traditional botanical art techniques in a step-by-step approach. Suitable for beginners. 

Length: 2 days
Dates: June 24 & 26, 2025
Time: 10 am - 1 pm ET 

Pen and ink is a versatile drawing medium offering a rich black-and-white expressive language for illustration. In this one-day class you will find out how to hold the pens to make different strokes and tips and strategies to control ink flow, prevent ink blobs, and correct mistakes. We will work with the crow-quill metal dip pen with India ink and the Pigma micron pen. Instructed by Carol Ann Morley

Length: 1 day
Dates: August 25, 2025
Time: 9:30 am - 3:30 pm ET 

Begin with pencil studies of your chosen specimen and get familiar with the angles, gestures, and details of form. Practice some pen and ink techniques and have fun testing different shading strokes to build the tones and textures of your flowers and leaves. Working with both the crow-quill pen and pigma micron, explore the unique repertoire of each pen and make some ink trials on vellum paper to find the best solutions for your rendering. Transfer your pencil sketch to Bristol paper in a pleasing arrangement then start inking and watch your flowers emerge as a beautiful black and white pen and ink illustration. Instructed by Carol Ann Morley

Length: 3 days
Dates: August 25 - 29, 2025
Time: 9:30 am - 3:30 pm ET 

Guided by Alice Rosa, a Fellow of the Society of Botanical Artists in London, learn the art of colored pencil for botanical art. First, we will start with foundational techniques such as observing, measuring, and drawing all the components of the plant. Then move on to color studies, learning how to layer colored pencils to achieve vibrant and deep hues. We will also explore tools to render textures and fine details.

Length: 3 days
Dates: September 8, 9, 12, 2025
Time: 10 am - 2 pm ET