Botanical Drawing I - Materials & Methods - fourth class

For the fourth class we were asked to bring a small clay pot.  In class we drew it from three perspectives:  near eye level, lower on a platform and then lower still.  We used various containers to prop them up at different levels.   Using a ruler or divider we measured the pots paying careful attention to the size of the ellipse which grows larger as the pot is viewed more from above.  We drew on tracing paper then transferred the drawing to vellum.  This exercise was difficult because getting the symmetry is hard.  

Next we were given some actual plant material for an exercise on drawing leaves.  First we drew a geranium leaf, paying attention to the veins and lobes.  Then in order to learn how to draw a curved leaf we took an impatien leaf and taped it over an acetate cylinder.  You draw the center vein first, even the part you can't see.  then the front edge of the leaf, then the back edge.  Erase the part of the center vein obscured by bent leaf.  Add the details of veins and the serrated edge.  And voila.  

Botanical Drawing I - Materials and Methods - Third Class

After kindly critiquing our homework, the teacher talked about and demonstrated the idea of picture plane, where there is an imaginary plane parallel to your face that you need to be aware of and work with when measuring your subject.  To assist learning this, a plexiglas sheet can be propped up in front of your subject, and, with one eye closed, you can take measurements with a ruler or divider.  I had a hard time doing this until I got home and set up a raised platform for the subject and a plexiglas rectangle in front of it.  You can barely see the plexiglas but the alligator clips are holding a sheet of it.  I stabilized the clips with erasing clay.  I set my cutting mat up on a box.  I found the grid on the mat helpful.  I drew two intersecting blue lines on my paper that corresponded to lines on the mat that bisected my arrangement of shapes.  I used a divider (looks like a compass) to take measurements -- you need to put the ruler or divider right up against the plexiglas.  I now imagine that the teacher won't like those blue lines.  Oh well.  We were to draw the shapes, overlapping, and use contour lines to shade them.  

The other exercise was to copy a drawing of a grid of woven ribbons, using different weight lines to create the illusion of dimension.  My drawing violates the 'light comes from the upper left' rule.  The drawing need to be touched up quite a bit, but I got the idea.  

OK, so I eventually settled down with a bourbon and water and played some more.  Gotta make the ribbons pop!  Still needs work but hey, overworking has its drawbacks too.  I'm gonna consider this one done.  I totally get the concept.  

Botanical Drawing I Materials and Methods - Second class

For the second class we played with perspective and depth of field.  We learned two point perspective which we will not be using in botanical drawing because plants aren't boxy.  But it takes little time to have the "A-ha" and it is essential for drawing many things (other than plants.) 

Then we were each given a a black and white copy of a photograph of leaves and told to draw the leaves light to dark to indicate depth and to keep the drawing from looking totally flat.  I did this in class.  Lots of leaves, lots of overlap.  Yikes. 

For our homework we were to obtain some flat leaves, create a composition with the leaves overlapping, and then draw them lighter and darker.  I bought turnip leaves.  I photographed them and printed the image.  We were not to use any shading, only lines.  This forces a focus on line intensity.  I had fun with this exercise.  I did have to darken or lighten some areas--overdrawing or erasing.  I did not have a clear plan when I started this so it took a while to evolve.  I enjoyed the process and learned a lot by doing this.  And I haven't even started googling what-to-do-with-turnip-leaves…  

Botanical Drawing I - materials and methods - First class

The first class was all about getting to know the pencils and the lines they draw.  We are working only with HB, 2B and 2H.  We practiced drawing straight lines.  Lines that start with pressure and ease up and lines that start light and end up with pressure.  

And then we drew an onion to practice contour lines.  Onions naturally have contour lines so they were a good choice.  

We have homework:  draw an object that has contour lines, like a beach ball, an onion, a melon, and then draw a spherical object that does not have contour lines, like an egg or unmarked ball.  We are to draw the longitudinal and latitudinal lines.  I drew a squash, an egg, a lime and a lemon.   While I still draw too fast, I like this exercise and will keep practicing (on cheaper paper, not the $1 a sheet stuff that they assigned for class.)

Catching up. Bog Brook Cove Preserve, Maine

It really has been too long.  I have let some great experiences go unrecorded so I do this now to recover some of what I recall.  I especially wish I could have managed to blog while I was on two collecting trips with Daniel.  Better late than never, I guess.  So here we go...For both trips, we visited Bog Brook Cove Preserve in Maine near the Canadian border.  On one trip we camped in the Ham Camper.  On the other we stayed in a very rustic cabin on the Preserve.  In both cases there was no phone or internet access unless we went into Lubec and hopped on the library's Wi-Fi.  That's my excuse for not blogging then and I am sticking to it.

Daniel has been conducting a complete inventory of the flora of the Preserve.  To do so requires several visits at different times in the blooming/fruiting season.  The project will take several years to complete. This is where we were: 

We camped in Cobscook Bay State Park.  Even in August the nights were in the 40's.  We had to go to a Wal-Mart to buy sleeping bags.  Even though we were in the camper, it was very cold at night.  Even so, it was quiet, sparsely populated and beautiful. 

This is the view from our campsite in Cobscook State Park.  We thought we had the best site in the park(high tide).

We returned in May 2014 and  had more commodious accommodations in the cabin on the Bog Brook Cove Preserve.  The cabin is used by the blueberry workers in season and by visiting scientists such as Daniel.  The cabin is right above the rocky shore with views of Canada.  While there is a generator, there is no electric light, heating, or other such conveniences.  Just propane for light and cooking.  

We spent some time exploring a beaver pond and admired the remarkable engineering.  

I loved these red soldiers growing on a log...

..and some colorful bracken on a tree.

Best of all was the bog and the pitcher plants.  This is my favorite shot ever--two carnivorous plants here…the pitcher plant and the sundews.  Both perfectly designed to trap insects.  Feed me.  

We collected in the blueberry barrens, which from a distance look like this: 

…but up close reveal their fruit.

In the barrens, in addition to the blueberries, I collected a lot of specimens for Daniel to press.

Sometimes Daniel photographs the flora we collect.  The photos may help with the identification later before a specimen is filed in the herbarium.

We also visited a local bog, loaded with carnivorous pitcher plants, a favorite of mine.   Some of them are red, some are green.  All waiting for their dinner to come in and become trapped.  Feed me. 

I also found this rare orchid, sadly not in bloom.  We did not collect this as it is endangered.  

In the summer the bunchberries are everywhere, the woods are carpeted with them.  

They don't call it the Bold Coast for nothing.  It is a real treat to hike to the coastline and see surf crashing on rocks.  

A highlight of the August trip was a visit by kayak to Reversing Falls.  Reversing Falls is a narrow passage where the tide from Denny's Bay rushes between rocks to Cobscook Bay.  The tidal change in the area is one of the most extreme on the planet with a 30' drop.  The velocity of the water when the tide changes is incredible and creates a real roar of water.  You can hear it from far off.  It makes for thrilling kayaking--it's a fun series of rapids and whirlpools.  Once through them though there is no return, that is until the tide changes.  There were bald eagles flying overhead.  The weather was perfect and we had the whole area to ourselves, not a soul in sight.  No pics of kayaking--we were too busy negotiating the whirlpools and rapids.

We stopped here on the way to Reversing Falls to wait until the tidal conditions were just right.  The outgoing tide is building momentum almost ready for a good run.  

After running the rapids I parked in a tidal pool and relaxed in the sun while I waited for the tide to let up so I could kayak back.  The high tide mark is up at the base of the trees--pretty extreme.  

We spent some time in Lubec, a tiny town that was once a busy fishing port.  Locals are trying to create a museum from the derelict smokehouse and skinning shed.  The smokehouse has a distinctive odor as you can imagine.  Strong woodsmoke, the sea, and time.  

The town of Lubec is cute but struggling.  Lubec is the easternmost town in the continental US.  

We had some cool and crummy days when I amused myself by painting some of the local flora I collected from around the cabin.  I pinned the sketches to the cabin wall and Daniel, who returned there without me later in the summer, said they were still there! 

I love doodling and have always wanted to take some classes.  I finally signed up for a class at the New York Botanical Garden.  They have a pretty rigorous certificate program in Botanical Illustration.  I signed up for a Materials and Methods I class which starts tonight.  I bought all the required supplies and then got nervous…will I be in over my head?  So the other day I clipped some rosemary and knocked out a sketch with my new pencils.  I think it is OK.  Actually it was thinking about posting my progress here that got me to get back to this blog in the first place.  I will post my drawings as I accumulate them.  It's such an easy way to keep files.  For now here is my pre-class drawing.  I hope to significantly improve my skills.  

So now just a few parting shots…this one of the cove...

The view from the cabin on a cold, rainy day. 

Next post will be all about botanical drawing.  Wish me luck.  Comments are welcome.