Before the age of photography, planning and keeping track of a garden required an illustrated journal to study the progress of heirloom varieties, pest control and crop rotation. These marvellous books are no longer strictly needed, but have the potential to be a beautiful form of art.
During this class, you will start your own garden journal, by merging scrapbooking, sketch-booking and mindful-journaling with botanical illustration. After step by step demonstrations of how to begin, you can take inspiration for planning and illustrating your own garden - whether that's your allotment, balcony, or back garden plot.
We will cover a wide range of skills including creative journaling, observational drawing and painting botanicals, as well as visual elements that don't involve drawing. A beginner will have the chance to test materials and learn watercolours under guidance, while advanced students will have the opportunity to branch into their own creative practice, inspired by the course content.
Topics covered:
An introduction to painting flowers in watercolour
Painting and designing your own seed packets
Optional extra: Drawing/illustrating garden wildlife
All materials will be provided, including an A5 sketchbook and garden specimens. However, please bring a selection of things from your garden that inspire you, such as cuttings, herbs, pressed flowers, seeds, seed packets and young plants.
Emma Leyfield is a freelance illustrator and sketchbook artist based in and around Stroud. She illustrates a regular column, "Jane's Garden Diary", for The English Garden Magazine and is currently doing an MA on the internationally renowned Children’s Book Illustration course at Anglia Ruskin University - migrating to and fro regularly from her studio at Three Storeys in Nailsworth. You can read her recent blog about sketchbooks and food diaries here: https://www.valerian.co.uk/blog
Emma has been teaching sketchbooking for 5 years and has a relaxed and conversational teaching style. You’ll get some targeted feedback on your work, and a gentle confidence boost to keep going in her classes.
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