It takes a gifted artist to become a great teacher and those who dare to teach never cease to learn.

Sunday, December 31, 2017
The preview of our 2016 SBAI Chronicles pages is almost over, we have only one page left to present after this posting. In the coming months we are launching the Chronicles II Kickstarter project to facilitate the publication of this amazing collection of art. Our (stretch) goal will fund our Artist-in-Residency program for the coming years:
Zinnia by Lesley MacGregor, colored pencil; Plate #75 in SBAI 2016 Chronicles
Zinnias are native mainly to Mexico; however the wild zinnias grow from
southwestern Colorado in the north to Guatemala in the south. The wild Zinnia species are much more modest than
the varieties and cultivars that we grow in our gardens today. Pre-Colombian
cultures used zinnia leaves and flowers as medicinal and ritual herbs. The
Aztecs living in Mexico City grew zinnias in their gardens at the time of the
Spanish occupation. Many of the
southwestern tribes used zinnias for dyes and paints.
It is not clear when Zinnia for
the first time was introduced to Europe but it is confirmed that the plant was
brought from Peru to France in the early 1700s.
The Zinnia seeds spread quickly
throughout Europe. Linnaeus published the genus in his Systema Naturae (1759)and attributed the genus to the German anatomist and botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn, who at the time was director of the Botanic garden of the University of Göttingen.
Several other wild Zinnia species were introduced to France during
1800s and by 1856 the French had developed the first double forms of the
flower. In 1876 the German seed company
Haage and Schmidt introduced several Zinnia
hybrids that they called Zinnia darwini,
this cross was originally developed in France in 1864.
In 1798, when the first zinnia seeds were offered for sale to the
public in the United States the Americans were not interested. In 1876 the Henry A. Dreer seed house of
Philadelphia started selling several varieties of Zinnia seeds and these multicolored varieties are still available today.
The real breakthrough for Zinnia
happened when the natural mutation ‘Mammoth’ zinnias became available in the
early 1900s.
Today we have 22 accepted Zinnia species in addition to over 100
cultivars.
Please click here to see the 74 additional plates.
Monday, December 25, 2017
Merry Christmas to All Our Readers
Scratchboard by Peg Christon
Cones are tightly connected to Holiday traditions all over the world. Here you can see some of the challenging subjects produced mostly on our scratchboard class, please click here.
Scratchboard by Susan Carr
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Color for the Holiday Week
Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata group) by Irene Young, colored pencil
After two weeks we can write 2018! Please click here to see some finished work from our end of the year classes
Textile/gift wrap/wallpaper pattern by Susan Willis from our class inspired by John Lockwood from Indian Arts and Crafts movement, colored pencil
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
America's Flora opening in May 2018
Yucca harrimaniae, Constance Sayas, 2017, watercolor and graphite
Katherine Tyrrell will be blogging about the artists whose artwork has been selected as a part of the Botanical Art Worldwide exhibit. Her first post is about the 43 USA artists who were selected for the America's Flora exhibition which is opening in May 2018 at the US Botanical Gardens in Washington D.C.
In addition to Constance Sayas, our gifted watercolor instructor, three illustrators from Colorado are included: Dorothy DePaolo, Sharon Garrett and Vanessa Martin!
Please read more by following this link.
In addition to Constance Sayas, our gifted watercolor instructor, three illustrators from Colorado are included: Dorothy DePaolo, Sharon Garrett and Vanessa Martin!
Please read more by following this link.
Congratulations to all!
Monday, December 4, 2017
Pencil I and beyond - registrations for 2018 BI-classes opens tomorrow!
Jacaranda seedpod by Michelle Wysocki, graphite (Pencil I)
Gladiolus by Laura Matthews, graphite (Pencil II)
Autumn leaves in Watercolor: Grape leaf painted by Pauline Edwards; on the right a photo of the specimen few weeks after Pauline started her painting it. Here the decay has proceeded further.
You can see more pictures from our recent completed classes by following this link.
Tomorrow, December 5th, 9 a.m. you can sign up for 2018 Winter/Spring Botanical Illustration
You can find the downloadable course catalog by clicking here.Thursday, November 30, 2017
Botanical illustration 2017 scholarship
We are happy to announce the recipient for the 2017 School of Botanical Art and Illustration Scholarship:
Phillip Potter
Buddha's hand (Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis), watercolor and colored pencil by Phillip PotterPhillip Potter's goal is to gain an intimate knowledge of plants as well as improve his drawing and painting skills. He has always been interested about plants and gardening, lately he has begun a bonsai practice at home and learning to work with limb patterns and root structures. His plan is to use his new skills to document some of the world's bonsai specimens and also illustrate unusual plant species.
Phillip has studied at the Art Institute of Chicago (fine art painting and video emphasis), and Metropolitan state College of Denver (fine art drawing and sculpture).
Dracunculus vulgaris, watercolor and colored pencil by Phillip Potter
Cynara scolynomus, watercolor and colored pencil by Phillip Potter
CONGRATULATIONS!
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Happy Thanksgiving!
Warm and Happy wishes for the Thanksgiving Holiday to all our readers!
Cucurbita maxima 'Lumina', watercolor by Elizabeth Lokocz
The portfolios or the twelve students who this year received the Foundational Certificate of Completion in Botanical Illustration are presented here (you can also access the page from the right hand column). The graduate show is displayed in Gated Garden Court until February 11, 2018
Do not forget to visit our annual student show, WHIMSY, that celebrates the role of humor in botanical art and illustration. While the pieces are playful and unusual with a poetic license they also are scientifically accurate. This juried exhibit featuring the students' best achievements is on display in Gates Garden Court also until February 11, 2018.
Garden Magic, colored pencil and ink by Susan DiMarchi
Sunday, November 19, 2017
Congratulations 2017 BI-graduates!
(Back row form left: Karey Swan, Christine Ruch, Ann O'Connell, Shiere Melin, Elizabeth Lokocz, Sara Little, Mary Burns, Elizabeth Virdin; Front row from left: Leslie Crosby, Louise Bath, Karen Taylor)
The graduation and award
ceremony was followed by the opening reception for the annual juried botanical
illustration art show.
Today twelve Botanical Illustration Graduates received their Foundational
Certificates from the School of Botanical
Art and Illustration at Denver Botanic Gardens. Please join me to congratulate them all:
Louise Bath, Mary Tricia Burns, Leslie Crosby, Lyn Alice Hamilton, Sara Little,
Elizabeth Lokocz, Shiere Melin, Ann O’Connell, Christine Ruch, Karey Swan, Karen
Taylor and Elizabeth Virdin.
We are impressed with the
graduates’ competence level and Denver Botanic Gardens is truly proud of their
accomplishments.
Estelle DeRidder received the Sydney Parkinson Award and also was the invited speaker at the event.
Please click here to see few more images from the event, the graduates portfolios will be posted shortly.
Friday, November 17, 2017
WHIMSY: Botanical Art and Illustration
If cannot visit Denver Botanic Gardens to see the original, you can see them by clicking here, the image or the link on the right hand column (under Of Note)
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Looking into 2018: Winter and Spring 2018 Botanical Illustration Course Catalog
Our Winter/Spring 2018 catalog is out! You can view, print and save it into your computer by clicking the image above, in the right hand column, or by clicking here. We'll offer over 75 courses during during the first six months of 2018. We have the pleasure to host two overseas visiting instructors: Lucy Smith and Sarah Simblet both from U.K.
Registration begins on December 5th, 9 a.m. either per phone (720-865-3500, 720-865-3653 or 720-865-3670), on-line or in person (Visitor Center).
Registration begins on December 5th, 9 a.m. either per phone (720-865-3500, 720-865-3653 or 720-865-3670), on-line or in person (Visitor Center).
Enjoy!
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Freyer-Newman Center at Denver Botanic gardens
The donations from two benefactors will help complete the
10-year Master Development Plan at Denver Botanic Gardens. These funds, contributed by Ginny & John Freyer and Robert
and Judi Newman, coupled with the successful voter support for Denver Bond
Issue 2B (Denver Cultural Facility Bond) make the construction of the new center for science, art and education possible.
Please see this video and get excited.
A huge, sincere thank you to all!
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Autumn Leaves and Salsa
Cottonwood leaf in progress by Jean Scorgie, watercolor
Please see more images from our most recent classes by clicking here.
Salsa by Angela Tingle, watercolor
Thursday, October 26, 2017
2018 Arts and Archive tour (April 9-23, 2018)
(Maria Sibylla Merian at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam)
The
destination of our 8th annual Arts and Archives tour will be The
Netherlands and Andalusia, Spain
(April 9-23, 2018). During this 15-day tour we will be exploring and
discovering hidden jewels in national archives, research centers, museums and
libraries. In the Netherlands our base will be Leiden for eight nights and in
Spain, Granada. The details of the daily program for this group and the specially
designed tours are under final development, however you can expect the following to
be included:
(Jacob Marrel, Two tulips, Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam)
(Adriaen Matham, Two Owls Skating, c. 1630-1640, Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam)
- One day will be spent in
the Teylers
Museum in Haarlem. This is a science oriented and the oldest museum in the
Netherlands. Here we have a special tour of the library with works of Michelangelo
Buonarroti, van Gogh and sketchbooks of van Gogh and Barend Hendrik Thier. In
the Lorentz lab we step into a time machine to experience walking in the
footsteps of Lorentz and Einstein.
(Lorentz lab, Teylers Museum in Haarlem)
-The United East
Indian Company and its collections are placed in Hoorn where we learn about
Georg
Rumphius and his documentation work in Indonesia among others.
- We’ll
spend some time in Naturalis
biodiversity research center in Leiden. Here we meet a botanical/science
illustrator who works on the site, have a special tour of the library and visit
the Herbarium Cliffortianum.
- On
our earlier tours we have seen anatomical theatres in Uppsala, Sweden and
Padova, Italy. Here in Leiden we can visit the oldest anatomical
theatre (from 1575) at Boerhaave. We will also have a collection tour at
the Royal Library with early manuscripts and
illuminations, works of Maria Sibylla Merian and lots of other valuables, even
the first Dutch Donald Duck.
- We cannot miss the The
Kröller-Müller Museum that boasts the second-largest Van Gogh collection in
the world with almost 90 paintings and over 180 drawings, nor the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag with the
largest collection of works by Piet Mondriaan.
(Piet de Smeerpoets at the Royal Library)
- After
visiting a cheese factory (Gouda or Edam), and the Delft Pottery factory with guided tours,
and enjoying
an evening concert with the Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra
we
are ready to take the flight to Granada, Spain, where our focus will mainly be on the Moorish culture.
(Alhambra)
- In
Granada our main destination will be the Alhambra, the palace and fortress
complex originally constructed in 889. We have a tour focusing on the art and
the Alhambra garden.
- The
Cartusian Monastery is one of the finest examples of Spanish Baroque
architecture and was founded 1506. We have a 3 hour tour of this UNESCO world heritage
site.
- In
Granada we also visit an 11th century Arabian Bath and museum.
- Travelling to Cordoba we have the opportunity to visit another UNESCO
World heritage site, the historic center of the town with the Mezquita Mosque of Cordoba which
is the most important monument of all the Western Islamic world.
(interior of the Mezquita Mosque of Cordoba)
- We will be picked up for a four hour private tour of Medina Azahara (‘Beautiful Town’),
one of the main archaeological sites in Spain.
- We spend some time in
Malaga and visit the
Picasso Museum, Botanic gardens,
and Alcazaba,
an ancient Moorish fortress from early 11th century.
-To round up this unique tour we have the possibility to see Paleolithic caves with over 40,000 year old rock art.
-To round up this unique tour we have the possibility to see Paleolithic caves with over 40,000 year old rock art.
(Nerja caves)
You can already put your name on the list if you plan to come with!
(Girl with the Pearl Earring, Johannes Vermeer, collection of the Mauritshuis in The Hague)
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Ute Indian Prayer Trees in Cafe Botanique, November 1st, 6:30 p.m.
Ute Indian Prayer Trees
John W. Anderson, author
John Anderson is an author, artist and consultant. He spent 10 years working in the corporate world, and before that served two-terms as the elected Sheriff for El Paso County, Colorado. Although John has travelled around the world—including several adventures on a catamaran sailing the Caribbean, three corporate security assignments into a combat zone on the Horn of Africa and landing on an aircraft carrier at sea in the Pacific Ocean—he is most fascinated by the rich history and art he has discovered in his own back yard in the American Southwest
Monday, October 9, 2017
Late Summer in the Classroom #2
From our indigo class, egg tempera, Milvi Gill
Second sett of random images from our late summer classes can be found here.
Acorns and oak leaves, graphite by Sue Carr
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Late summer in the classroom #1
Pelargonium, pen and ink by Patti Hearn from the distance learning option class, Drawing on Tradition: Margaret Flockton, Story in Fine Line
We have been working hard in the classroom all summer long. This
is the first post to show you a selection of finished and in progress work from
the late summer classes. To see more photos connected to this posting, please
click here.
Enjoy!
We posted earlier about Isabel Adams and the drawing on tradition class inspired by her. Here is one more image belonging to that series. Watercolor and Ink by Rebecca Swan
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Cafe Botanique: Supplements: Are They Weeds or Seeds?
Helleborus orientalis 'Ivory Prince', watercolor and graphite by Susan Curnutte
Supplements: Are They Seeds or Weeds
Monika Nuffer, Pharm.D., Skaggs School of Pharmacy and the School of Medicine, University of Colorado
Join us in a discussion around the origins of medicine from botanical sources, the history of various plant uses and the continued interest in identifying medicinal properties from botanicals. Dr. Monika Nuffer will provide a brief background on some of the herbs grown at Denver Botanic Gardens, and answer questions about common herbal remedies.
Wednesday, October 11, 6:30-8 p.m.
Monday, September 25, 2017
IĹźik has started her residency at Denver Botanic Gardens
IĹźik GĂĽner from Turkey has started today the second week
of her 6-week artist-in-residency at the SBAI of Denver Botanic Gardens. She is focusing on Colorado native flora and currently illustrating Ratibida columnifera, the true representative of North American mixed grass prairies. In few days she will be teaching a 3-day master workshop on the Giant World on Tiny Details.
Click here to see few more pictures on her progress and process.
"Live specimens and natural light are the two most important necessities for a successful illustration" says IĹźik
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Whimsy: Submissions deadline is on September 22nd, 11:59 MDT
Monday, September 11, 2017
Inspired by Harriet Isabel Adams
(Rose of Sharon by Mary Francis, watercolor pencil and ink)
I recently blogged about Harriet Isabel Adams' work and our watercolor pencil class which got inspiration from her work. If you click here, you can see some of the plates which were developed during that class.
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Congratulations Valerie Teska!
I Love Your Warts and All by Valerie Teska, Colored Pencil.
Congratulations Valerie!
Monday, September 4, 2017
Hemp
Rocky Mountain Society of Botanical Artists (RMSBA) will exhibit at The Museum of Natural History at University of Colorado, Boulder. The opening reception is on Thursday, September 7th and the exhibit runs through February
28, 2018.
More about this exhibit here.
Cannabis sativa by Ida Pemberton (1890-1963) CU’s Museum of Natural History collections.
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Cafe Botanique, September 6, 6:30-8 p.m.: Water Quality and Abandoned Mines
(Animas River Mine Spill 2015)
Abandoned Mines
Across the West: Impacts on Water Quality
Lauren Duncan,
Abandoned Mine Restoration Manager, Trout Unlimited
Lauren
Duncan describes the extent of abandoned mines across the west and in Colorado
and talk about how they impact water quality.
She also describes Trout Unlimited’s Abandoned Mine Lands program and
shares her knowledge on the progress to address the problems that are impacting
the water condition.
Wednesday, September
6, 2017
Denver Botanic
Gardens – Gates Hall
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
World Art Drop Day on September 5th - Please participate!
From our weekend entry level graphite class in the beginning of August. (Still in progress by Mary Chen Fowler.)
All artists, (that means students and professionals, painters and cartoonists, sculptors and illustrators, animators and fine artists, photographers and print makers; EVERYONE who creates) this September 5th* is World Art Drop Day. Wherever you find yourself that day, drop a piece of your art and tell someone where to find it. The world needs this right now. We need to feel a little more...
If any of our readers within the BI-community like to participate and hide the art around The Gardens (remember, the hiding place needs to be accessible for the public), please email Erin Bird a photo of the work and a note about where you placed it. She will share your photos and clues to all Denver Botanic Gardens social media.
This is how one of the participating artists from previous years in Denver wrote:
Make art and hide it somewhere.
• Take a photo of either the art or the hiding spot or a combination of both.
• Post the image, the city you dropped it in, and a hint on any social media of your choice. Be sure to included the hashtag: #artdropday
• Then move on, hoping someone finds it OR hang around and meet your new friend.
That's it!
It can be a sketch, little painted canvas, fiber arts, a book and the list goes on. Please follow this link and learn more.
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Solar eclipse August 21, 2017
(please click to enlarge)
Countless amazing photos were taken and at least one painting made last Monday when the total solar
eclipse swept the continental USA. This was the first total solar eclipse path
from west coast to east coast since 1918.
This plein air painting was done during the 2 min 30 sec total eclipse phase plus a couple of minutes afterward at the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument,
Nebraska (Randy Raak, gouache on casein prepared art board).
Friday, August 18, 2017
Color with Pencil and Brush
Gala apple with its gamut by Deanna Gammon, colored pencil
One of our regularly repeating elective offerings is following James Gurney's book Color and Light and focusing on botanical subject matter. The students learn about limited color palettes and gamut mapping. This method is found to be effective and helpful in Botanical illustration. See more images from this class by clicking here.
During the summer we have also completed several other classes both in watercolor and colored pencil. You can see some random examples of them in the BI-Facebook album Color with Pencil and Brush.
Watercolor by Karey Swan
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