Event

Botanical Art in Drybrush Watercolor

With Margaret Saylor

Saturday, April 20, 2024
10am–4pm

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Botanical Art in Drybrush Watercolor
w/Margaret Saylor
Saturday, April 20
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Painting in a drybrush watercolor method is akin to drawing with paint. We’ll observe and draw a simple botanical subject, transfer it to hot-pressed watercolor paper, and work our way through the technique of applying paint in tiny, colorful strokes. Capture all the details on a botanical subject of your choice.
Materials: (all suggested, never required)
A good quality sketchbook, preferably with hot-pressed watercolor paper (Hahnemuhle) or Stillman & Birn Zeta series. Size and binding are totally up to the student.
If your sketchbook does not have hot-pressed watercolor paper, you must have some on hand. 8 x 10 is fine. Have another piece for experimenting. I don’t have a preference of brands.
Brushes: For this class in particular, the best results are from a watercolor sable brush with a very pointy, springy tip, but any brush will work as long as it has a point (DaVinci long point watercolor brush #4; Raphael #8408)
Paint: a selection of basic watercolors is fine! If you plan on building a palette for botanical art, start with six colors, two of each color bias. For example: Scarlet Lake (orange-red); Permanent Magenta (blue-red); Lemon Yellow (green-yellow); New Gamboge (orange-yellow); Ultramarine Blue (red-blue); and Cerulean (green-blue). They can be tubes, pans, it doesn’t matter. I like W&N or Daniel Smith.
Palette: a porcelain palette for mixing
paper towels or microfiber cloth for wiping brush
water vessels, two small ones
graphite, HB, 2B, 2H, and sharpeners
kneaded eraser, Tombow mono zero eraser
a few sheets of tracing paper
Subject: Something botanical. Find plants, leaves, dried pods, spring bulbs, flowers, fruit, vegetables, branches, or anything interesting to use as your subject.