Billy Showell is a well-respected botanical watercolour artist, and her exceptional eye for detail and ability to re-create the form, texture, colour and patterning of a wide range of plants have earned her a formidable reputation worldwide. Her compositions are given a contemporary, sometimes playful twist, while retaining all the beauty and accuracy of traditional botanical paintings. In this inspiring and indispensable guide for botanical artists, she reveals the materials, methods and techniques she uses to attain her stunningly beautiful portraits of flowers, fruit and vegetables. There is expert guidance on tools and materials, working from life, observation, and drawing and painting techniques, as well as detailed sections on pattern, texture, and colour and colour mixing. With numerous step-by-step studies, close-up photographs and examples of Billy's exquisite paintings, this book is not only packed full of invaluable advice and information but also a visually stunning showcase for the work of this amazing artist.

"First published in hardback in Great Britain 2009" -- Colophon.

This is the story of one woman's journey from amateur painter to botanical artist, told through the sketchbooks and paintings she produced for the Distance Learning Diploma Course run by the Society of Botanical Artists. Packed with advice and tips, this book will serve as a guide and inspiration to anyone wanting to embark on life as a botanical artist. This book is both a showcase of Mary Ann Scott's work and a record of her achievements, including first-hand accounts of the joys and challenges she faced as she progressed. It contains work from every assignment she undertook, from her first attempts at drawing a tulip to the triumphant paintings she made for her diploma portfolio. Along the way are delicate floral compositions, juicy fruit and vegetables, botanical dissections, and her adventures out in the field. Margaret Stevens's comments on each assignments are also included, giving an insight into the assessment process and an all-round view of Mary Ann's successes and (very rare) failures. The book ends with a glorious selection of Mary Ann's ongoing work as a botanical artist.

Award-winning artist Harriet de Winton shows you how to create contemporary watercolour artworks to treasure and share. Through more than 30 step-by-step projects, discover how to paint individual flowers and foliage, as well as beautiful botanical compositions. Use your new skills to make art for your wall, unique cards, invitations, or simply paint for pleasure.

Anna Mason's exceptional floral artwork has won awards from the Royal Horticultural Society, International Artist magazine and seen her elected to the prestigious Society of Botanical Artists. In this book, she shares her innovative watercolour technique so that you can paint flowers in her clean, crisp style. The book covers every aspect of painting modern botanical-style portraits of flowers, from tips on gathering your reference to Anna's six stage watercolour process. There are instructions on setting up your studio and how to produce the detailed drawings. Each of the six step-by-step projects is accompanied by an outline drawing, tonal notes and useful colour swatches so that you can compare the tone and hue of your mixes to Anna's own. This all builds into a fantastic guide that will inspire and challenge the experienced watercolour artist, while drawing in and reassuring the complete beginner.

Draw and paint beautiful, vibrant, and realistic birds and botanicals with The Art of Botanical & Bird Illustration. Take a sketch and transform it into fine art! The Art of Botanical & Bird Illustration is a guide for contemporary artists aspiring to master shape, color, and texture and render beautiful, realistic, and vibrant botanical artwork. Author Mindy Lighthipe, an expert botanical artist, educates you about the tools and materials traditionally used in botanical illustration, including pencils, colored pencils, watercolor, gouache, and pastels. This thorough yet easily digestible guide includes overviews of key illustration techniques and basic color theory and mixing, and it's loaded with exercises designed to help you learn to see shape, value, and form. By learning tounderstand plant life and anatomy, you can craft elegant flowers, leaves, trees, and much more in no time! To bring it all together, The Art of Botanical & Bird Illustration includes step-by-step demonstrations to follow along with as you practice taking sketches and transforming them into fully rendered, colorful pieces of fine art.

In her second book, botanical artist Harriet de Winton shows you how to paint modern watercolour artworks to treasure and share. Picking up where New Botanical Painting left off, this books aims to expand readers' repertoires into fauna as well as flora, with easy-to-follow instructions for a variety of difficulty levels. Through more than 30 step-by-step projects, you'll discover how to paint beautiful butterflies, bumblebees, birds and botanicals from around the world. In the final chapter, you'll find a guide to composing stunning patterns and scenes with your own botanical watercolour creations. Use your new skills to make art for your wall, unique cards, invitations, or simply paint for pleasure. Projects include: Bengal Tiger Chilean Flamingo Prickly Pear Zebra Bumblebee Garden Tiger Moth Peacock White-tailed Deer Polar Bear Arctic Poppy And many more!