Creating Botanical Art

All botanical art is an artist’s interpretation of nature’s reality, and there is wide variation and much overlap in both style and technique.


© Ernie Cabat Opuntia acanthocarpa		© 2013 Susan Ashton Lotus rigidus		© 2012 Margaret Pope Chilopsis linearis

Botanical art is educational, informing the viewer by presenting a clear and true-to-life picture of the plant and its construction.


Artist Chris Bondante's photo of Opuntia basilaris		Chris Bondante's final painting of the habit of Opuntia basilaris

Keen observation and great patience are needed to produce realistic and accurate details of plant structure. Illustration, drawing, and painting techniques are used to create form and depth.


		Artist Adrianna Hewings' sketch of Asclepias subulata, Desert Milkweed

Accurate drawings are created that can include enlarged or magnified plant structures otherwise not visible without a microscope, making them more easily understandable to the viewer.


Stamens of Opuntia basilaris		Chris Bondante's painting of Opuntia basilaris showing a longitudinal section of the flower		Pistil of Opuntia basilaris

A series of steps is followed in order to create a successful piece of botanical art:

research
detailed observation
preliminary drawings
composition
the completed work of art

RESEARCH

Before beginning to draw it is essential that the artist understand the plant thoroughly. The artist researches the plant by reading descriptive information about the species in existing treatments (written scientific descriptions of a plant species) on relevant websites, and in field guides and other plant publications.

Consultations with a botanist or horticulturist who is familiar with the particular species are also very valuable both before and during the process.


Artist Miriam Kogan referring to several treatments of Opuntia macrocentra		Treatment of Opuntia basilaris from online resource Efloras.org.		Artist Chris Bondante and botanist George Montgomery examine Larrea tridentata, the creosote bush

DETAILED OBSERVATION AND PRELIMINARY DRAWINGS

A very time consuming part of the botanical art process is observing and sketching details. Key to creating botanical art is the careful observation of the living plant, from its growth habit (overall form and appearance) to observation of minute structures using a microscope. Sketching the habit gives the artist a general sense of the plant. Drawings of external plant structures lead to an understanding of how the plant is put together and how structures relate to each other.


Artist Miriam Kogan’s preliminary study of Melampodium leucanthum shows the habit of the plant, an enlargement of the flower, and a color study to be used for the final drawing.		Artist Chris Bondante using a dissecting microscope to examine Larrea tridentata		Artist Pat Anderson’s preliminary study of Oenothera caespitosa. The drawing indicates the size of the structures and their number and location.

Observing details of the plant structures using a magnifying glass and microscope is the most exciting aspect of this process, which often involves careful dissection using a dissecting microscope. Under this close scrutiny the artist is introduced to a miniature world of structures and forms not previously seen by the naked eye.


A camera with a macro lens can be useful for photographing smaller structures.		Magnified view of the ovules of the flower of Opuntia basilaris		Further magnification of the ovules using a dissecting microscope.

Along with the live and written information about the plant, photos, pressed plants and herbarium specimens are used as references by the artist.


Artist Chris Bondante's photos of Phaseolus grayanus		An herbarium specimen of Phaseolus grayanus. Preserved plants can be found in institutional herbaria, many of which have images of their specimens online.		Chris Bondante's completed drawing of Phaseolus grayanus.

COMPOSITION

By arranging and rearranging the sketches and drawings, the artist arrives at a final composition that is not only artistic but also clear in presenting the plant habit and structures in a logical sequence.

Preliminary layout for Chris Bondante’s painting of Opuntia basilaris

COMPLETED WORK OF ART

After deciding on the composition, the drawings are transferred to archival paper using transfer paper, by lightly rubbing graphite on the reverse side of the preliminary drawing, or by using a light-box. Pencil lines are lightly erased, and the artist uses various media to complete the final art. Media may include ink, watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, and graphite.