Watercolour practice with gum leaves

These are my latest efforts with watercolour, as part of my last botanical illustration class with Sandra Morris. Gum leaves are really fun to paint and they come in such a variety of different shapes, sizes and colours, it's impossible to get bored painting them! I can see a definite improvement in my ability with watercolours (from left to right). The green leaf on the right I am proud of - something that I rarely admit since I'm always so self-critical of my work. I still have a long way to go but my confidence using watercolors is starting to increase.

Neoregelia (Crimson Heart) sketch

A quick(ish) sketch of a Neoregelia at the Auckland Botanical Gardens last Friday. A small group of friends and I went out for the day to do some sketching and make the most of the extended summer weather we've had this year!

Aloe Mawii

It's finished! Coloured pencil on A3 Hahnmuhle Britannia matt 300g paper. The colours from this scan aren't completely accurate to the original but I got them as close as I could.

Aloe Vera WIP2

Here's an update on my aloe vera illustration.

Aloe vera WIP

Here is a WIP of my current project, an aloe vera plant in coloured pencil on Hahnmuhle Britannia matt 300g paper. A sketch of the same plant can be viewed here.

Aloe vera pencil sketch

I went to the Auckland Botanical Gardens with Sandra Morris and some other friends from my botanical illustration classes and spent the day sketching the variety of plants they have. It was a stunning day and we all had a great time. My most successful sketch of the day was this aloe vera plant, from the African Garden. I drew the whole piece using only an HB pencil. I didn't have time to finish the sketch on the day, so took some reference photos and completed it at home.

The finished drawing inspired me to create a larger, full colour illustration of the same plant, which is currently a work in progess.

Feature in CP Hidden Treasures magazine

I have just received my digital copy of the "Ann Kullberg Coloured Pencil Hidden Treasures" magazine where my Red Rose illustration is featured!

Botanical illustration class

I've got pretty behind in uploading my botanical illustration on my blog. Here is my latest effort. Onion and garlic - watercolour and coloured pencil.

I started with the watercolour but wasn't really liking the result so continued with coloured pencil over the top. The garlic on the left is unfinished and shows the watercolour base.

Botanical illustration class - month 3

Drawing leucodendrons using coloured pencils.

Nature Journaling course

Last weekend I attended a nature journaling course, run by Sandra Morris, at the Miranda Shorebird Centre. It was the first time I had done nature journaling and it was a lot of fun. Over the two days we spent the mornings down at the shell banks observing the local wildlife and sketching them while looking through telescopes. Some of the many birds we spotted were spoonbills, wrybills, caspian terns, mallards and pied stilts. 

In the afternoons we went for walks looking for plant specimens to take back to the centre to draw.

The photos here show the stunning scenery, plants specimens, sketches, using the telescopes and photos I took of the birds through my telescope.

Botanical illustration class - month 2

Bamboo (left) and freesia bud with cross section of flower. Drawn using a 0.05mm black ink pen using the stipple technique.

Botanical illustration class - month 1

Graphite leaves drawn using 2H, 4H and B pencils as part of my botanical illustration class with Sandra Morris.