Botanical Drawing – Fabulous Foliage
with Dorota Haber-Lehigh
Saturday, May 8 | 1:00pm to 4:00pm
via Zoom | Zoom link will be sent the day before the workshop
Everything is in full bloom! Have you ever noticed there seems to be an infinite number of shades of green? Leaves come in so many colors, shapes, and sizes that the thought of replicating them can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. If you are fascinated by the beauty of foliage and want to bring it to life on the page, this is the class for you. In this workshop, we will practice drawing various leaf shapes and experimenting with mixing multiple greens. We will review colored pencil techniques, including layering, blending, and burnishing. We will also revisit how to portray veining. We will discuss the best ways to shade, darken, or highlight greens and which green pencils are the best for the job. Although drawing in realistic form will be the focus, individual styles will be encouraged and celebrated.
MATERIALS:
• Collect a few different leaves in different shapes, sizes, and colors with preference for leaves with a bit
(or a lot) of green in them. You could find variegated leaves, bicolored leaves or decorative grasses, etc. It is preferred to use live specimens over working from photographs.
• Sketchbook of your choice
• Pencil (either H or F)
• Kneaded eraser
• Hand-held pencil sharpener, such as Alvin Brass Bullet
• Pigma Micron Pen (005) black
• Good quality drawing paper ~ Choose one from the list below:
• White Paper: Dorota works on either Stonehenge Aqua hot press 140 lbs or Fluid 100 watercolor paper 140 lbs hot press. You can buy one sheet and cut it into smaller pieces. Another good colored pencil paper is Bristol Smooth by Strathmore. If you like brown surfaces, we recommend using Toned Tan Sketch paper sketchbook by Strathmore or Kraft by Stonehenge. You don’t need all this paper.
Just choose one or two to try.
• Set of artist’s quality colored pencils: Prismacolor Premier, Faber Castell Polychrome, Pablo by Caran d’ache, or Derwent Colorsoft
OPTIONAL:
• Embossing Tool: Peragamano Fine Stylus 0.5 mm (available on Amazon)
• Colorless blender of your choice, e.g., Caran d’ache wax colorless blender or Copic colorless blender marker, number 0
SUPPLIES AVAILABLE AT:
Dots ‘N Doodles in Astoria
ONLINE RETAILERS:
Dick Blick
Amazon
Dorota Haber-Lehigh is an artist, educator, and naturalist with a passion for plants of the Pacific Northwest. Born in Poland, Dorota loves foraging for berries, mushroom hunting, field sketching, and collecting specimens. Dorota holds a Diploma in Botanical Illustration from the Society of Botanical Artists in London. She also has degrees in Art and International Studies with a focus on indigenous cultures, and a master’s degree in teaching. She is a member of Oregon Botanical Artists, Pacific Northwest Botanical Artists, and the American Society of Botanical Artists. Recently Dorota was an Artist in Residence at Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Dorota exhibits and teaches drawing regionally. Dorota is interested in the healing power of plants and nature and enjoys drawing plants that have medicinal properties. She has authored two ethnobotanical coloring books: “ABC of Native Plants of the Coastal PNW” and “Native Berries of the Coastal PNW. In 2019 she was commissioned by Columbia Memorial Hospital to provide 25 illustrations of Native Plants. More about Dorota’s Art here.
Botanical Drawing – Fabulous Foliage with Dorota Haber-Lehigh
