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Archive for the ‘Real Life Series’ Category

Real Life: Preempted

Posted in Education, Real Life Series, Special Articles & Interviews, tagged , , , , , , on April 1, 2008 | Comments Off

This series has been preempted by real life. Since my last post, an incredible amount of mental and emotional energy has been dedicated to product research, category development, public appearances, venue management, curriculum development, book reviews, streamlining operations, and other directorial tasks. While these activities have been disruptive to the Real Life series, they contribute [...]

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Real Life: Just Go “Blah!”

Posted in Education, Real Life Series, Special Articles & Interviews, tagged , , , , , on February 20, 2008 | Comments Off

Regardless of how intriguing one’s drawing subject might be, there is always a bit of anxiety when it comes time to depicting a subject on paper. There is no easy way around this. Fortunately, anxiety is replaced quickly by curiosity upon really seeing one’s subject for the first time. There is only one way that [...]

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Real Life: Just a Bit More Searching

Posted in Education, Real Life Series, Special Articles & Interviews, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 5, 2008 | Comments Off

I have said it before. I love the Internet. That I can download an article from the primary literature (Datwyler & Weiblen, 2004) without going to the library or having to write a letter to request a reprint is the neatest thing. My search for information about Dorstenia has only recovered bits of information and [...]

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Real Life: Learning More About Dorstenia

Posted in Education, Real Life Series, Sketching & Journaling, Special Articles & Interviews, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 22, 2008 | Comments Off

Earlier I mentioned a few resources you could use to research your plant specimen. Today I will draw on these resources and others to learn more about the Dorstenia plant I selected for my current project. I always start with the big picture and then get more specific, so I will begin with learning more [...]

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Real Life: Learning More About Your Subject

Posted in ArtPlantae Books, Education, Real Life Series, Sketching & Journaling, Special Articles & Interviews, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 8, 2008 | 3 Comments »

Collecting plant material is one of my favorite past times. Like most gardeners, I buy seeds, bulbs, corms, rhizomes and plants that are not zoned for where I live just to see if they will grow. USDA and Sunset zoning charts mean nothing to me. They only help me steer clear of plants requiring 500 [...]

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Real Life: Choosing a Specimen

Posted in Real Life Series, Sketching & Journaling, Special Articles & Interviews, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 25, 2007 | Comments Off

I am drawn to botanical illustration for the information I can learn from the carefully crafted stories that botanical illustrators tell through their drawings. I appreciate when an illustrator teaches me something new and directs my attention towards something I have never noticed. Because I like looking for new information in an illustration, the plants [...]

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Botanical Illustration in Real Life

Posted in Education, Real Life Series, Sketching & Journaling, Special Articles & Interviews, tagged , , , , , , , on December 11, 2007 | Comments Off

Very few people can claim to be a fully-employed botanical artist or illustrator. For most of us, capturing plants on paper remains an extracurricular activity. And of all the extracurricular activities in our lives, botanical illustration usually happens only if we remember to think about it.
This new blog series is for the “extracurricular artist.” If [...]

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