Comments for ArtPlantae Today

Comment on Botanist Dedicated to Botany Education for Botanical Artists by Liz Leech

Liz Leech — Fri, 25 May 2012 15:29:30 +0000

Hi Mary,
Thank you so much for your kind comments.
I am very glad that you and IAPI feel it fills the gap in botanical knowledge for botanical artists. I am also delighted you think your students will find it enlightening.
Am sure your forthcoming course will be another unqualified success.
All best wishes,
Liz

Comment on Botanist Dedicated to Botany Education for Botanical Artists by ArtPlantae Today

ArtPlantae Today — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:59:55 +0000

Readers, Mary Brewin co-taught the pilot course Botany for Botanical Artists with Anne Bebbington in the UK from September 2010 through July 2011. Read more about their pilot course here.

Comment on Botanist Dedicated to Botany Education for Botanical Artists by Mary Brewin

Mary Brewin — Fri, 25 May 2012 08:43:51 +0000

Hi Liz
Delighted your book seems to be meeting such an unfulfilled need as we have discussed at IAPI education sub-committee. I shall definitely be referring students to it on our next ‘Understanding Plants’ course. Wishing you continued success with it, Mary Brewin.

Comment on Botanist Dedicated to Botany Education for Botanical Artists by Liz Leech

Liz Leech — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:17:37 +0000

Hi Vicki,

I can understand the confusion.

Simblet’s Botany for the Artist is a great book, but is geared towards drawing techniques with a bit of standard botanical input. She is an artist with an understanding of botany but is not a botanist by training.

My book is very different as it is based entirely on the botany that I think all botanical artists need to have and points out the features which an artist should look out for and observe before drawing and painting a plant/flower. It places great emphasis on “what” to observe and “how” to observe it; so that a botanical artist produces an accurate, as well as beautiful, painting or drawing. I make no attempt to include artistic technique – which is covered by so many others.

I have had several distance learners on my courses, in the past, who have also felt a bit lost over the required knowledge. I hope my book bridges the gap for you and that you can tackle your coursework with greater confidence and understanding.

I envy you the Australian flora – I really miss it; even after so many years. I shall have to renew my Australian passport and come over before I get much older! I never got to Western Australia.

Happy botanising and the best of luck with the course.

Liz

Comment on Botanist Dedicated to Botany Education for Botanical Artists by Vicki Lee Johnston

Vicki Lee Johnston — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:06:48 +0000

I have ordered it too Liz… would have done so earlier but I thought perhaps it was the same as Botany for the Artist – different cover and author but similar title! … I am currently doing the SBA Distance Diploma Course and would appreciate more botany instruction. Am in Western Australia and hopefully shipment won’t take too long – am in the middle of the botanical illustration with dissection …. thanks for your generous input.

Comment on Botanist Dedicated to Botany Education for Botanical Artists by Liz Leech

Liz Leech — Thu, 17 May 2012 23:57:19 +0000

Hi Carol,
I look forward to hearing from you once you have used some of the helpsheets.
Additionally, I hope that you enjoy the book and find the main body of each chapter interesting and helpful too, as they should provide both the knowledge and context that underpin each helpsheet.
All best wishes
Liz

Comment on Botanist Dedicated to Botany Education for Botanical Artists by Carol Creech

Carol Creech — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:58:47 +0000

I just ordered your book the other day and can’t wait until it arrives. The help sheets are what made me think this might be really useful! So I am glad to hear others have found them helpful. I’ll have to check back in when my book arrives!
Carol

Comment on Botanist Dedicated to Botany Education for Botanical Artists by ArtPlantae Today

ArtPlantae Today — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:14:14 +0000

[caption id="attachment_21658" align="alignleft" width="300"] Euonymus europaeus. © Liz Leech. All rights reserved[/caption] Questions for You! This morning Liz has questions for readers who own a copy of Botany for Artists. Released in the UK in November 2011, Liz's book was released in the US earlier this month. Interested in artists' experiences with her book, Liz would like to ask artists and all readers of her book:

Are there any other topics that you feel you would like to have seen included in the book?
What do you particularly like or find useful about my book?
If you have used an observational helpsheet, did you find it useful?

Comment on Botanist Dedicated to Botany Education for Botanical Artists by Liz Leech

Liz Leech — Tue, 15 May 2012 08:14:56 +0000

Hi Judy,
I can’t tell you how pleased I am that you are very happy with my book and are finding the helpsheets so useful in the field, when observing a plant.
I designed the helpsheets as aide memoirs to recording all the necessary detail and observations, but the proof (or otherwise) of their actual usefulness has to come from people, like you, using them in a “real” context. I am so glad that they help.
I too have found that the odd important and frustrating detail is easy to miss without similar records and that re-checking is time-consuming and frustrating – assuming the plant or the relevant parts are still there to check!
Thank you so much for your positive and enthusiastic feedback.
Liz

Comment on Botanist Dedicated to Botany Education for Botanical Artists by Judy Simon

Judy Simon — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:57:29 +0000

I pre-purchased your book before publication, and am thrilled with it! The helpsheets are wonderful. With plants that can’t be removed from their environment, detailed sketches and photos only go so far; there is always something I need to go back and check, and the helpsheets can save the day. Thank you!