Beyond Botanical Sketchbook

Experience the joy of keeping a botanical sketchbook that will reflect your love of plants and the surrounding environment. Day one introduces fundamental sketching techniques, refining skills with pen and ink, and exploring watercolor washes. On day two, enhance your botanical sketches by incorporating small landscapes or magnified views. Day three invites you to delve into subjective color usage or transcend the sketchbook, crafting a miniature botanical watercolor painting from your sketches. Dorota will encourage your personal expression and aesthetics to help you design the botanical pages through demonstrations and structured exercises. This workshop, welcoming artists of all levels, promises a joyous exploration of plants and environment, culminating in a uniquely designed botanical sketchbook.

Dorota Haber-Lehigh is an artist, educator, linguist and forager. She holds a Diploma in botanical illustration from Society of Botanical Artists in London. She loves gardening, hiking, field sketching, mushroom hunting and botanical drawing. Her passion is drawing native plants and discovering their edibility, medicinal use and ecological connection. She is drawn into the sculptural and architectural wonder of plants as well as the ephemeral beauty of plants throughout all seasons. She authored two ethnobotanical coloring books: ABC of Native Plants of the Coastal Pacific Northwest and Native Berries of the Coastal Pacific Northwest.

Pencil Tombow H or F

Kneaded eraser

Ruler

Pencil Sharpener

Sketch paper

2 water containers

Paper towel- Viva brand is best

Optional: Tombow Mono zero eraser

Pigma Micron Black 005 and 01 (at least one of each, better 2 of each)

Set of artist quality watercolors (Daniel Smith, Windsor Newton Artist (not Cotman), Sennelier, etc) or a set that you already have

Small watercolor sketchbook (hot or cold press)

Some brands are Hannemule, Echr lab or Handbook

I use watercolor journals with hot press 140 lbs Fabriano paper made by wondercabin on ETSY, the size I like is 6" by 9"

Instead of a watercolor sketchbook you can use 5 loose watercolor sheets 9" by 12" (hot or cold press)

Porcelain mixing palette, I like the flower porcelain palette with 7 wells, alternatively you can use a mixing palette that comes with your watercolor set or use a small porcelain white plate

Brushes: Round 1, 2 and 4 - good synthetic brush is Velvettouch

Optional: Pigma Micron Pens in other colors, or Faber Castell Pitt pens (Fine not brush tip) in other colors

Tracing paper

Extra sketch paper

Pipettes

Extra watercolor paper