Watercolor Garden Cottage: Lessons 1-5
Inspired by the techniques of Beatrix Potter
"The modern art student can draw, and has training I never had in schools;
but nobody seems to have the nature study behind the actual drawing." — Beatrix Potter
Dear friends,
At its gentle heart, what sets the work of Beatrix Potter apart from other brilliant Victorian illustrators is her deep knowledge of the natural world. Again and again, she returned to simple ink studies of plant and animal details to teach herself more about her drawing subjects. In today's lesson, we will use the classic elements of drawing -- a pencil, a pen, and a layer of color wash -- to create a study of a plant sample.
The demo uses elderberry, but feel free to use any plant you like. Print the four pdf pages below before watching the video. If you are new to drawing, or to this technique, spend some time playing with the exercises on the printables. Give yourself time to learn, and please don't feel rushed to move forward. There are no deadlines here.
Our first three lessons are botanical, reflecting the early years of Beatrix Potter's drawing life:
