Fall Botanical Drawing

Using watercolor during one of the last classes

This autumn, I took a Fall Botanical drawing class through the City of Boise Parks & Recreation Department. The class was held once a week during September and October, and I think it slipped in during the perfect time period because now we're more hunkered down for the winter and a rise in COVID-19 infections.

We started off drawing just in pencil without any color. The instructor went over shading techniques, the steps to drawing (starting from a general shape and adding detail), and how to show light that is hitting your subject.

Over the weeks, we used colored pencil to bring vibrancy to our drawings, and then experimented with watercolor. I enjoyed the "burnishing" technique of colored pencils, which is going over a completed drawing with a white colored pencil to add shine and light. Watercolor was less precise, and I liked blending the paints into each other in a medium that seemed more forgiving.

Overall, the course made me notice and appreciate small elements and details of nature.

Colored pencil drawing

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