Introduction 6
Materials 8
Getting started 18
Working from life 20
Observation 22
Drawing 28
Using a brush 44
Painting techniques 54
Troubleshooting 82
Painting detail 88
Adding pattern 110
Creating texture 118
Painting multi-headed flowers 130
Painting from enlarged photographs 136
Colour and colour mixing 140
Composition 178
Stretching and finishing 186
Glossary 190
Index 191
Billy Showell graduated from St Martins School of Art with a B.A. in fashion design, but was irresistably drawn to painting and illustration. In 1993 she set course for a career as an artist and now paints, illustrates and teaches botanical painting in the UK, USA and Australia. She lives in Tunbridge Wells, UK with her husband and two sons. Billy has been awarded five Certificates of Botanical Merit from the Society of Botanical Artists. Her paintings are collected the world over and many are available as limited edition prints. Full details of all her awards and commendations can be found on her website www.billyshowell.co.uk
Dec 2016 Billy Showell has written a number of books on flower
painting but these have so far concentrated on the less formal
flower portrait. Where this one differs is that is approaches it
entirely from the technical side. You'll look in vain for specific
examples. As well as avoiding repeating what has already been said,
this method fills the inevitable void left by the specimen-led way
of working. It is not, however, a primer in flower painting. For
all the attention given to negative shapes, brushwork and colour
mixing, this is not a book for the complete beginner. In order to
tackle the discipline of botanical illustration, you need to be
competent and confident with your style and your materials.
Informative, practical and rewarding, this meets a long-felt
need.
*The Artist*
This is a beautifully presented book, lovely to look at, but even
better than that every page is full of clearly written, simple to
understand information and techniques about the subject. It covers
everything from the choice and use of materials to a range of
drawing and painting skills which cover every technique one would
need to paint any type of plant or flower. The techniques for
handling watercolour, the flow etc would be useful for anyone
learning to use this medium in any form, not just botanical
paintings. I found the section on colour mixing particularly good
and very comprehensive, especially the mixing blacks chapter. It is
one of the few books which actually acknowledges that mistakes
happen, even to the best, and explains various methods of
correction, and also that it takes practice to achieve these type
of results. I wish it had been available when I started with
botanical illustration several years ago, I think life would have
been a bit easier, in short its a fabulous book, extremely
informative and beautiful to look at.
*Anne Chalkley*
A beautiful and comprehensive book for both beginners in botanic
art and for the more experienced artist. There is something here
for everyone.
Billy Showell has produced beautifully illustrated examples
throughout the book accompanied by explicit text with highlighted
tips and hints. The introductory chapters allow the novice artist
to identify the materials needed and to use them as a course in
developing botanical painting skills. The chapter on
troubleshooting is helpful too and especially for the beginner. The
more experienced artist will find it an essential reference book
for observation techniques and ideas on composition. Colour mixing
is explained in detail and forms the largest section of the book
and could be produced as a separate book in its own right.
Techniques with identified examples for painting detail, texture
and patterns are included and ideas on multiple flowerheads as well
as methods for painting from photographs.
The glossary is useful and the index logical so that specific
topics are easy to find.
The principles and practices described and illustrated could be
applied at any level to all water colour artists
This is an essential book on any artists bookshelf!
*Mary-Christine Levett*
Stunning and beautiful book – I love it!
Yet another stunning addition to my Billy Showell collection and an
absolute must for anyone with a desire to master botanical paining.
Highly recommended and well worth the money. I was so excited
to receive this book and I have certainly not been disappointed.
This is a beautifully presented book with stunning art work.
Every single page offers hints, tips and techniques with an amazing
level of detail. Whilst it shows some more advanced
techniques, beginners should not be put off and the help and ideas
offered is exemplary. I can’t wait to try out some of the new
ideas offered such as using lifting preparation and I absolutely
love the colour mixing charts.
*Hazel Walters*
Discover many step-by-step studies in this wonderful book,
illustrated throughout and learn how to paint the plants you love -
there is a wide range of flowers, foliage, fruits and
combinations of flowers. The Contents include Getting
Started, Working From Life, Observation, Drawing, Using a Brush,
Painting Techniques, Troubleshooting, Painting Detail, Adding
Pattern, Creating Texture, Painting Multi-Headed Flowers, Painting
From Enlarged Photographs, Colour and Colour Mixing, Composition
and Stretching and Finishing. It provides tips and techniques
throughout such as how to keep stems fresh when painting from life.
This book is like a how-to of all the things you have ever wanted
to paint - how to remove a bloom for instance or how to create a
prickly surface or which brush to use. The medley of daffodils is
fabulous and the purple and blacks are sumptuously captured. A
great guide for all who love botanical painting.
*Karen Platt -yarnsandfabrics.co.uk*
Exquisitely presented and beautifully painted, if you ever wanted
something to encourage you to start botanical painting, this would
be it. For such a specialist, technical subject there’s a
surprising number of books on botanical art. I’m not talking about
flower painting in general – there are even more of those! – but
ones that specifically identify themselves as belonging to the
genus of scientific representation. We could quibble over how many
are actually that deeply technical. In its pure form, botanical
illustration is used to aid identification and has very specific
requirements. For a start, you don’t paint a single example, but
rather include specific characteristics that a worker in the field
would look for. This may then be used to identify an existing
species in an unknown location, or maybe a new one altogether. I’ve
always divided botanical art into three genres. We start with
flower painting, where the purpose is to produce something that
looks like what it’s meant to represent without necessarily getting
every petal perfect, and where the flower itself may not be the
main subject. Then there’s the flower portrait (Billy Showell’s
previous speciality), where detail becomes more important and the
subject may be a single stem. Finally, there’s botanical
illustration, which we dealt with above. This book adds, I think, a
new dimension: botanical art that goes into considerable detail,
but isn’t obsessed with total scientific accuracy and can be a
record of the single example you have in front of you. As such,
it’s ideally suited to the artist who isn’t a scientist but
nevertheless enjoys at least some of the perfectionism that goes
with full-on illustration. The book is a joy to handle and very
thoroughly illustrated, going into plenty of detail regarding the
stages of completing a painting. This includes not only
step-by-steps, but also examples and technical exercises that deal
with things like water droplets – which are well outside scientific
work. It’s inspiring, enjoyable and very thorough.
*Artbookreview.net*
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