Summer Camp for Grown-ups: Have Some Fun

Posted in Adult Education, Around the Garden, Learning Experiences, Programs and Events on May 4 2012, by Joyce Newman

Suppose you really can’t draw, but always wished you could…especially when it comes to drawing those gorgeous blooms in your backyard. Well now’s your chance to make your wish come true: Botanical Drawing I is just one of the new summer intensive classes offered by NYBG starting in July. Think of it as a summer camp experience designed for grown-ups.

With the botanical drawing class, in just one week you’ll learn specific techniques for drawing accurately, including professional standards of form, measuring, foreshortening, and perspective. The classes are offered in July (9 through 13) or August (6 through 10), at NYBG and the Midtown Manhattan Center, respectively.

The instructors are experienced teachers. Rose Marie James teaches the August session in Manhattan. She is a graphic designer and botanical illustrator, and has taught art for over 15 years, enjoying what she calls the “slow art” of traditional drawing methods. She writes: “Producing a piece of botanical art requires the artist to study the subject carefully, to learn how it grows, how it reproduces, and how it nourishes itself. Discovering these details, the grace and genius inherent in a plant’s anatomy, and transforming it into art brings us back to the real world growing around us.”

Marilyn Reilly teaches the July class at NYBG where she earned her Certificate in Botanical Art and Illustration. Her background as a science teacher helps to focus the classes on observation and accurate drawing of plant components, like branches, stems, leaves and flower parts. She is a member of the ASBA (American Society of Botanical Artists) and the GNSI (Guild of Natural Science Illustrators).

These hands-on classes will help you expand your horizons and you can even get started on a Certificate this summer. Register now.