An experienced natural history and botanical illustrator, Lizzie’s work appears in books and magazines around the world, on postage stamps and mugs.
She lives very happily in Hay on Wye, and works her garden studio surrounded by plants and birds.
Finding out what I’m working on,
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This week`s blog is another on the Wildflower families, in this case the Brassicaceae or Cabbage family.
https://lizzieharper.co.uk/2024/12/wildflower-families-brassicaceae-the-cabbage-family/
I`m doing a series of these, this is the 3rd. Brassica are a pretty easy family to spot, with their four-petalled flowers and familiarity as garden vegetables. They`re also a lot of fun to illustrate.
Often the leaves have a bloom on which gives the plant a blueish hue, and this is always a lovely colour to try and capture.
#wildflowers #wildflowerfamilies #plantidentification #botany #plantfamilies #brassicaceae #brassica #cabbage #cabbages #CabbageFamily #botanicalillustration #sciart #vegetables
This is an Adonis Blue butterlfy Polyommatus bellargus on a Carthusian carnation Dianthus carthusianous.
In September I visited Cluny, near Lyons in France. We walked in the woods and amongst the vineyards nearby, and these Adonis blues were everywhere, it was stunning.
I`d not seen the Carthusian carnations before, and the blue butterflies on the magenta petals was wonderful.
Watercolour illustration completed as a birthday card for @twmpacycles
#butterfly #adonisblue #polyomattus #naturalhistoryilliustration #sciart #botanicalillustration #carnation #dianthus #Cluny
I`ve just published a Youtube film showing me completing a pencil illustration of pears in real time, and explaining how I use graphite to show tonality and detail:
https://youtu.be/aSgeW6k11CQ
The pears were drawn for a packaging design job, and now grace the labels of bottles of sparkling Cabalva perry produced by Cabalva Mill Cottage & Cwm Pelved
#pear #Perry #pyrus #pyruscommunis #packagingdesign #botanicalillustration #pencildrawing #pencil #stepbystep #drawingfruit #fruit
I spent the last couple of weeks illustrating more invasive species for my repeat client, FOR Sweden.
These are such a joy to work on. They are a mix of graphite and watercolour, and have the feel of sketchbook studies, with some elements left unfinished.
The species illustrated this time are Bridewort Spiraea salicifolia, Dwarf serviceberry Amelanchier spicata, Dwarf Japanese knotweed Fallopia or Reynoutria japonica compacta, and False acacia Robinia pseudoacacia
I like to illustrate the main plant in a way that allows it to stand, with minor editing, as a complete watercolour botanical illustration. This means it can be re-used for future jobs, if needed. The first of each species is this stand alone image.
This is the 5th set of invasive plant studies completed for FOR Sweden, they use them online
(https://for.se/hitta-de-invasiva-frammande-arterna/)
to educate and inform gardeners and land managers about newly listed invasive species, and what to do and who to inform if they come across them.
#botanicalillustration #BotanicalArt #journaling #sketchbook #bridewort #spirea #amelanchier #serviceberry #JapaneseKnotweed #falseacacia #robinia
* Botanical Illustration Workshops 2025 *
Booking is now open for my three Botanical illustration courses in 2025. All three are at Cambridge Botanical Gardens, book through the links below
Either book via the links on my website:
https://lizzieharper.co.uk/teaching-workshops-dates-for-2025/
or direst with Cambridge University Botanical Gardens:
https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/education-learning/courses/?course_type=78&course-filter-submit=submit
The first is:
lllustrating Cherry blossom and Magnolia - March 13th and 14th
The second is:
Illustrating Spring leaves in watercolour - May 14th, 15th, 16th
and the third is:
Illustrating Meadow Flowers - July 2nd, 3rd, 4th
(Fingers crossed that my workshops are slightly less traumatic than the Alanis Morriset soundtrack suggests!)
#botanicalillustration #botanicalart
Latest blog is all about illustrating autumn fruits for an identification chart...last spring:
https://lizzieharper.co.uk/2024/11/autumn-fruits/
This posed problems in terms of getting fresh materials, but the blog explained how to navigate around these challenges.
There`s a wide range of species illustrated, from pine cones to spindle berries, sweet chestnut to Plane trees.
it`s a commission I very much enjoyed. And I`m also really happy with the finished guide,
https://www.field-studies-council.org/shop/publications/autumn-fruits-and-seeds/, now available from the FSC shop.
#botanicalillustration #autumn #fall #fruits #botany #fieldstudiescouncil #botanicalart #sciart
This is the Blunt-fruited water-starwort Callitriche obtusangula.
It`s an unobtrusive water plant, but I think it`s emergent rosettes are really pretty.
Like a lot ot aquatic plants it has leaves with different shapes depending on how far submerged they are.
The trick with plans in water is to suggest the correct areas are submerged- without compromising detail.
Completed for an FSC chart of Waterside plants
#waterstarwort #callitriche #waterplants ##aquaticplants #botanicalillustration #sciart
Snippet on today`s work - doing a natural science illustration of the plum weevil, and the danage this beetle does to apples & stone fruit.
I like the damaged apple most, probably because I thought it would look rubbish but turned out OK.
A treat to illustrate a beetle - I mostly get commissioned to do plants.
#plum #plumweevil #insects #insectart #pest #farmer #orchard #insectpest #naturalhistoryilliustration #sciart #conoteachelus nenuphar #cropdamage
