Painting Nature's Details

From the award-winning botanical painting authors, a book to record more than just the flora – plants – of the world, but also the fauna, our animal life. From the award-winning botanical painting authors, a book to record more than just the flora – plants – of the world, but also the fauna, our animal life. Recording accurately but beautifully the animal wildlife that surrounds us is an age-old art. The authors, with the Eden Project, show us how to take up the subject and make the most of the revival of this art form.

Finding sources from which to draw is not as difficult as it once was. All these sources allow us to take the time to capture the true essence of some of the most beautiful things on earth. From dinosaur skeletons, fossils and shells through feathers, birds, fish to beetles, butterflies and frogs. Learn how to paint the subtle scales on a fish, the iridescence of a feather or the lustre on a shell.

The authors take you through the full range of skills and techniques you need to undertake natural history drawing and painting. Key techniques are explained with step-by-step demonstrations. Stunning illustrations will inspire you and illuminate the techniques you are learning. A stunning book on an art form that is fast becoming the new botanical illustration.

Author Biography

Rosie Martin holds a Gold Medal from the RHS for her botanical watercolour painting. She is an elected member of the Society of Botanical Artists and teaches a variety of art-based subjects, including botanical illustration in both. She has worked in fashion, ballet and theatre; her clients have included David Bowie, Anthony Caro, Karl Lagerfeld and Jean Muir, for whom she produced textiles and interior design prints.Meriel Thurstan discovered botanical illustration while working at the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall. She later became a pivotal member of the Friends team at the Eden Project, organising and running talks, visits and courses. She holds a Silver Lindley medal from the RHS for her watercolours of fungi and a Bronze medal for an exhibit of different coloured potatoes. Meriel founded the South West Society of Botanical Artists in 2006, which aims to promote and encourage botanical art to the highest standard. Her own botanical paintings hang in England, France and Australia. She lives in Somerset.