Introduction

I grew up as an only child and always loved to draw. My parents taught me at a young age to appreciate, respect, and love nature. I started learning about nature at summer camp in Pennsylvania, and being exposed to nature made me passionate about plants, animals, and insects. I decided early that I was going to be “an Artist” when I grew up.

My grandmother was a Girl Scouts leader, and she had a vast wealth of knowledge about the plant world. I was so amazed that she seemed to know the names of all the plants in her garden and on our walks in the woods. I thought I would never know as much as she did.

As a young college student, I was an art major and focused my studies on textiles. I learned to spin yarn on a spinning wheel, grow plants for natural dyeing, and weave fabric on an old-fashioned floor loom. For the first 20 years of my career, I worked as a production spinner and handweaver. I sold my handwoven clothing at art festivals and specialty stores around the United States. It was a labor of love, but after 20 years I wanted to devote my time to drawing and painting nature.

I enrolled in and completed a 200-hour certification in botanical illustration at the New York Botanical Garden. The program launched a new career that continues to feed a lifelong passion. Drawing plants has made me a gardener as well as a conservationist. Drawing nature requires acute observation. The more I see, the more I learn, and the more I want to convey in my paintings. I still feel like the child I was once was. The wonder of nature is all around, and I want to see it, experience it, and share it through my paintings. It is my hope that through my paintings I inspire people to love nature and want to protect it.

I have had the wonderful opportunity in my career to teach people how to draw. By studying with people like Betty Edwards, I learned that drawing is a skill—and not all about having talent. Taking a subject and breaking it down step by step is the best way to learn how to draw. Whatever your story or background or artistic experience, you can learn how to see and illustrate the natural world around you.

In this book I introduce you to many styles and applications of drawing plant and birds. Many artists and art teachers work in a specific medium. I do not consider myself a “purist.” I enjoy working in a variety of mediums. I think combining different techniques can be challenging, rewarding, and fun. In this book I hope to inspire you not to be afraid to experiment. There are many ways to do any one thing, and the challenge is to find what works best for you. I hope you will be inspired to draw the beauty of nature!