Society of Botanical Artists - Assignment 2

Assignment 2 focuses on monochrome. In Part 1, you need to create a continuous tone drawing of a plant in monochrome. Part 2 requires you to make a small study of a single flower along with its attached leaf and stem using pencil or ink stippling.

Due to the lack of greenery outside during the winter season, I found this assignment somewhat challenging. Therefore, I decided to visit the grocery store in search of inspiration. It was there that I discovered a calla lily in a pot, which sparked my excitement to begin.

This is my initial sketch in my sketchbook. Upon closer inspection, you will notice that I have made detailed notes about the plant, including measurements of the stems, the flower's dimensions at its largest and smallest points, and any adjustments I wished to make before transferring it onto my watercolor paper. Subsequently, I traced over the sketch using a sharpie marker to make it visible through the watercolor paper and easier to trace.

Above is my finished drawing onto watercolor paper and ready to begin. I mainly used Derwent Graphite Pencils for this project. I enjoy the richness and darkness of colors compared to Faber Castell which are light and a harder pencil. Click Here to view all my favorite pencils, sharpeners and more.

Starting at the top and having the drawing covered with tracing paper, i began with the leaf. So many fun details in the leaf and beautiful highlights on the left side.

I struggled with the top left flower as it was super light and even at this stage felt it was too dark. The watercolor paper that was given to us is very very soft and hard to erase so I had to pay particular attention to not rubbing to hard and blending my tones very carefully.

Here is my final piece submitted.

Part B of assignment 2 was stippling. I have never stippled before. The art of stippling is something that is very fascinating to read and I suggest googling it when you have time. It is the placement of little tiny dots to form form and tone. The closer and heavier the dots create a darker more depth part of the painting and farther apart dots produce the highlights and lighter parts of the drawing. Below is my second submission of assignment 2.

After finishing this piece, I fell in love with stippling! I wanted and still want to stipple everything. The act of stippling is very peaceful and hypnotizing. It was challenging as well! Making sure each dot was placed perfectly did leave my brain hurting. I highly recommend trying the technique. Start with something small and easy. You won't be disappointed.

I received a 9.09/10 for both pieces. The feedback was great. For my calla lily, my tutor did pick up on my erasing mistakes on the calla lily flower that i erased to make it lighter. For the tulip, my tutor wished that the front leaf was a bit darker and showed a bit more depth. I agree with the feedback and look forward to one day working on stippling again.