Painting Fur with Gouache

January 13, 2012

Painting #2 of 52/52 Challenge

Rodrigues Flying Fox- "Grace" – Gouache & Graphite; ©2012 Mindy Lighthipe
It is Week #2 in my 52/52 painting challenge. My post on Wednesday was about the Lubee Bat Conservancy and this special little bat "Gracie". Here is her finished "portrait". It is done with my graphite and gouache technique. I find [...]

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Going Batty!

January 11, 2012

Week #2- 52/52 Painting Challenge
I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Lubee Bat Festival on October 29, 2011. The festival is held every year at the Lubee Bat Conservancy right here in my home town of Gainesville, Florida. The Lubee Bat Conservancy is an international non-profit organization working with others to save fruit [...]

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52/52 Botanical & Natural Science Art- Painting #1

January 6, 2012

Week #1- Painting # 1- Mr. PURPLE

My first painting finished for 2012 is a Datura, Datura metel. It is in the Family: Solanaceae. some of the common names are Purple Horn-of-Plenty, Jimpson Weed, and Devils Weed. This particular variety is called Mr. Purple! It is native to Southern China.
The plant is considered an ornamental plant. [...]

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New Year’s Challenge- 52 weeks/52 Paintings

January 3, 2012

The holiday season was a crazy busy time for all of us.  I hope that all of you had a wonderful season filled  with friends and family. We are now in the New Year and I find that so many people are making resolutions. I prefer this year not to make any resolutions but to [...]

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Foreshortening for Botanical Artists

November 24, 2011

Great Videos Explain Foundation Drawing of Flowers

The single most important thing that a botanical artist must do to make a successful illustration is get the proportions and morphology of the plant correct. The foundation of this is in the drawing. Drawing is so important that if something is drawn poorly the plant will not come [...]

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Tracing from Photographs?

November 16, 2011

Using Photography in Botanical & Scientific Illustration

I recently received an e-mail from one of my readers about tracing from photographs. Here is her question:

"I'm fairly new to the "training" of natural science illustration. Recently, I have been introduced to "tracing" your subject from a photo. To be honest, I am/was a little shocked at this [...]

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Sandhill Cranes Are Coming To Gainesville!

November 1, 2011

Sandhill Cranes and a few Whooping Cranes too!!

It is about this time of year that the Sandhill Cranes descend upon Gainesville Florida to spend the winter. Usually 1,000 to 2,000 of these large birds winter over each year. Typically, they spend the day foraging for food in the agricultural and cow pastures. At night they [...]

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Happy Halloween! A Botanical Pumpkin

October 31, 2011

Painting a Lumpy Bumpy Gourd

It is the time of year when all the gourds come out in the supermarkets. The crazy shapes and color combinations are a great challenge for the botanical artist. In celebration of Halloween I painted a pumpkin that had lots of "warts" on it. One of the things that needs to [...]

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Day 30- THE LAST DAY OF the 30 Day Leaf Challenge!

October 30, 2011

I made it! 30 Leaves in 30 Days!!!!!
 

As you know I have been exploring my new habitat here in Florida. I was on one of my leaf collecting hikes and came across a grove of Oak trees like none I had ever seen. They were tall and skinny and had the biggest leaves I have [...]

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Day 29- 30 Day Botanical Leaf Challenge

October 29, 2011

Leaves turn into Flowers

I was at Kanapaha Botanical Garden and found this little branch. It is a bamboo flower. Bamboo is actually and evergreen plant, and a member of the family Poaceae and is a true grass. I didn't know that bamboo flowered so this was a pleasant surprise. Bamboo does not flower often so [...]

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