The Working Artist Forum is pleased to invite the public for a live talk and demonstration about Botanical Art and Nature Journaling on Monda, September 8 at 10:30 a.m. by Anna Harding and Diane DuBois Mullaly.
Made possible with the help of Talbot Art, the location for this demonstration is the Academy Art Museum, Easton, Maryland.
Harding is a skilled botanical artist and instructor, and leads the Botanical Art League of the Eastern Shore(BALES) which meets six times a year at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely, Maryland. Mullaly is a fine artist who teaches Nature Journaling in the spring and fall at Adkins Arboretum. Both artists are certified as Maryland Master Naturalists and have undergone a year of specialized training conducted by the University of Maryland Extension Program, which teaches every aspect of the flora and fauna, geography and climate of the Coastal Plain of DelMarVa. Each year they must fulfill continuing education and volunteer requirements which, as citizen-scientists, engage them with the community through volunteering. More information is available here http://extension.umd.edu/programs/environmentnatural-resources/program-areas/master-naturalist-program/
Even though Harding and Mullaly are presenting together, their areas of expertise are quite different from each other. Botanical art is a precise, scientifically accurate and aesthetically pleasing rendering of a species from life or a photograph. Harding says, “Many times we have to rely on photographs when it would be very difficult to find a subject that we could bring into our studio.” Each piece of botanical art can take hours of fine illustrative work. There is a wide range of mediums that are used including watercolor, graphite, watercolor pencils, pen and ink and colored pencils. On the other hand, nature journaling is done outdoors in the field from life, creating a quick documentation of anything found in nature with sketches and notations in a bound journal. The usual mediums are ink and watercolor, and the information gathered can include the weather, the species, personal observations and feelings — even poetry. Mullaly muses, “I like to think of botanical art as representational painting from life in the studio, and nature journaling as quick plein air field studies done on the fly. Both are satisfying and almost meditative practices.” Both artists will bring examples of their work, and talk about opportunities to learn more about these two art forms. Mullaly will do a short nature jounaling demo with something from nature she has found outdoors that day.
The Academy Art Museum is located at 106 South Street, Easton, Maryland 21601. Please enter the museum via Harrison Street and go the Performing Arts Room
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