Keeping a sketchbook is the best habit an artist can have. The more you draw from reality the easier it will be to develop your own style and compositions. Using the Garden and the Glasshouse Range as our starting point, Karin will give creative prompts to get us started and introduce new materials and techniques. You can expect a joyful, creative, and explorative approach set in a friendly and informative atmosphere. Mostly we will be working in our sketchbooks and a suggested material list will be supplied a few weeks before the start of the course. This course is suitable for all levels.

The day will start with a short introductory talk introducing examples of botanical drawings from art history and by contemporary artists. Through these examples we will gain inspiration and be given a focus and theme for the session before you head out in the garden. We will begin by looking carefully at plants and drawing from observation, gradually introducing elements of imagination, memory and found materials. It is up to you how you interpret and develop your ideas.

Karin studied Art History at Uppsala University and Complutense University in Madrid before completing an MA in Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art in 2012. Since then, she has published five children’s books and teaches on various art courses and is an Associate Lecturer in Illustration at Anglia Ruskin University. https://www.instagram.com/karin_eklund_studio