Adult Education at the NYBG

Cover of the 2012-2013 NYBG Adult Education 

class catalog.

I took this photo at the NYBG. 

Yes, I am currently working at the New York Botanical Garden, but I must say that even the most unbiased observer would be impressed by the classes offered by the NYBG. They offer classes in all seasons, covering a breadth and depth of material that quite surprised me. Just to give you a taste, this season they have classes in botanical and natural science illustration, horticulture, gardening, botany, landscape design, and photography. They even have beekeeping! And not only do they have this fantastic variety of classes, they also have very specialized classes in each area. In botanical art alone, they are offering classes in oil painting, pencil sketching, shading techniques, pen and ink, drawing mushrooms, butterflies, and trees, multiple skill levels of drawing, painting, and watercolor, color theory, and even the history of botanical art. These classes are offered at a variety of locations--some are at the NYBG, some are in midtown Manhattan, and others are held elsewhere in the tri-state area. 

     An exercise in drawing twisting leaves, from a botanical art class at the NYBG. 
     Drawing by Joanne Strauss.

     I took this photo at the NYBG. 

Earlier this week I visited the NYBG's Botanical Watercolor II class, just to see what a botanical art class here is like. The teacher is Mary Christiansen, who herself earned a Certificate in Botanical Art and Illustration at the Garden. She has been teaching art at the Brearley School (a private school in Manhattan) for 27 years. 

When I got to the classroom a bit early, I wasn't sure whether the people talking inside were the class I was looking for or just a group of instructors comparing watercolor techniques before class. They were five women, all gathered around a small table at the front of the classroom. It turns out that this was the class, and Ms.Christiansen invited me to sit down with them. She was giving a demonstration of how to color a fruit, including shading, with watercolor. The model was some kind of shiny orange fruit, and her sample illustrations were so lifelike that the leaves looked almost like real leaves, just lying on the paper.

The shiny fruit model.
I took this photo at the NYBG. 

Look at those crinkled leaves. So realistic! From a previous fruit model that had leaves, I assume.
I took this photo at the NYBG.

I enjoyed observing this class. The students were all very focused and interested in Ms.Christiansen's every brushstroke, and in this intimate classroom setting they were able to ask questions freely as she demonstrated. 

The Watercolor II class observing a demonstration.
I took this photo at the NYBG.

Some of the lessons that I took away from my short visit:
1) You can use blue to color in the darker parts of an orange fruit.
2) "Cast shadows," or shadows cast by the subject, are not usually used in botanical art. (It makes sense, as the focus is really the plant itself, and not any sort of background or context). 
3) In botanical art, the light source is customarily on the left. 
4) "Glazing" is when you color by layering different hues over each other, as opposed to mixing all the colors together in a palette and then painting them on all at once.

  One of the students, Joanne Strauss, helping to explain glazing.

  I took this photo at the NYBG.   

5) Coloring is not a formula. You have to play with different combinations and techniques to achieve your desired effects.

Fruit examples, scrap paper showing Ms.Christiansen's color palette, and a magnifying glass for observing small details.
I took this photo at the NYBG. 

Observing the Watercolor II class was a lot of fun. Maybe on day I'll take one of these classes. While the NYBG offers many of its classes as part of a few different certification programs, these classes are also a great way to expand your skills and interests in a relaxing environment. 


Sources/Relevant Links

Adult Education at the New York Botanical Garden. http://www.nybg.org/adulted/

The New York Botanical Garden: Adult Education. Instructor: Mary Christiansen. http://conted.nybg.org:8080/WebModule/jsp/ed2df.jsp?df1=bio&df5=45268