Walter Hood Fitch offers botanical artists some tips

"A correct eye for drawing is only to be rendered by constant observation." -Walter Hood Fitch

Walter Hood Fitch
Image is in the public domain in the U.S.

Today I thought it might be interesting to look at some general tips about creating botanical drawings. These tips were imparted by Walter Hood Fitch in some articles written for The Gardeners' Chronicle in 1869. Fitch, who lived from 1817-1892, was a prolific and talented botanical artist for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It is estimated that over his lifetime Fitch produced about ten thousand drawings. He even drew directly onto the lithograph stone sometimes to save time, which is the equivalent of skipping a rough draft, and takes a lot of confidence and skill to execute successfully.

An illustration of Blandfordia grandiflora by
Walter Hood Fitch, published in 1854.
Image is in the public domain in the U.S.

A lithograph stone.

This image is in the public domain.

Some of Fitch's tips for prospective botanical artists:

-Having background knowledge of botany is very useful--it can prevent you from making errors caused by incorrect assumptions about plant structure.

-Pay attention to detail: Note the shape of the stem, how the leaves attach, whether the leaves are serrated or lobed, the number of stamens, etc.

An illustration by Walter Hood Fitch that demonstrates the wide variety of 

forms that plants can take, down  to the smallest details. Published in 1874. 

This image is in the public domain.

-Be able to adapt. The plant you are drawing from may not exactly resemble the desired outcome of the drawing. Even if all of the flowers are pointing in one direction on the specimen, for example, the artist should present a variety of views in the drawing, so that all of the characteristics of the plant may be shown.

-When drawing dissections, such as of seeds or flowers, make sure they are drawn large enough to be useful. All of the little details should be easily visible. Depending on the symmetry (or irregularity) of the object, it may have to be dissected in different ways.

An illustration by Fitch showing different fruit dissections. 

This image is in the public domain.

 Illustration by Fitch showing a dramatically enlarged view of a flower
 and some dissections. 
This image is in the public domain. 

Sources:

Blunt, Wilfrid and William T. Stearn. "Appendix A: Botanical drawing. Eight articles by Walter Hood Fitch, reprinted from 'The Gardeners' Chronicle', 1869." In The Art of Botanical Illustration. London, the Antique Collectors' Club Ltd.

Kew, History & Heritage: Walter Hood Fitch (1817-1892). http://www.kew.org/heritage/people/fitch.html