The Kew Book of Botanical Illustration

About this book

Kew is eminent worldwide in botanical science and the study and preservation of plant species and Christabel King has been doing illustrations for them for 40 years and is their foremost botanical artist. Here she explains both scientific botanical illustration and the looser botanical art and covers materials collecting and preserving plant specimens drawing and painting techniques magnification using dividers drawing from life composition light and shade and tranferring drawings. She goes on to discuss painting leaves flowers cactii and succulents wildflowers trees and plates for Curtiss Botanical magazine. A chapter on travel drawings gives a flavour of the authors passion and worldwide experience. There is a helpful section on suitable subjects for beginners and a glossary of terms. The text is highly illustrated throughout with beautiful paintings.