Carolyn A Pappas

I just finished up a two part class on botanical illustration at Mass Audobon. As always, I didn’t create anything particularly amazing while I was in the class, but I got a lot of value in the information that I took home with me.

The instructor was a well spoken woman who was very informed on many aspects of natural history and botanical illustration. She gave us a good understanding of the conventions of botanical illustration, and differentiated it from “botanical art.” (I’m definitely more interested in botanical art as opposed to classical botanical illustration.) She also rambled quite a bit about all kinds of other art topics, which I found pleasant and informative.

We were working in colored pencil, which is part of the reason why I’ve been inspired to get back into it lately. I was able to talk to the instructor about some things I’ve been curious about, like what she thought of sanded papers (I’ve never tried any).

I’m really glad that I went to this class because it was an opportunity to do something art related and get out of the house by myself for a few hours.