The Botanical Blogger with Linda C Miller

  I went to our local library, and I admit it has been a while!  Upstairs I went to look through my favorite subjects.  Along with several "picture" books, I picked up "Brilliant Green The Surprising History and Science of Plant Intelligence."   This book is brilliantly written and it will change the way you think and I believe feel for plants.    Each chapter delves into an intelligence from our perspective as humans and theirs.   A must for plant lover's libraries! Thank you for visiting, Linda Linda C Miller  Artist | Naturalist | Instructor http://www.lindacmillerbotanicalart.com https://thebotancialblogger.blogspot.com/ Copyright Linda C. Miller 2022 To receive my new posts visit  The Botanical Blogger  -   SCROLL UP  to the top and  SIGN UP !   

This book had been in my library for the last eight years and it is one of my favorites to study from.  For years it was on my lap while I watched TV in the evening hours.  The range of specimens and artists is one of the best on the market.  I own the paperback version. This second book is one of the best books to learn about color mixing and how a painting progresses by adding washes and adding details.  The book chapters are divided by color and almost each chapter has a step by step project for you to learn by.  My only caveat is to be mindful that each artist has a "favorite" palette and you could end up buying more than you need, if you follow their recipes.    This last book is one of the best books to learn how to paint botanical portraits using primary, secondary and tertiary colors.  This book will change how you see and paint any subject!     Thank you for visiting, Linda Linda C Miller...

  I am currently reading a fabulous book by Andrea Wulf titled  “ The Brother Gardeners  Botany, Empire and The Birth of an Obsession ".   It is a splendid book “bringing to life the science and adventure of the eighteenth-century plant collecting” with names such as Tradescent, Bartram, Banks, Sloan, Linnaeus and Darwin.  Thank you Jeanette for placing this wonderful book in our library. Here is a link where you can learn more about Mr. Bartram, known as the colonial botanist, who is responsible for stocking England’s nurseries with American trees. http://www.terrain.org/articles/18/rowland.htm Thank you for visiting, Linda Linda C Miller  Artist | Naturalist | Instructor http://www.lindacmillerbotanicalart.com https://thebotancialblogger.blogspot.com/ Copyright Linda C. Miller 2022 To receive my new posts visit  The Botanical Blogger  -   SCROLL UP  to the top and  SIGN UP !   

On my nightstand, I have a copy of “ The Art of Spirit ” by Robert Henri that a dear friend gave me last Christmas.  This dear friend is also an artist, someone who loves to journal, and has a wonderful personal library.  “ The Art of Spirit ” includes  - “Notes, Articles, Fragments of Letters and Talks to Students, Bearing on the Concept and Technique of Picture Making, the Study of Art Generally and on Appreciation” by Henri from 1915 to 1927, where he was a popular and influential teacher at the Art Students League of New York . His ideas on art were collected by former pupil Margery Ryerson and published in Philadelphia in 1923.  This is a great book for inspiration and reflection. To learn more about the artist, please click here  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Henri Thank you for visiting, Linda Linda C Miller  Artist | Naturalist | Instructor http://www.lindacmillerbotanicalart.com https://thebotancialblogger.blogspot.c...

I would like to thank Jeff Lewis, the Nursery and Grounds Manager at The Elizabethan Gardens.  As I was leaving the garden, after the first day of my watercolor workshop, I stopped to say hello to Jeff and Gary.  Jeff asked that I wait a moment for he had something for me.  Out he came with a book in his hand and said “You must have this book.  It is perfect for you.”   I took the book home and thought to myself as I turned the pages ~  he is so right.  The book title is “Seeing Trees Discover the Extraordinary Secrets of Everyday Trees by Nancy Ross Hugo.   If you love trees, this is a must for your library.  Page after page are macro, professional photographs of tree flowers, fruits, leaf scales, bark, and leaves by Robert Llewellyn and set upon a white background (sound familiar!)  Also the writing is contemporary and conversational.  Thank you Jeff for my wonderful gift. Thank you for visiting, Linda Li...