The Botanical Blogger with Linda C Miller

Last year I purchased a beautiful journal from WonderCabin on Etsy.  The pages are filled with 140# traditional Fabriano hot-press watercolor paper that are not only a joy to paint with but an immense joy to draw on! My journal when opened is 12 inches by 9 inches. Working full time right now does not give me the time that I would love to spend in nature and in my studio.  One day this spring, I brought my journal into the den with my pencil and ink pens.  As I watched TV and with images on my Kindle, began to draw a series of dogwood buds.  I was taken with the "magic" when I added the value via stippling and darker lines with my Micron pens. And here is the true flower! These study pages help us not only to see but to know.  We live in a magical time when we have all these tools available to us .... my phone's camera is just as good as my Nikon D90! I like to draw using a .03 HB lead mechanical pencil.  The thinner lines suit my eye.  Also here are t...

  I love to walk about the yard and pick up sticks and bring them into the studio!   Shown here is my .03 lead mechanical pencil.  I once used a .05 lead but found the lead to be too thick.  The ".03" is just right!  I also found that drawing on cold press watercolor, while it has texture, is perfect for laying down graphite.  Much easier than hot press and many drawing papers for a professional artist grade project. Here I am working on Fluid 100 cold press paper on a block.  The blocks are easy to store and ready when you are to start a project.   Thank you for visiting,  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 !   

White Oak  I love working with fall leaves that have spent a few days between the pages! This post shows the steps that I took to create a pattern using a divider.  This is the perfect project for beginners.  If you do not have one, you may want to add it to your holiday wish list!   Feel free to copy and paste this image to get started.   Drawing Materials Tools:  M echanical pencil, divider, kneaded eraser, and a fine tip black marker. Paper:  One piece of tracing paper and one piece of watercolor paper. I always draw on tracing paper.  It is easy to erase and saves a step.  If I drew on sketch paper, I would need to draw it again on tracing paper to create my pattern. Even though the leaf is pressed, I found that it was raised up a bit.  So I took a piece of cardboard and placed the edge on the mid-vein and traced the outline with my mechanical pencil.  Note that I made small marks where the ...

Laurel Oak   20 x 28 inches Copyright Linda C. Miller 2020 I thought that I would share this technique today as I am almost finished with this large painting of the Laurel Oak.  It has been in and out of the studio over the last two years and I decided to add a few more leaves on the horizontal stem and add more shading to the leaves and acorns.  Let me first start by saying - I did not see at this level when I began painting.  I am now at this point after eight years of painting in watercolor. I am a big believer in having a "friend" near by to guide you, especially when finishing your work.  As you can see here, I have a page opened from my "Rory McEwen The Colours of Reality" book.  To begin my critique,  I set a mat down on my work to crop the areas.  I then allow my eye to move from the painting to the book, using the right side of my brain. Allow your eyes to do the work.  If you still hear your internal critic,...

I can remember the first time I mixed a true black - I was just thrilled.  I used Cobalt Blue, Permanent Rose and Lemon Yellow.      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 !   

A tea wash is a very light layer of paint.   When using the tea wash to establish your highlights or a halo, the mixture is 80-90 percent water to pigment.  It also is made with transparent, staining pigments.  The leaves in this example were painted with Prussian Blue.  The first step is to prime your element first by applying one coat of clear water for 140 weight papers and two coats of clear water for 300 lb paper. Priming ensures that your wash will have an even, smooth appearance and it allows you to create a gradation from top to bottom.   Yet what is most important is that you allow the "sheen" on the paper to disappear before you lay on your tea wash or for that matter any layer of color.  If not, you will be working wet in wet and you may not be able to control the way the pigment rests/dries on the paper. Thank you for visiting, Linda Linda C Miller  Artist | Naturalist | Instructor http://www.lindacmillerbotanicalart.co...

Here is another way of working with live specimens!  For years, I would place my cutting in a vase, lay it down on my drafting board, or even take a photo.  Three years ago Carol and Margaret gave me a wonderful gift that they use when painting still life paintings.  It is made of plywood, with a base and two sides.  It allows you to photograph your subject and control the lighting.  That evening, I brought it up to the studio.  I looked around the room and thought, “Lets take my foam core boards and place them into the box.”   Eureka!    Next, I began to go around the studio photographing my dried specimens and then the persimmon fruit branches that I collected that day, laying them on the base or taping them to the board.       I found that the lines for drawing and the colors for painting were so much easier to see with this whiter than white background.    Thank y...

I have been painting botanicals since 2008 and here is a new painting from one of our fall treasures, the Magnolia grandiflora.  The red seeds are so striking and hang by a thin white thread!  My darks, the darkest darks are purple and the key is to ensure that both the red and blue are transparent, not semi-transparent and NEVER opaque!       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 !   

When painting flora, we spend a great deal of time painting green.  I created this chart back in 2010 and I still carry it in my portfolio case.   I selected five yellow and six blue/green pigments from my arsenal.   I also made up a large batch of purple to act as a neutralizing tint.   You will see variances with each yellow/blue combination though there is no significant difference between the Prussian Blue and Pthalo Blue rows.   Notice in all cases that when purple was added (+P), the mixture becomes browner or even gray.  Why? All three primaries are in the mix. If I were to do this chart again, I would add more Lemon Yellow to the mixtures to show how bright the greens can be, no matter which blue you work with. Lemon Yellow is my "go to yellow" for brightening my green passages. Notice as you paint with green ~ it dulls when it dries.   Simply add several coats of Lemon Yellow an...

Back in 2010, I painted this lovely Lady Slipper and I scanned my progress each step of the way.   Here is a "new movie" showing how this painting was built up, layer by layer; 13 sessions.   One of the most important things to remember when painting in watercolor is to add no more than two layers of paint at a time.  If you try to add more, the paint goes onto the paper rather than building up.  You will feel like you are going nowhere.  This is especially true for 300 weight papers. Also note that there is a phenomena called "dry shifting" which means that the painted area looks "lighter" once it has dried.  Blue has the greatest dry shift of the primary colors. This will occur no matter if your blue is a transparent, semi-transparent or opaque pigment.   Thank you for visiting, Linda Linda C Miller  Artist | Naturalist | Instructor http://www.lindacmillerbotanicalart.com https://thebotancialblogger.blogspot.com/ Copyrig...

I was at The Gallery at York Hall when I started a new project - the Pineapple.  With the pineapple up on a pedestal, I began drawing the leaves but I found that I kept loosing my place.  We artists love to solve problems.  As I sat there, I began to think about what I could place on the leaves as I worked.   On my pencil box, I keep strips of blue Painter's Tape (easy release), just in case.  Well the just in case answered my call.  I tore up several small pieces and placed them on the leaves.  Then as I began the scales, I placed a piece of blue tape on both the scale and on my drawing to keep me on track.   As I progressed, I used a straight pin to help me get back to where I was drawing. So place Painter's Tape on your pencil case, you may need it for your pineapple project! Thank you for visiting, Linda Linda C Miller  Artist | Naturalist | Instructor http://www.lindacmillerbotanicalart.com https...

Over the last 20 years I have been learning how to mix my colors, painting by painting.   Here is a simple way of remembering complimentary colors.  All you need are three tubes of paint -  a red, yellow and blue.  Let's say that you are painting an orange petal. You mixed a red and yellow but the orange is too bright.   To dull down the orange, you know that you need to add its complimentary color.   What is it? Take a look at the first group in the photo below.  The answer is what primary(s) is(are) left over.  No wheel necessary! 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 !   

Want to enter an exhibition and your photos are still casting a blue haze, here is the process I use to create my images.  This is also the same process for creating paper products, such as prints and note cards. Last month I finally learned how to use the Magic Wand tool in my JASC Paint Pro Shop program to "even" out and change the background color. I use to spend hours spray painting in the desired background.  I scan my works at 300 DPI, which leaves grey and blue ghosting around the edges. If the painting is larger than my letter size scanning bed, I put together my pieces by creating a new document (larger than the original size) and copy each scanned file and placing where needed. As I go along and when I am finished, I Merge all the layers. If the layers are not merged, this process will not work. Once my image is "put together", I open up one of my finished images (a work that has already been cleaned up) and click on the background using m...

Note the dried paint in my palette bins. This is where I pick up my color! Creating Fine Lines The most important thing is that your paper is dry, bone dry.  Then using a round brush ranging from a No. 1 to a 00, place your brush in your water container, then tap your brush once on a soaking wet cellulose sponge (not a natural sponge).   Next (very important too) pick up your DRY paint and paint your line.  This technique takes out the excess water in the brush and ensures a brush filled with "loaded" pigment. 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 !   

Once you have made your " Graphite Pattern ,"  you will now transfer your drawing to your watercolor paper.   Place your tracing paper onto your watercolor paper , right side up.  Remember to leave at least 1/2 inch around your drawing for framing and even more if you would like to off center your painting for a contemporary presentation. In this video, I am using an mechanical pencil with a HB Size .03 lead .  You may also use a mechanical pencil with a .05 lead but I would use any larger pencil lead for a botanical portrait.  The idea is to have as thin as line as possible. 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 !   

When I begin a project, I almost always create my drawing on tracing paper and any brand will do.  The benefits are several; 1) you will not damage your watercolor paper from erasing, 2) you are able to see the positive and negative shapes more easily to critique your drawing before you start painting, 3) you can draw an element, a flower for example, multiple times and place them on your drawing to see which angle works best and 4) you are able to use your pattern again! Once you are happy with your composition and you have redrawn your drawing using a black fine tip marker (if you do not do this you will not be able to see the drawing), you have two options.  The first option is to turn over your drawing and "line in" your drawing on the wrong side of the tracing paper with a 2B or H pencil (see video)  OR you may take a pencil and cover a small sheet of tracing paper, all over,and place this under your drawing when transferring to your watercolor paper....