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...

 March 2022 I have been painting botanicals since 2008 and my studio set up has certainly changed over the years.  Here is a picture of where the studio is today. Earlier this year I moved my studio to our bonus room, a large room with lots of natural light, on the second floor where I can look out at the trees! I now have two tables in the studio and the one on the left is motorized so I can raise it up when I stand or lower it when I sit.  It is a dream, purchased on Amazon - Flexispot EC1B-V3/ED1W-V#/EC1S-V3.  I am so proud of myself - I put it all together and followed the instructions perfectly.  And hubby was a huge help with getting it up the stairs. June 2022 And here is the current set up where I added one more swing arm light over my palette, a lighted magnifier, and a boom for my HD video recorder. Yes I have a TV on my working table. It has my USB drive loaded with years of photo reference and enlarges the image up to 4X as shown above.  I often...

  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 ...

Over the last seven years I have used a mechanical pencil to "trace" my drawing onto my watercolor paper.  I own two mechanical pencils, a .5 and .3, and have been using the .3 because it produces a finer line. BUT it also breaks quite easily.  I was transferring my pineapple drawing and became frustrated, very frustrated.......note, artist problem solving opportunity! In the 90's I took tole painting classes. It was popular back then, much like the painting parties are today.  To transfer the pattern to your project, one would use a waxy graphite paper and a stylus .  I still have that very stylus. So I took it out and began to trace over my pineapple drawing and it works! Oh my and it works!  Why?  At the end of the stylus is a round ball.  It is smooth and will create a smooth line on your paper and it DOES NOT break! Here is what the tool looks like.  I recently purchased this stylus from the Holcraft Company for my upcoming art...

  When painting,  I always start with transparent pigments.  You may add a semi-transparent pigment to your mix; but DO NOT add an opaque pigment.  Opaque pigments sit on top of your paper and will move around as you add washes.  THIS will CREATE MUDespecially if the three primaries are involved ! Note: Most transparent paints are staining and do not lift out completely. Most manufacturers have small boxes on their tubes. I * A white box indicates a transparent pigment; * a black box an opaque.  * A split box – half white/half black tube indicates a semi-transparent pigment. Also, all pigments are given an alphanumeric code that is listed on every Artist Quality tube of paint.  The pigment code is the same across all manufacturers unless the manufacturer created the pigment.  All secondary colors are made with at least two pigments (ie. greens, oranges and purples.)  So if you like a color, y...

One day I was giving a technique demonstration to a group of new students, one student, an experienced watercolor artist, said I have never seen anyone work this way - WOW!  So I thought I would share the WOW with you too! I have been painting in watercolor since 2006, my husband gave me this palette for Christmas.  At first I would take my paint from one of the wells and place it in the mixing areas.  After awhile I noticed that I was using the "same" formulas over and over.  So I decided to placed my blues, reds and yellows in the top two bins.  Over time, I added the last group and recently I was given the primaries in the fifth bin.    If you need pure color - simply wipe an area out or get a small white plate. This is truly one of the best ways to set up your mixing areas, no matter what subject you paint.  I hope you will give this a try! Here are my recipes...all artist quality of course....and the "brands don't matter"! B...

H ere is my brush holder!  It belonged to my husband's grandmother, a small silver vase by Tiffany.  I just love this piece with its delicate and stylized leaves and flowers - perfect for a botanical artist. When I first started painting, I used a round synthetic No.2 brush by Dick Blick and then I changed to a sable brush.  I find that the sable brushes hold the proper amount of paint and no matter what the size (#four and smaller) can achieve a very fine, fine line.   If just starting out, you only need to purchase one brush, a Round No. 3 Series 7 by Winsor Newton. I would also recommend the Round No. 1. Here are the brushes in my holder:  Sable Series 7 No. 8, 4, 3, 2, 1 and 0.  It also has two thick synthetic brushes that I use for mixing my colors as well as lifting large areas. Over the last two months, I added two synthetics that I had on hand - a 10/0 by Loew and a round No. 00.  I really like the two for are gr...