BASNewsletter.25-12-e - Flipbook - Page 8
FOUNDED IN 1953
DECEMBER 2025
‘Botanical Illustration in watercolour - Autumn’ with Sarah Sherrington
This Autumn, we have all noticed that the fruits and berries in the hedges have been spectacular. So it
was not surprising that Sarah arrived at Hadspen Village Hall on the 25th September armed with bundles of them, ready to give us two days of tuition in ‘Botanical Illustration’, speci昀椀cally in watercolour.
With an abundant choice to work from and some of our own foraged examples, we began.
Sarah, who has a Diploma from the Society of Botanical Artists, showed us the disciplines required to be
considered as a ‘Botanical Illustrator’, and, although some of us found it a challenge and veered o昀昀 that
path at times, she very patiently and quietly led us back on it, helping us to build up our work in layers
of colour for 3D e昀昀ects without using black and how to show bloom and shine when painting conkers
and acorns.
Sarah demonstrated how to use a light box for reproducing an underpainting from real life and we were
thrilled to be able to see her current work in progress (on commission) which is exquisitely beautiful in
both application and detail.
Although very exacting, requiring much concentration, there is something magical in being able to capture in paint the living essence of nature and we were very grateful to Sarah for guiding us to that end.
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