COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE

The BEST "how to" Instruction Books about Botanical Art and Illustration
​

This page provides an introduction to my Guide to the BEST "how to" books for creating botanical art and illustration
for students of botanical art and and those wishing to develop their knowledge and skills
This list is a work in progress - as new books are published
CONTENT - MAIN PAGES of this section

THIS PAGE serves as an INTRODUCTION to
  • the books covered in this section (and in more detail on other pages)
  • my approach to selecting books for these lists
  • each of the subsections of this list
Below is a SUMMARY OF THE SUBSECTIONS for different types of botanical art and illustration instruction books.
I RECOMMEND all the books listed on this website
​My credentials are that:
  • I created this top ranked website from scratch in 2015. It's now the top ranked website about botanical art and illustration  in the world - and has been for some time.
  • I've written online about botanical art for the last 15 years
  • I've bought and reviewed very many botanical art books and have an extremely extensive library.​​
What I'm trying to do with this section is provide you with a guide about botanical art instruction books written by those who:
  • have significant experience in BOTH botanical art and teaching and
  • understand how best to communicate what students of botanical art 'need to know'
​I've NOT limited the books listed or my reviews to recent publications - because, in my opinion, many of the better books were written some time ago!
Picture
Some of my botanical art instruction books

Quick Links
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EITHER Read the outline content of each page on this page - below the images
OR click the blue title link OR the image to go straight to that page
Artists/authors are also listed. A link in an artist's name is to their website | Links in (review) are to detailed book reviews
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The Best Instruction Books
​by top Botanical Artists / Teachers
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Leading Botanical Artists / Illustrators and Educators

The Best Instruction Books by
Botanical Art Societies
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Authors & Editors of Botanical Art Society Books
  • Society of Botanical Artists: Margaret Stevens, Mary Ann Scott & SBA Artists 
  • American Society of Botanical Artists: Robin Jess and Carol Woodin and ASBA Artists

The Best Instruction Books
​about Botanical Illustration
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About Scientific Illustration - and using Pen and Ink

The Best Botanical Drawing ​Instruction Books (graphite and coloured pencils)
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Botanical Pencil Artists using Coloured Pencils and/or Graphite 

Detailed Reviews of
​Botanical Art Instruction Books

DETAILED Book Reviews can be accessed below
- AND from the book review button in the summary of each book on the relevant page. They cover: PLUS
BOOK REVIEWS COMING SOON 
  • Botanical Illustration from Life | Işık Güner
  • The Kew Book of Botanical Illustration | Christabel King
  • The Practice of Botanical Drawing | Wendy Hollender
  • Botanical Art Techniques | ASBA (in September)

Botanical Art Instruction Books​ 
​by year of publication
​

NEW Botanical Art Instruction Books​ by year of publication
MORE BOOKS ​in other sections on this website
Students of botanical art will also be interested in:

Book reviews and ratings
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Certain books receive in-depth and detailed book reviews - and get a page all to themselves.
CLICK the buttons (where indicated - see right) to go to those pages.
All summary and detailed book reviews also include the average ratings that each book has got to date from buyers on Amazon.
​They often a reasonable indicator of how many other people have found a book useful or not - but do watch out for
  • people who don't know how to use ratings properly
  • those that criticise a book for something it didn't aim to achieve!
ALL online book ratings AND reviews need to be read in context.
I've NOT limited the books listed or my reviews to recent publications - because, in my opinion, many of the better books were written some time ago!
My book reviews of botanical art instruction books include
  • books published years ago,
  • some books which are out of print but still available as 'used',
  • a few which are now very expensive!
TIPS ON HOW TO READ RATINGS AND REVIEWS
  • Consider whether the author is also an active tutor or not - very many art students tend to "like" the books of teachers they know or follow.
  • Think about whether the topic has a wide appeal (lots of ratings) or is a more niche interest (few ratings)
  • Look at the date of publication. Those that have been published longest have had more time to generate buyers and ratings - although Amazon sometimes dumps all those related to previous editions!
  • Remember that online book ratings and reviews have really only taken off in the last 20 years.
    • there are some great instruction books published before 2000 - but these are much much less likely to be available new and/or have lots of ratings.
My recommended botanical art instruction books can also be found next to the most relevant content on various pages around this website. That means you'll see specific books I recommend as you navigate this site as well as in this section.

How to improve your skills in botanical art
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YOUR AIM

What's the best way of developing your skills in botanical painting and botanical illustration? 
  • For many aspiring artists and those wanting to develop their skills it's by buying a book or following a course. 
  • The problem then becomes working out
    • which book and
    • which course! 
THE CHALLENGE

Botanical art students face the problem of a considerable range in the quality of the content in books about botanical art.

So far as botanical art instruction books are concerned
  • there are an awful lot of 'how to' books about drawing and painting flowers - but most are NOT aimed at the botanical artist;
  • a number of books follow a very predictable format, are very repetitive and/or focused on "how to" pages with little added value - many of these lack the detailed content needed by aspiring botanical artists.
What I'm trying to do with this section is provide you with a guide about botanical art instruction books written by those who:
  • have significant experience in BOTH botanical art and teaching and
  • understand how best to communicate what students of botanical art 'need to know'

​Buying books via this website
​

BUY THIS BOOK & HELP FINANCE THIS WEBSITE

You'll notice two links next to most books after the suggested action of "BUY THIS BOOK".

The links are my Amazon Associate links and each purchase generates a very small sum for me - at NO COST to yourself - which helps to finance this website!
The links go to Amazon at 
  • Amazon.co.uk (£) and 
  • Amazon.com (US$). 
Sometimes the titles or the cover illustrations are slightly different
WHY buy via this website?
  • You like this site and you'd like to say "Thank You" - if you've enjoyed / appreciated the content.
  • Buying books listed here helps this site to continue. If you buy a book using the links listed on this website, this helps offset the not insignificant cost of running this website - at NO COST to yourself.
  • You will be using a very secure link. I will only ever provide a link to a site that I KNOW is totally secure. Google is making security of sites a top priority and recently endorsed Amazon's security status via its Transparency report

The Best Botanical Art Society Books - INSTRUCTION
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GO TO: my NEW page about The Best Botanical Art Society Books which includes:
Botanical Art Techniques - A Comprehensive Guide by the American Society of Botanical Artists.
​The Art of Botanical Painting by Margaret Stevens
The Botanical Palette: Colour for the Botanical Painter by Margaret Stevens
Botanical Sketchbook by Mary Ann Scott with Margaret Stevens
Handbook of Plant Forms for Botanical Artists By Margaret Stevens (Author), Ernest E. Clark (Author)
I start with a set of books developed by the Society of Botanical Artists which are both high quality and a very reliable set for any serious student of botanical art who wants to learn how to develop their skills. 

The audience for these books extends far beyond the students on the SBA Distance Learning Diploma Course. For example the very first book - The Art of Botanical Painting - is one which is bought by many prospective students to see if they have the interest and aptitude to commit themselves to the serious study of botanical art over three years.

Note the covers and sometimes the titles vary between the UK and the USA. ​
One of the unique aspects of the Society of Botanical Artists in the UK is that:
  • It has developed and delivers a very popular Distance Learning Diploma Course in Botanical Painting which attracts students from all over the world.
  • It commissioned a set of books to support the course - which were all either authored or co-authored by Margaret Stevens, the Past President of the Society of Botanical Artists who was also the first Director of the Distance learning Diploma Course in Botanical Art. 
  • All the drawings and paintings included in the books are by members of the Society of Botanical Artists
2020 sees the publication of the very FIRST Instruction book published by the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA).
It also looks set to become the BIGGEST Instruction book for botanical artists ever published - with 400 pages and c.900 images!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: ​Detailed Book Review ​- press button below
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: ​Detailed Book Review ​- press button below
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: ​Detailed Book Review ​- press button below
NEW IN 2020
Due to be published in September

Botanical Art Instruction Books - PENCIL DRAWING
(Graphite and Coloured Pencils)
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GO TO: my NEW PAGE about Botanical Drawing Instruction Books - Graphite and Coloured Pencils

Below you can see the books featured on this page about botanical art instruction for drawing using graphite or coloured pencils.
Coloured Pencils are a medium much used by a number of botanical artists because they allow for the precision required in meticulous realism. ​There are a number of leading coloured pencils artists who provide instruction via teaching courses and workshops. However a much smaller number have written books which are listed below.
COLOURED PENCILS: ​This section includes:
  • Botanical Painting with Coloured Pencils by Ann Swan
  • ​Botanical Drawing using Graphite and Coloured Pencils by Sue Vize
  • The Joy of Botanical Drawing ​by Wendy Hollender
  • Botanical Drawing in Color by Wendy Hollender
All the authors - Ann Swan, Sue Vize and Wendy Hollender - are
  • very experienced in using coloured pencils for botanical drawing; and
  • have been teaching classes and workshops in the use of pencils for botanical drawing for many years.
Graphite is also a very popular medium for some botanical artists - particularly those leaning towards botanical illustration.  It's also a very useful medium for developing artwork prior to considering the application of colour.
GRAPHITE PENCILS: ​This section includes:
Two more authors - Katie Lee and Penny Brown - have both produced books which focus on the use of graphite
  • Fundamental Graphite Techniques by Katie Lee
  • Botanical Drawing by Penny Brown

Best Instruction Books about SCIENTIFIC BOTANICAL ILLUSTRATION 
- and use of pen and ink
​

GO TO: My new Page about Best Instruction Books for Botanical Illustration which includes:

Botanical illustration serves science - and there are professional standards around how SCIENTIFIC botanical illustrations should be developed and constructed and drawn.

​Drawing for scientific publications (eg Curtis's Botanical Magazine) is something that professional botanical illustrators do all the time.
The majority of their work will
  • either be in black and white using either pen and ink
  • or (increasingly) digital software which allows precise rendering.

Those working as professional botanical illustrators - such as Christobel King, Bobbi Angell, Işık Güner and Keith West - are best placed to advise on the requirements for illustrating for scientific botanical publications.
This section includes
  • How to draw Plants by Keith West
  • Botanical Illustration from Life by Işık Güner
  • Two books by Bobbi Angell
  • The Kew Book of Botanical Illustration by Christabel King
  • Botanical Illustration by Valerie Oxley
PLUS REVIEW PAGES - see Teal coloured buttons below
​See also two sub-sections in Botany

Books by Leading British Botanical Artists & Illustrators and Educators
​

GO TO: The Best Instruction Books by Top Botanical Artists / Teachers

The books and authors in this section are associated with those recognised as leading educators of botanical artists in the UK
  • An Approach to Botanical Painting by Anne Marie Evans (previously Director of the Diploma Course at the English Gardening School)
  • Painting Flowers in Watercolour by Coral Guest who taught Botanical Art Classes for Shirley Sherwood
  • Various books by Rosie Martin and Meriel Thurstan (of the Eden Project) - see separate page Books - The Eden Project
  • Various book Billy Showell - see separate page Books by Billy Showell
  • and others Leigh Ann Gale, Sarah Jane Humphrey GM, Simon Williams GM and Christina Brodie GM 
Picture
some of my instruction books
Detailed Book Reviews:
NOTE:
As an Amazon Associate I earn very small sums from qualifying purchases - which help fund the costs of running this website. ​