'Botanical Illustration' by Valerie Oxley

Summary review

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

An excellent manual for anybody who wants to learn more about botanical illustration with a strong botanical perspective. Rated an average of:
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars by 20 customers on Amazon.co.uk
  • 5 out of 5 stars by 4 customers on Amazon.com

This book differentiates itself by focusing on botany. It's very detailed and practical and consequently very helpful. It provides lots of detailed facts, useful information, tips and techniques - doubtless derived from the author's many years of teaching botanical illustration and developing a diploma course.

​When you've got a many botanical art books as I have it takes something special to make a book stand out. I think the emphasis on the botany and very practical issues in Valerie Oxley's book succeeds in doing just that.

This an essential reference book for any botanical illustrator, those who aspire to be so and those who teach.
Synopsis

A manual for those who like their botanical illustration with a strong botanical and practical slant. It includes
  • an introduction to basic botany;
  • preparation of plant material for drawing;
  • use of different media for botanical illustration (pencil, watercolour, coloured pencil and pen and ink).
Also included are
  • suggested topics for further study;
  • how to correct mistakes and
  • finishing touches.

This book is also well illustrated in terms of both the range and the quality of reproduction​. It includes over two hundred colour illustrations by over fifty artists on 192 pages
Who should buy this book?:
Suitable for beginners and skilled artists alike
Highlights
  • excellent illustrations throughout in different media and by a variety of illustrators
  • botany chapter is much more thorough than in most botanical art books
  • provides an excellent primer on materials and equipment required.
  • detailed advice about how to collect and prepare different types of plant material - I rate this chapter a "must read" on its own
  • lots of practical tips from how to draw and how to paint through to how to exhibit and sell your work
  • some very helpful appendices
Think Again?
  • a softback book which won't lie flat easily. Potential problems if used a lot - as it surely will be!
  • more information about fugitive pigments and modern replacements would have been helpful.
​Paperback; 280x220 mm; 192 pages; 216 colour illustrations.
Also available as an e-book edition / Kindle edition
​Publisher: Crowood Press
Publication date: September 2008
ISBN: 978 1 84797 051 0
Author

I always take a good look at who is writing a book as well as the content when reviewing it. It's certainly worth noting that Valerie's botanical illustration credentials are very impressive.
About Valerie Oxley:

More about this book...

​This book deals with the practicalities of botanical art and the related botany of the subject matter and has been written for students of botanical art - particularly:
  • those new to this aspect of art; and
  • those with some experience wishing to develop their expertise. ​
I particularly like the flow of the book, starting with the history and moving through all the things you need to know before you can start to paint. There are seven chapters before the book gets to Chapter 8 Preparing to Paint!

​Below are comments on the specific chapters of aspects which make this book particularly noteworthy
Chapter 1 The history of botanical illustration 

​A very interesting chapter on the history of botanical illustration with excellent illustrations
Chapter 2 - Simple botany of plants and flowers 

The book is about botanical illustration (rather than botanical art) and consequently starts with a very strong emphasis on the botany. The book in general has a bias towards the requirements for correctness in botanical illustration.

​However I did think that the section on the naming of plants in Chapter 15 really needed to be in Chapter 2 so that the identity of a plant was clear from the outset. It's how to name the plant on the illustration in an attractive way which deserves to be in Chapter 15.
Chaper 3 - Materials and equipment

The Materials and equipment chapter is much more thorough than usual - and could be a reason on its own for buying this book!

​It includes comments about:
  • how to set up your workspace
  • different types of magnifiers and microscopes
  • different tools for measuring
  • the pros and cons of different types of media, supports and associated tools (eg whether to use a plastic or porcelain palette for watercolours)
Chapter 4 - Preparation of plant material 

This is a very detailed chapter about collecting, transporting and preparing to draw plant material. I find this is a topic which tends to be skipped or is not otherwise given a chapter of its own in other books - making this chapter is an absolute "must read" for those new to botanical illustration. 

It includes some extremely useful tips about
  • collecting material,
  • how to help plants last longer,
  • how to keep them fresh as you draw and
  • how to hold them in place for drawing purposes.
  • ​Wild flowers (e.g. wilt soon after cutting. Only collect what you need and observe the country code)
Chapter 5 - Observation techniques 

​This chapter provides a very salutary note about the problems of drawing flowers from a florist due to mutations!

​It also has a very useful checklist of what to observe and pay particular attention to.
Chapter 6 - Starting to draw 

​A very helpful chapter which provides detailed descriptions about 'how to draw' techniques in the chapter Starting to Draw. This highlights both skills you need to practice in advance to approaches which make life easier and tips for making decisions about what to draw and what to leave out.
Chapter 7 - Developing tonal studies 

​This chapter summarises and discusses a variety of different techniques for developing tone and provides a list of useful reminders.
Chapter 8 - Preparing to paint 

This starts with a useful discussion of different types, formats and sizes of watercolour paper. It includes very detailed instructions for how to stetch watercolour paper - a topic which I've found in the past is all too often summarised at too high a level in many watercolour books - or omitted entirely!
If you've never seen a demonstration these instructions will put you on the right path!

The instructions about to transfer a drawing include all the traditional methods.
Chapter 9 - Colours and Paint 

I'd have liked to see a lot more practical examples about mixing colours in this section. Although helpful it doesn't quite match the calibre of information in the rest of the book.

​I'd have also liked to see more details about which are the lightfast replacements for the pigments which are fugitive when used as watercolour
Chapter 10 - Watercolour techniques 

This chapter covers the basics of different techniques essential to the watercolour artist who wants to do botanical illustration.

I wondered why it hasn't been combined with "How do I paint" (Chaper 12)
Chapter 11 - What do I paint?

This takes a slightly different approach to most books and starts by discussing the different ways botanical illustration has been approached - and highlights different categories of illustration.

​I found it highly educational and thought-provoking
Chapter 12  - How do I paint? 

Builds on the previous chapter about watercolour techniques and provides lots of practical examples for how to paint using watercolour.

In other books this would be the most important chapter - in this book it's just one of sixteen.
​Chaper 13 - Alternative media

This chapter includes good advice about techniques for
  • using pen and ink
  • techniques for using coloured pencils
  • advice for using watercolour pencils; and
  • preparing and painting on vellum.​
Chapter 14 - ​Help! The plant is too big for the page 

This is about placement of the plant on the page and how to deal with aspects like the focal point, the boundaries, the design of positive and negative space, stems which cross, what to do about roots, how to document a life cycle and how to include your signature.

I very much liked the fact that an early recommendation was to study those artists from the past who were masters of design. 

​The value of observation and how it works at different levels is also one of those recommendations which will stay with anybody who employs it.
Chapter 15 - Finishing touches 

​This is an invaluable chapter. She not only provides tips about how to check for mistakes but also tips about how to avoid making mistakes in the first place! I'm not quite sure how one finds a rabbit's knucklebone - but I now know what to use it for! Plus what to do if you do make a mistake (eg how to treat cockled or buckled watercolour paper).
When all else fails, the time-honoured way to deal with an unwanted paint splash is to turn it into a leaf,flower or insect!

Valerie also provides detailed advice about:
  • preparing to display your work or submit it for an exhibition
  • pricing work and finding a purchaser
  • preparing a portfolio for galleries and commission clients
Chapter 16 - Photography and computers

Valerie has some invaluable tips and guidelines for how to photograph plants in the wild - another "must read".


APPENDICES

This book does not tail off at the end.

After the chapters finish it then moves on some very helpful helpful appendices which provide
  • a glossary of technical terms,
  • some suggestions for further reading,
  • details of art materials suppliers (including those who provide the technical equipment needed by botanical illustrators) and
  • botanical art collections, botanical gardens,
  • botanical art societies and
  • where to find courses.
These details helpfully include both website addresses and the emails of the people to contact (but you need to note these were current when this book was written and may now have changed)
This was first published as a book review on Making A Mark Reviews on 11 May 2009.