Best Botanical Art Instruction Books - major reboot!

My page about The Best Botanical Art and Illustration Instruction Books on this webite has been completely redesigned to make it more accessible and informative.

The Page (in the Education Section) was getting very, very long. I was concerned people were missing really useful books towards the bottom. In the end I decided that it needed a completely new approach - to accommodate all the new books that need a proper listing. So it's had a REBOOT!

It now has four NEW pages which comprise the following sub-sections (see below):

• Best Books by Botanical Art Societies - currently covering books by SBA and ASBA
  
• Best Books about Botanical Drawing Instruction - for all those using graphite and coloured pencils for botanical drawing
  
• Best Botanical Illustration Instruction Books - about the professional standards and techniques of those concerned with scientific botanical illustration
  
• Best Books by Top Botanical Artists / Teachers - for those that deserve to be highlighted and don't fit in the other categories

This page introduces this section and

• how the books are organised
• who the authors are
  
• how book reviews and ratings work
• what I focus on when sorting the "wheat from the chaff"
  
• how you can help support my website when you buy a book - at no cost to you
• PLUS an introduction for each new sub-section and NEW PAGE. These are identified below.

The Best Instruction Books by Botanical Art Societies

The Best Instruction Books by Botanical Art Societies is a brand new section for books by botanical art societies. At present this is:

• the Society of Botanical Artists (in the UK)
• the American Society of Botanical Artists

However it could also include instruction books by other botanical art societies if these are developed in the future.....

The biggest major new book in 2020 will be the 400 page / 900 images "Botanical Art Techniques" book by ASBA - edited by Robin Jess and Carol Woodin - which is being published in September. This leads this new section.

It's followed by summaries of four of the five books written by Margaret Stevens the Past President of the SBA and the first Director of its Distance Learning Diploma Course. Three of these have deailed book reviews which can be accessed via the "buttons" on this page.

I'm beginning to think the SBA may well want to ponder on whether the existing books need a second edition going forward.

The Best Instruction Books
about Botanical Drawing (for Pencil Artists)

The Best Instruction Books about Botanical Drawing (for Pencil Artists) page is dedicated to all pencil artists!

Books featured and summarised on this page include:

• Botanical Painting with Coloured Pencils by Ann Swan
• Botanical Drawing in Colour by Wendy Hollender
• NEW BOOK in 2020: The Joy of Botanical Drawing by Wendy Hollender
• Botanical Drawing using Graphite and Coloured Pencils by Sue Vize
• Fundamental Graphc Techniques by Katie Lee
• Botanical Drawing by Penny Brown.

I'm expecting in due course to add in books about drawing in pen and ink (unless they are scientifically biased - in which case they will go in the next section!)

The Best Instruction Books
about Botanical Illustration

The Best Instruction Books about Botanical Illustration focuses on books written by
those who have worked as professional botanical illustrators and/or worked closely with botanists.

Books featured and summarised on this page include:

• How to Draw Plants: The Techniques of Botanical Illustration by Keith West - an old and authoritative handbook
• Botanical Illustration from Life: ​A Visual Guide to Observing, Drawing and Painting Plants by Işık Güner - a very new and contemporary handbook. One of the best I've seen in terms of standards required and making content accessible
• Botanical Illustration Books by Bobbi Angell (separate dedicated page) - two books published 30 years apart
• The Kew Book of Botanical Illustration by Christabel King
• Botanical Illustration by Valerie Oxley
• The Guild Handbook of Scientific Illustration (2nd Edition) ​edited by Elaine R. S. Hodges

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The Best Instruction Books
by Top Botanical Artists / Teachers

The Best Botanical Instructions by Top Botanical Artists / Teachers are associated with notable botanical artists and/or leading botanical art teachers - and not otherwise listed elsewhere.

Books featured and summarised on this page include:

• An Approach to Botanical Painting by Anne-Marie and Donn Evans
• Painting Flowers in Watercolour: A Naturalistic Approach ​by Coral Guest
• Botanical Painting Books by Billy Showell (separate dedicated page)
• Botanical Illustration Books with the Eden Project (separate dedicated page)
• Botanical Illustration - The Complete Guide by Leigh Ann Gale
  
• Botanical Art with Scientific Illustration by Sarah Jane Humphrey
• Botanical Painting in Gouache by Simon Williams (Author)
• Drawing and Painting Plants by Christina Brodie
  

NOTE: Very many thanks to Polly O'Leary who reviewed the pages for me before I went "public". She spotted a number of small typos and duplicate words! Thanks Polly - I owe you!

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What do you want to know?

My advice and information on the Online Botanical Art Courses page was very much driven by what you needed to know. It's generally helped improve the information available about onine courses.

We can do the same thing for books.

After you've had a look at the new pages I'd be interested to hear your views on what aspects of this part of the website might be improved to provide better value to you as both a reader and a consumer.

EXAMPLE: I'm thinking of introducing some symbols to indicate if a book is more suited to: beginners | improvers | advanced artists.

Leave a comment below or contact me with your thoughts