THE APPLE PROJECT

The Botanical Drawing

Herefordshire Pomona, Pears,

The Herefordshire Pomona

During the second half of the 19^th century there was concern that many Herefordshire orchards were being neglected and that many old apple and pear varieties would be lost forever. A special committee was formed to record existing apple varieties and every year an apple and pear exhibition was held for scholars (pomologists) from all over England to inspect samples of the fruit and help with identification.

Eventually in 1878 the beautifully illustrated The Herefordshire Pomona was published by Dr Robert Hogg, Vice-President of the Royal Horticultural Society, and Dr Henry Graves Bull, a well respected Hereford medical doctor and naturalist. For eight years the apples in the autumn exhibitions had been painted by two talented artists, Miss Alice Blanche Ellis and Bull’s daughter, Edith Elizabeth Bull. These drawings were used to illustrate the book.

Note: In Roman mythology Pomona was the goddess of fruit and orchards.

If you want to read more about The Herefordshire Pomona (and buy a CD ROM with a wonderful of selection of botanical drawings), see the website, www.marcherapple.net/pomona.htm

 Botanical Drawings

What is the main purpose of a botanical drawing and who is the audience?

Botanical Drawings have to be accurate enough for the precise type of plant to be recognised. Therefore these drawings are not valued so much by artists but by scientists and naturalists. This type of drawing was used long before the invention of photography and early expeditions all had artists with them to record finds. To this day archaeological finds are hand drawn for the records

• You will need: An apple or pear (or twig with apple or pear still on it) Pencils, an intermediate grade such as 2B perhaps, but whatever best suites you A pencil sharpener An eraser Paper – smooth is better than too coarse Colours: either water colours (pencils or paints) or acrylic paints (pastels are difficult to manage for botanical drawing unless you are an expert) Brushes (one fine and one medium).

  Herefordshire Pomona, Pears

Observation and practical methods:

• Make sure your paper is properly fixed (unless you are using a rigid sketchpad)
• Sit properly: you will need plenty of elbow room and a good view of what you are drawing. You need to be careful where you place the object, as every time you move your body or even head, you risk changing your viewpoint. Botanical drawing has to be precise.
• The most important part of botanical drawing is learning to look carefully at your subject: you will need to look at the size, the perspective, the effects of the light and the proportions if you are drawing more than say one apple. Even if you are drawing one apple and a leaf on the stalk you will need to consider proportion and perspective.
• Once you have studied your apple or pear very carefully start drawing an outline with a faint pencil line. You may want to draw a faint circle or ellipse to help you to position the piece of fruit where you want it on the paper and to choose your size.
• Detail can follow after you are happy with the size, proportion and positioning on paper. You can rub out any geometrical lines you don’t need anymore.
• You will need to look more carefully now at the detail, the angle of the light and any shadows that are cast. Does the apple or pear have imperfections? Note them and reproduce them.  Look at the texture of the skin and the leaves or stalk, if you also have leaves or a stalk.
• For a botanical drawing you will not need to worry about a background, white is best. Also, you will not need to draw in shadows, however consider how the light affects the colours of your subject.
• Finally, you can start thinking about colour. Once again, look carefully. Not all apples are red and not all apples have the same colour all over. Think about how you will select and mix your colours and how you will blend them. Practise your colour mix on a spare piece of paper before attempting to apply colour to your apple or pear.

Note:  Experts use a divider (like a drawing compass with two sharp points) to get the proportions right. You measure a feature on the apple with the divider and then transfer that measurement to your paper. The two sharp points will leave two pin pricks on the paper.

If you haven’t got time to do the whole painting in one go, you could take a digital photo of the apple at the time when you first draw it so that you can always check to see how the lighting and the colours were and then finish off later on using the photo and apple. This way it won’t matter if it’s evening and you have to use artificial lights etc.

Extension Work: After painting your apple you could slice it in half and draw it to show the inside and the seeds. Positioning might be a problem as it won’t sit by itself. Prop it up carefully or hold it in your other hand.

Further reading:

There are many good general guides to drawing and painting. Almost every public library will have a relevant section and your art teacher in school can also help.

A Guide to Drawing, Ferenc Pinter & Donatella Volpi, Dryad Press Ltd., London, 1985

Botanical Drawing under the Microscope

A more recent development is the drawing of botanical subjects under the microscope. If you wish to investigate how this is done, consult the website:

www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artfeb03/cbdrawing.html

Christina Brodie has written an excellent article on this technique, including a list of equipment you will need and suggestions for shading and colours.

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