My blog

Michael Lakin Workshop

chris taylor — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:31:57 +0000

Just before Christmas I battled through snow to attend a one day botanic painting workshop tutored by SBA member, Michael Lakin. This was held at his own studio, White Hollows, on the edge of the National Trust’s Calke Abbey Estate in Derbyshire. I spent most the day sketching a wonderful knobbly gourd; which was amongst a selection of winter foliage, fruits and flowers provided.

Michael’s rather prescriptive step-by-step approach by building layer upon layer of thin watercolour washes takes a long time to achieve a result. In this respect his painting style did not suit me, as I am used to working quickly using wet-in-wet style by manipulating the paint whilst it’s still wet to achieve depth of colour and tone. It was frustrating to not have achieved more that day, but nonetheless, I had a pleasant day working alongside other students in Michael’s garden studio.

http://www.lakinbotanicalart.co.uk/

SBA Course

chris taylor — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 22:43:32 +0000

I have recently been offered a place on the Society of Botanical Artists (SBA) Distance Learning Diploma Course. With a number of leading botanical artists, who’ll be acting as my tutors, I will complete 12 assignments over the duration of two and a half years.

I’m really looking forward to starting the course, which will begin in January 2011. I’ll be updating my progress via this blog, so keep an eye on my site for updates.

http://www.soc-botanical-artists.org/

Inspired by Autumn

chris taylor — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 18:11:19 +0000

It’s that time of year again, when the leaves are scuttling in circles about the streets. Autumn is a great source of inspiration for me as a botanical artist, and for once I get to paint leaves that are not green. With so many beautiful colours and hues abound, it’s a job for me to keep up with painting them, as inevitably they’ll soon fall, shrivel-up and blow away, but I’m doing my best!

At present I’m working on a series of watercolour studies based on horse chestnuts and their leaves. Below is a little taster of what’s to come, so keep an eye on my gallery as I’ll be adding more soon .

Local Art Class

chris taylor — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 22:01:33 +0000

I was recently invited to teach a watercolour class in my home town of Penarth. The group is of mixed ability and has been meeting for a number of years. So far we have been painting dahlia flowers and autumn fruits and leaves. This is my first experience of teaching a group, and I am enjoying the opportunity.

Billy Showell Book Launch, Kew Gardens, 18.09.10.

chris taylor — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:11:47 +0000

Billy Showell has influenced my painting a great deal and is an excellent teacher. So I was delighted to accept an invitation to the launch of her latest book An A-Z of Flower Portraits. The venue, the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, couldn’t have been more apt. The sunny weather that day flooded the gallery with natural light, as people mingled and chatted. As well as her new book, Billy had many prints and original art works on display and I relished the opportunity to see her work close up.

After chatting and getting my book signed, I just had time to wander the gardens before heading home. In all, I felt thoroughly inspired by the day and re-energised to “keep it up”, as Billy wrote in my book.

http://www.billyshowell.co.uk/-equipment-.html

Chris Taylor’s website launched

chris taylor — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:18:50 +0000

Welcome to botanic artist Chris Taylor’s website presenting a gallery of artworks, options for purchasing high quality prints and how to contact the artist regarding exhibitions and tuition.

The site is designed and constructed by Grish Art and will be regularly updated by the artist himself with details of forthcoming events, general thoughts and inspiration.