Botanical Art & Illustration Classes

Contemporary botanical art captures the beauty of the natural world with precision, and our extraordinary instructors share their expertise in this nurturing yet rigorous program. NYBG offered North America's first formal botanical art certificate program, and remains a leader in the discipline after more than three decades. This program offers a well-rounded array of courses that can be enjoyed singly, just for fun, or lead to a Certificate.

Click here for an overview of the Certificate Program.


June

Accurate observation translates into sensitive, realistic drawings and is an essential skill for botanical artists. Using basic shapes, fruit, and leaves, learn contour drawing with an emphasis on proportion, and explore techniques such as foreshortening, perspective, and line weight.
254BIL301DO 06/26 Th 10:30am-1:30pm Grossman
ONLINE

July

Plants that "eat" animals have intrigued naturalists for centuries, from glistening sundews to vivid, almost erotic Venus flytraps. In this class, you'll learn why these plants are carnivorous as you develop your skills to accurately render their morphology on paper. more...
261BIL389O 07/08 Tu 10:00am-12:00pm Leech
ONLINE

Examine the enormous variety of forms and structural adaptations of flowering plants—the world's dominant plant group. Through lectures, demonstrations, and laboratory studies, learn to recognize and draw the many plant parts and growth stages of the most common plant families. more...
261BIL300BO 07/09 We 10:30am-1:00pm Day
ONLINE

Pen and ink, among the most versatile and useful media, can be used to create high quality, easily reproducible drawings. Learn how to produce different strokes and how to create tone by using stipple, line, and crosshatch techniques.
261BIL400O 07/11 Fr 11:00am-2:00pm Morley
ONLINE

Enhance the realism in your botanical compositions by mastering the art of drawing the fine details. In this class, you'll explore various graphite techniques that help to capture the intricate detailing of small, complex botanical subjects such as dried seedheads, more...
261BIL371O 07/12 Sa 12:00pm-4:00pm Schermer-Gramm
ONLINE

This intro class teaches you basic botanical illustration techniques to help you make realistic drawings of branches, stems, leaves, and flowers using graphite.
261BIL145A 07/13 Su 11:00am-2:00pm Yount
NYBG
261BIL145BO 07/14 Mo 6:00pm-9:00pm DeCicco
ONLINE

The focus of this course is on color theory and application. Colored pencil line and tone can be applied to look like either drawing or painting, making it a versatile medium for creating botanical artwork. Learn a variety of techniques, more...
261BIL415O 07/24 Th 11:00am-2:00pm Thompson
ONLINE

Apply your understanding of contours, perspective, and tone to drawing three distinct types of flowers. The object is to accurately draw a fully toned flowering plant. Explore compositional possibilities, textures, and details.
261BIL303BO 07/26 Sa 11:30am-2:30pm Rawlins
ONLINE
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