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WATERCOLOR

Looking to finish and refine your botanical watercolors to take them to the next level? Lara will teach color mixing with a limited palette, loading a brush with water and paint, dry brush techniques, and detailed brush control. Our focus will be smoothing out watery edges and washes to become crisp and clean. At the same time, we will work on conveying accurate textures and a range of values throughout a painting. We will use fall specimens such as nuts and simple leaves as our subjects when developing these skills.

Fees: Member $218, Non-Member $273

All programs are subject to change. Pre-registration through our website is required.

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden strives to be a Garden for all and we are committed to offering diverse adult learning opportunities that are inclusive and accessible to all learners. If you would like to request an accommodation to support your participation in an adult learning opportunity at the Garden, please contact [email protected] or call 804-262-9887 x328 and we will make our best effort to help.

Register Member $218

Register Non-Member $273

Dates:
Thursday, September 24, 2026 - Friday, September 25, 2026
Time:
10:00 am - 3:30 pm
Event Details

Prerequisites: Must be enrolled in the Botanical Illustration Certificate Program.  Intermediate level.

GES: BI, 10. elective*

*This class provides 10 hours of elective credit toward the Botanical Illustration Certificate Program.

View and print supplies list here.

This class takes place over two days from 10 am – 3:30 pm:

  • Thursday, September 24, 2026
  • Friday, September 25, 2026

About the Instructor

Lara Call Gastinger is an artist and botanical illustrator from Charlottesville, Virginia, and was the chief illustrator of Flora of Virginia, a botanical reference. She has an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in plant ecology from Virginia Tech. She has been awarded two gold medals (2007, 2018) at the Royal Horticultural Society Botanical Art Show in London and her work is in the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation. Her art appears in Peterson Field Guide to Mushrooms of North America and the American Society of Botanical Artists’s Botanical Art Techniques. She teaches online and in person (occasionally as a lecturer at UVA) and has traveled to Japan, Romania, and France to lead workshops. Gastinger is renowned on Instagram for teaching her perpetual journal process.