Botanical Illustration Classes
Courses are designed to provide a thorough foundation in the classical approaches and disciplines of botanical illustration. Arranged in a series format, courses are structured for students pursuing the Garden Education Certificate in Botanical Illustration. Courses must be taken in sequence as listed in the curriculum, and courses in the series after the introductory drawing courses are open only to certificate students, unless otherwise noted. Pre-requisites are listed under individual course descriptions.
We are excited to announce that new entry into the program resumed in 2025! Program details will be available soon, but introductory classes are continuing in the Spring/Summer 2026 season. We are offering Botanical Drawing I which is the introductory required class for the program.
Looking for additional drawing and painting courses open to non-certificate students? Check out Art in the Garden.
Classes are offered in-person or as synchronous (live) online programs. Class delivery methods are denoted next to each listing as VIRTUAL or IN-PERSON.
Class Schedule April – August 2026
Color Mixing I for Botanical Watercolor | April 9, 16, 23, May 7 | IN-PERSON
Watercolor begins not with painting, but with learning the language of color. This intensive foundation course builds on the visual concepts introduced in Botanical Drawing II concerning how to interpret light and value through color. Students will learn to read paint labels, identify pigment numbers, and understand how individual pigments interact — skills essential for achieving accurate, realistic botanical color. Through structured exercises, you’ll build a personalized color library, which is a vital reference for matching specimens and interpreting light in future work.
Instructors: Claudette & Stephey Baker
Prerequisite: Botanical Drawing II
Required/Elective: Required
Introduction to Botanical Drawing I | May 14, 21, 28, June 4 | IN-PERSON
This class is designed to provide foundational drawing skills and inspire a sense of wonder and connection to the natural world. Any age can learn to draw. Marks on paper are all a drawing is. Marks can be made on paper by anyone. Despite this, not everyone takes the time to learn how to draw. It isn’t easy to develop drawing skills without spending a lot of time drawing. This class provides time, motivation and inspiration for you to draw. Learn to think like an artist, get curious, ask questions, and play— all while learning how to draw. We start with an overview of botanical art and learn about the benefits drawing provides for the brain and our physiology. Drawing habits and dealing with the inner critic are also discussed. Using pencil marks on paper, participants explore sketchbook work, basic line qualities, light on forms, and transforming reality into three-dimensional illusions. Sketching, contour drawing, negative space, and measured drawing are also covered.
Instructors: Claudette & Stephey Baker
Prerequisite: None
Required/Elective: Required
Colored Pencil 1: Exploring the Possibilities | May 16, 30, June 13, 27 | IN-PERSON
Discover the versatility of colored pencil as a medium perfectly suited to rendering botanical subjects. This course begins with inspiration from artwork created by some of the world’s best colored pencil artists. We’ll explore the medium of professional-grade colored pencils, the characteristics of certain brands, the advantages of Faber-Castell polychromos pencils, and the interaction between medium and substrates. Build on the botanical illustration skills you have already gained as you learn how to use colored pencils to best effect: strokes, pressure, layering, blending, achieving vibrancy and shine, and finishing edges.
Instructor: Gail Goodrich Harwood
Prerequisite: Botanical Drawing III or Intermediate Drawing for Botanical Illustration. Color Mixing recommended, but not required.
Required/Elective: Required
Introduction to Nature Journaling | May 18, 19 | IN-PERSON
In this guided Art in the Garden class, local artist and pollinator advocate Stephey Baker will show you how to capture the magic of nature using words, sketches, and numbers—no prior experience needed! Absolute beginners are welcome, and all art materials are provided, so you can jump in—no shopping list, no stress. We’ll begin with a brief, friendly orientation on basic materials and simple techniques. Then, through curiosity-driven exercises, you’ll learn to capture the beauty of nature using words, sketches, numbers in a way that’s uniquely yours.
Instructors: Stephey Baker
Prerequisite: None
Required/Elective: Elective – Provides 1 credit.
NEW! Summer Session — Drawing in Practice: Integrating Form & Fluency | May 27, June 3, 10, 17 | IN-PERSON
Have you ever spent hours working on a drawing, carefully applying techniques like sketching, shading, or measuring proportions, yet the result still doesn’t come together the way you imagined? Most students assume the solution is to learn more techniques. But often what’s missing is something more fundamental: understanding how the drawing process itself works. Knowing how observation, interpretation, and mark-making work together is essential for creating the work you envision and becoming a more proficient botanical artist. This class provides the time and guidance to practice that process deliberately, allowing the relationship between observation, interpretation, and mark-making to mature. Each session begins with short observational warm-ups designed to synchronize the eye–brain–hand loop and sharpen one of your most valuable creative tools as a botanical artist. Working both in the garden (weather permitting) and in the studio, we will explore practical ways to build form through contour, cross-contour, plane shifts, light, and shading. Each session offers new subjects, new observations, and new opportunities to refine your personal drawing process.
Instructors: Claudette & Stephey Baker
Prerequisite: Introduction to Botanical Drawing II: Shading & Form.
Required/Elective: Elective
Botanical Illustration: Farmer’s Market Finds in Colored Pencil on Stonehenge Kraft Paper | July 14, 15, 17 | IN-PERSON
This three-day focus session explores Colored Pencil on Stonehenge Kraft paper – a perfect combo for rendering vibrant fruits and vegetables. Day One will include practice exercises to understand the nuances of colored pencil on Kraft paper.Days Two and Three will be focused on creating and completing an accurate and appealing composition.
Instructor: Gail Goodrich Harwood
Prerequisite: Botanical Drawing, Color Mixing, and Colored Pencil I or equivalent experience. Equivalent experience must be approved by the instructor prior to registration.
Required/Elective: Elective
NEW! Botany for Botanical Illustration: Tropical Fruits | July 25, August 1 | IN-PERSON
The course addresses structural diversity of fruits of flowering plants, with emphasis on edible fruits of tropical origin, such as bananas, mangos, coconuts, citrus fruits, pineapple, passionfruit, dragon fruit, papaya, lychees, guava, star fruit, etc. The art portion of the class will focus on producing watercolor works of provided tropical fruit specimens.
Instructors: John & Sheila Hayden
Prerequisite: Introduction to Watercolor for Botanical Illustration
Required/Elective: Elective
Guest Artist Workshops
NEW! Creating a Sense of Depth in Illustrations: Methods and Strategies with Rogerio Lupo | July 8, 15, 22, 29, August 5, 12 | VIRTUAL
Harmonious composition, precise outline, and accurate shading have immense importance as components of a great illustration. However, conveying a good sense of depth is not secondary at all. Every artist eventually faces the challenge of having to deal with the nuisance of a flat result – meaning lack of perspective or three-dimensionality.
By observing landscapes and distances, one can draw inspiration to use the effect of atmospheric perspective and represent the proper scale of contrasts and neatness. Combining a few or all of those diverse resorts is also an option, so that the different challenges can be cleverly sorted and all possible solutions reconciled.
In this course, we will study the theory and the empirics behind those methods, examine examples of masterful illustrations, and mostly proceed to live demonstrations using graphite, colored pencils, and even a bit of pen and ink, to explore and apply all the procedures available for the purpose of obtaining a convincing and eloquent sense of depth.
Instructor: Rogerio Lupo
Prerequisite: None
Required/Elective: Elective
NEW! Introduction to the Perpetual Journal and Field Sketching with Lara Call Gastinger | July 28 | IN-PERSON
Join renowned botanical artist and author Lara Call Gastinger to learn basic skills for drawing outside and keeping a field sketching journal, such as a perpetual journal! We will explore and draw in the gardens after learning how to breakdown the complexity of a plant, compose a page, use a pen, add watercolor, and make important observations.
Instructor: Lara Call Gastinger
Prerequisite: None
Required/Elective: Elective
Class is followed by a book sale/signing with Lara Call Gastinger of her new book A Perpetual Journal Practice: Building a Connection with Nature Through Art.
Botanical Illustration Studios
Studio Sessions provide dedicated time for students to strengthen their botanical illustration skills in a supportive, practice-focused environment. Each session includes an instructional focus—such as value, form, composition, or digital reproduction—alongside ample time for individualized guidance and hands-on work. Studios are open to all Botanical Illustration Certificate students and serve as a bridge between structured coursework and independent practice.
April Focus: Interpreting the Full Spectrum of Value into Light and Shadow | IN-PERSON
June Focus: Exploring the Composition Genius of Rory McEwen – the Power of Negative Space | IN-PERSON
July Focus: Roots | IN-PERSON
Login or Create an Account
We adapted a new Garden-wide system as of March 6, 2024. Please create or activate your account the first time you use the system.
Stay Tuned for Additional Classes
Join our email list to receive updates as we announce new Botanical Illustration course mid-season.
Updated Adult Learning Cancellation Policy
As of April 12, 2024, the Garden has an updated cancellation policy for Adult Learning programs.