Botanical pen and ink: Beginners

Interested in trying your hand at botanical drawing but unsure where to start?

Our three-day course for beginners will teach you the basics in the beautiful setting of Kew Gardens. 

Pen and ink techniques are essential for producing botanical illustrations for publication.

We will explore how to prepare accurate drawings to scale, and how to apply different methods of ink drawing to communicate the essential forms and character of plants clearly and beautifully.

As well as learning drawing technique, you will study simple leaves and flowers, and find out about plant structure and terminology.

About the tutor

Lucy T Smith is a freelance botanical artist who has been based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for twenty-four years.

She has received international recognition and awards for her work, including the Jill Smythies Award for Botanical Illustration from the Linnean Society of London and two gold medals from the Royal Horticultural Society. Her scientific illustration work has been recognised by her receipt of First Prize in the Margaret Flockton Award for Scientific Illustration, from the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. 

Represented in the Shirley Sherwood collection.

As well as freelance work, Lucy produces illustrations and paintings for private commissions and exhibitions.