In unit 8, I honed in my painting technique and started my final composition.

Unit 7 was my formal introduction to compositional development, before this I’d never learned about compositional balance or layout before.

This portion of the class was about starting to plan our final botanical submissions of our cyclamens through study pages and colour matches.

Next stop, the world of botany - identifying the basic floral parts, their functions and how to record the plant accurately through sectional drawings and cross sections.

This unit was a crash course in colour theory. I explored colour wheels, matching colour mixes to live subjects and deepened my understanding of pigment properties.

Unit three was all about tertiary colours! I explored mixing greys and browns, painted 3D shapes in watercolour and finished my first painted pear portrait.

I am feeling positive about Unit 2! This unit was all about graphite and how pencils in different hardness families layer together to create and build depth.

I’ve turned in my first Unit for the botanical illustration course, I can already tell I am going to adore this course!

After the drawing course at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, I went back for their botanical painting course taught over two days by award winning botanical artist, Sharon Tingey.

A new chapter in my botanical art journey is about to begin because I’ve been accepted to study Botanical Illustration with the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh!

To challenge my life drawing skills, I booked on to attend an Introduction to Botanical Drawing course at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.

On my own journey, its easy to feel like a ‘late bloomer’ or just a bit behind. I’ve found inspiration from 17th century artist, Mary Delany, who began her art practice well into her 70s.

Autumn brought on an exciting new challenge! I travelled down to Cambridge to take a class, Illustrating Fruit, Berries and Seedheads, with SBA Fellow Reinhild Raistrick.

As a special treat and part of a belated birthday gift my husband and I took a trip down south for a Fundamentals of Botanical Art workshop with Helen Cousins.

There is a gentleness to rest that is sometimes overlooked, but needed after a season of being a busy bee.

In early spring, I planned my God-daughter Clara’s dedication. I made event signs, menus, a tree keepsake and floral decorations for the big day.

In February, I joined an online academy specialising in botanical art taught by Helen Cousins. By May, I was nominated Member of the Month!

April brought on a slew of new projects big and small! My first project was on a small scale for a wedding gift for our dear friends.

To invest in my watercolour journey, I enrolled in a one day workshop with local watercolour artist, Kate Hall.

Florals are my favourite subjects to paint!