Sierra Field Journal: Botanical Illuminations
General Description:
Join in this course to deeply observe the form and beauty of Sierra Nevada flora with pencil, pen or brush in hand. Andie will freely share her field-friendly tricks and techniques for capturing botanical gesture, detail, pattern, color, illumination, shadow, and for conjuring up a sense of the often overwhelming complexity of plants growing in the wild. Students will work with watercolor, gouache, pastel, pencil and ink, as they identify and render plants indoors and out, adding written notations and observations to their field journal pages along the way. Demonstrations and experiments will instruct how to effectively compose pages that can be completed on site as well as strategies to get enough down on paper to enable completion in the studio. Both traditional and contemporary art approaches will be demonstrated and used to make wild sketches, luminous color studies and accurate botanical illuminations, creating quilt-like field journal pages to document summer's fleeting moments and flora.
The work will be encouraging and stimulating for all experience levels, including beginners.
Instructor
Andie Thrams is a painter, book artist and educator whose work is currently focused on wild western forests. Her images and books are widely exhibited, published and collected. In addition to her courses for SFSU, Andie also teaches in her Sierra Nevada studio, for the Oakland Museum of California, Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, Art Institute at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and Yosemite Association. She has been Artist in Residence at Glacier National Park and Sitka Center for Art & Ecology. Andie holds a BA in Art Practice from the University of California, Berkeley.
Class Schedule
Plan to arrive at the Sierra Nevada Field Campus on July 16, 2008. We can get acquainted that evening, but the class will begin at 7:30 am on Thursday July 17th. The class will end on the afternoon of July 20th.
Supply List
Instructor will provide handouts for which there will be an additional $5 handout/materials fee. Students should bring the following:
- • Journal: a sketchbook, handmade book or journal of any size or format that appeals to you (8x10 or 9x12 inches are great sizes, but any size is workable). Pages should have some tooth and weight, be receptive to watercolor and open flat. Arches or other spiral bound watercolor books are ideal. Aquabee books are also good
- Pencil: No.2 or HB
- Pencil sharpener with attachment or baggie to catch shavings
- Kneaded eraser
- Ruler
- Fine or extra fine black felt tip pen (Pigma micron in size .01 is good)
- Black felt tip brush pen (Pitt, Pigma or Tombo make good ones). I will have a few extras to share.
- Two large bull dog clips, if your journal does not stay open and flat on its own.
- Prismacolor “cream” pencil. Optional: any other colored pencils and/or pastel pencils you may have
- Small set of watercolors or gouache with mixing palette (this usually comes as part of any set). Recommended: any Winsor & Newton Field Box, Pelikan set, or any kind of tube colors (see below for list of recommended colors).
- #8 and #4 round watercolor brushes. Recommended: any Winsor & Newton sable or synthetic brushes, such as Cotman, Cirrus, Septre Gold, Series 7’s, or any others you like. Travel brushes are great. If you have them already, bring a small filbert, flat, old scruffy brush, rigger, liner, or any other brushes you like to use.
- Small container for paint water, such as a small yogurt container or jar
- Rag or paper towels (just a couple of small sheets or one small rag)
- Small tube of white gouache (Winsor & Newton “Permanent White” is best)
- Water bottle, enough for drinking and for watercolors
- Something for sitting comfortably on the ground (that can be carried with ease), such as a small ensolite pad, a fold-up stool or Crazy Creek chair,
- Rucksack for carrying all supplies, lunch and extra clothes
- Warm hat and/or sun hat or visor, clothing layers for warm or cool weather, sunglasses, sunscreen, etc. Please note that it is very important to be prepared for both warm and cool weather, so you will be comfortable being outdoors all day, if conditions allow.
Recommended watercolors for getting started
- Permanent alizarin or quinacridone rose (purple-biased red)
- Cadmium red (orange-biased red)
- Ultramarine blue (purple-biased blue)
- Cerulean or phthalo blue (green-biased blue)
- Lemon yellow or cadmium yellow pale (green-biased yellow)
- Cadmium yellow medium or gamboge (orange-biased yellow)
- Sap green (good all around green)
- Oxide of chromium (helpful green for plants)
- Burnt sienna or quinacridone gold (helpful brown)
- Permanent white gouache (not watercolor)
Camping gear
- warm sleeping bag
- foam pad
- flashlight
- insect repellant
- alarm clock
- bring your own tent or use tents with beds provided at the field campus
Helpful Reading
- Art and Fear, David Bales and Ted Orland, Consortium Book, 2001 Order at Amazon
- Drawing from Life: The Journal as Art, Jennifer New, Princeton Architectural Press, 2005 Order at Amazon
- Blue Pastures, Mary Oliver, Harcourt Brace & Co., 1995 Order at Amazon
- The Creative Habit:Learn It and Use It for Life, Twyla Tharp, Simon and Schuster, 2003 Order at Amazon
- Blue and Yellow Don’t Make Green, Michael Wilcox, School of Color Publishing, 2002 Order at Amazon
